In a battle of Ohio Midland Athletic Conference rivals and USCAA DII heavyweights on Saturday, No. 2 Cincinnati Clermont downed No. 4 Kent State Tuscarawas 97-83 in a game that was much closer than the final score indicates. It was nearly the identical score (99-82) that the Golden Eagles had beaten the Cougars by on December 30th in Founders Hall Gym in a not-so-close game.
The teams battled through 13 lead changes in the first seven minutes of the game----where there was a total of 20 fluctuations during the contest. With the score 19-18 in the Cougars favor, the Golden Eagles ripped off an 8-0 run and built a 26-19 lead while the clocked showed 11:24 left.
A triple from the top of the key by Ethan Bower gave the navy and gold a 38-29 advantage, before KSU Tusc's power surge turned into a power failure after a near flawless first half.
Three turnovers on four Eagles possessions allowed UCC to run up 10 points and close the gap to 41-39. Despite eight first half treys---three from Bower---14 points from Kameron Shockley and 13 by Kyle Shockley, the Eagles stumbled into the locker room on the short end of a 51-50 score.
The Cougars outpaced KSUT 22-12 down the stretch to grab the lead while the final minutes of the half saw three more ties and as many lead changes.
In the final half there were seven lead changes with the last coming on a Cougars bucket at the 5:52 mark. It was a lead they would not relinquish even though the Eagles were in the bonus situation at the foul line for the last 14 mins of the game. KSU couldn't capitalize and missed on three front ends of bonus situations and made just 10/17 opportunities, which put pressure on Eagles shooters and might have held UCC at arm's length.
Still, the Golden Eagles managed to stay close. But 21 turnovers---the bulk of them in the final half---and empty possessions created by a blackout from behind the arc where they sank just 1/10 tries after making good on 8/16 in the first half, forced the Eagles to virtually trudge uphill to the basket.
Down 76-75 with 5:52 left to play, the Eagles lost a ball out of bounds under the UC Clermont hoop after mishandling a missed free throw. The Cougars inbounded and sank a triple that seemed to overload KSU Tusc's circuits as they made consecutive turnovers that led to an 84-77 deficit at the 3:08 mark.
Things just got just messy down the stretch as UCC ended the game on a lopsided 21-8 run, as the loss dropped KSU Tusc's record to 16-7 and overshadowed a combined 54-point performance by the Shockley brothers. Kyle rained in 31 points on 10/18 shooting and pulled in 13 rebounds, while Kameron scored 23 points making 9/17 shots and snagged 15 boards. Ethan Bower was the only other Eagle in double figures with 15 tallies.
On Sunday, the Golden Eagles visit Miami Hamilton in a game that starts at 3PM.
Kameron Shockley gets fouled and scored 23 points and led the Eagles in rebounds with 15 against the Cougars.
(Photos by Patty Tolloti)