It was utter mayhem in Founders Hall Gym from about 3-4:45 pm on Saturday afternoon, but of course, it was expected because March Madness has commenced. The intensity was thicker than a slice of grandma's Sunday ham and the only thing settled after the final buzzer was that fact that both KSU Tusc and Miami Hamilton are championship caliber teams.
On this day, it was the Golden Eagles turn to even the ledger in the season series after losing at the Harriers gym on February 4th. They acquitted themselves very well in an 88-79 victory against a team that had won 10 of its last 11 games while the Eagles also put the finishing touches on an unbeaten season at home going 13-0.
Despite finding the bottom of the net on eight first half three-balls the Eagles held a slim 44-40 margin at the intermission. They battled through seven lead changes and four ties in the first 11 minutes of the game and finally got the upper hand (21-20) on triple from Javier Ward at the 8:50 mark.
The Eagles caught a little lightning and outscored MUH 18-4 during a five-minute spree and leapt to a 12-point 36-24 lead. They struck with four triples, two from Ward combined with one from Kyle Shockley and another from Ethan Bower. They also got two runout layups on outlet passes and an inbounds steal and lay in by Shockley.
It appeared KSU Tusc was going to run away with the game as Bower followed with another long distance bomb with 2:05 left holding the Harriers at arm's length 42-32. With 1:05 showing, Hamilton converted on a rare four-point possession after collecting an offensive rebound on the latter half of a two-shot free throw penalty and then knocking down a three to cut the lead to 42-36.
Holding a 56-42 lead with 16 minutes left in the game, the Eagles found their air assault suddenly grounded as they slipped into a bit of foul trouble. Hamilton took full advantage and ripped off 10 straight points to pull to within 56-52 with plenty of time left on the game clock.
Clinging to a 63-56 margin with 9:45 left to play, the Eagles were whistled for a flagrant foul and a technical foul on the same play. MUH sank three of four free throws and were awarded the ball for a throw in. They promptly drained a shot from behind the arc for a virtual six-point possession as they thinned KSU's lead to 63-62.
Miami managed to take a short-lived 65-63 lead with 8:30 left---their first lead since 20-18 in the first half---and kept pace while Eagles starters Kameron Shockley and Vinny Roper were sitting on the bench with four fouls apiece. It seemed like an eternity, but it was actually just a little more than three and one-half minutes on the pine for Shockley and Roper and they received absolution via an old fashioned three-point play from Kyle Shockley and a triple by Braden Rostad who kept the Eagles afloat with a 71-65 lead during their absence.
Still, the Harriers battled back with several late three-balls to tie the game at 71-71 with five minutes left. And with 4:04 to play, they were dead even at 73-73 as the madness continued.
At the 3:31 mark, Kameron Shockley playing with those four penalties, took an offensive charge which fired up the home side. He and his fellow Eagles played at a fever pitch and attacked the basket on every possession during a 10-0 stretch run that gave themselves an 83-73 advantage. Not settling for jump shots, the results led to a couple of pretty backdoor dunks by the Shockley brothers and a nifty reverse lay up by Roper with just two seconds left on the shot clock during another possession.
They also dropped in 11/13 free throw opportunities in the final 4:30 of the game, with Kameron Shockley scoring 20 second half points and Kyle tallying 17 in the final 20 minutes. The Eagles placed four players in double figures as Kyle Shockley scored 28 points, Kameron Shockley tossed in 26, Bower had 12 and Ward 10.
Now at 21-9 on the season, the No. 7 Golden Eagles have staked their claim to a first-round bye in the USCAA National Tournament, while Miami Hamilton (15-12) also made a statement about their tournament preparedness. Both teams will find out their fate on Monday at 12:45 pm during the USCAA National Basketball Tournament Bid Show. The Eagles have assured themselves of a third straight tournament appearance.
Kyle Shockley scored 28 points and Javier Ward dropped in 10 against Miami Hamilton.
Kyle Shockley defends the Harriers Ryan Marchal.
Ethan Bower made four triples against MUH and knocks the ball away from a Harrier player.
(Photos by Amber Peltz)