After a Thursday night bruising, the USCAA, D2, No. 6 Golden Eagles were in need of some self-affirmation and got it late Friday afternoon by winning 91-75 at No. 14 Villa Maria College in Buffalo.
It was the second time KSU Tusc beat the Vikings in a matter of two weeks. The Eagles built several double-digit leads and had to fend off the swashbucklers until a late volley put a hole in the Villa longship, sinking their chances of a comeback.
With 9:13 left in the opening 20 minutes a Mekhi Johnson three-ball gave the Golden Eagles a 23-21 lead. Kyle Shockley rained down a deep triple with the shot clock running out and converted a short jumper as part of a 12-4 surge that increased the advantage to 35-25 with 4:30 to play.
They ended the half with a 42-35 lead fully expecting a VMC run after the intermission.
KSU Tusc built another 10-point lead (47-37) at the outset of the final half, but the Norsemen heated up with a 13-4 attack to close to 51-50. The Eagles stole the momentum back and barred the gate scoring the next seven points to establish themselves again 58-50. They helped themselves at the free throw line converting on 6/6 tosses on their way to a 64-54 lead.
The game was still in doubt with 6:58 left and the good guys holding a 70-63 lead, before the Vikings boat was run aground courtesy of a 15-0 Eagles explosion over a three and one-half minute period. During the grounding KSU Tusc made all the right moves in running the score to 85-63---their largest lead of the game.
Twice, the Golden Eagles cleared rebounds with one-handed full court baseball passes to outlets for layups. Roper fired one to Kameron Shockley and Shockley in turn threw a strike to Johnson for easy baskets. Roper was also the heir of a Kyle Shockley steal off a Villa inbounds pass for another hoop. That final salvo was like a rogue wave swamping the Vikings schooner.
It was all the Eagles needed to break the will of the hosts, as they closed out the final 3:06 winning 91-74 and getting a much need boost at the free throw line, converting on 13/15 free throws in the final 10 minutes of the game.
The Eagles earned a much-needed split for the Buffalo trip to raise their record to 12-5 on the season. They were led in scoring by Kyle Shockley's 23 points on 8/17 field goals and 4/4 free throw shooting. Kameron Shockley tossed in 22 points on 7/11 shooting and 8/9 free throws, while Ethan Bower bombed in 5/9 triple tries for 15 points.
On Tuesday, the Golden Eagles travel to CC Allegheny County for a 7pm game.
Mekhi Johnson corrals a loose ball against Villa Maria to start a fast break.
Kyle Shockley led the Eagles with 23 points while Kameron Shockley scored 22 points and together they made 12/13 free throws.
(Photos by Patty Tolloti)