KSU Tuscarawas vs. Lourdes Highlights (Video by Maggie Lampe)
"Naughty" and "Nice" are two terms that get tossed around a lot during the Christmas holiday season.
The Kent State at Tuscarawas men's basketball team tried to play the naughty role against visiting Lourdes University on Saturday afternoon, but the Gray Wolves answered every Golden Eagles challenge winning for the ninth straight time this season, 84-63.
A nice 17-point effort by Jacob Hicks led the Navy and Gold. He scored consecutive baskets on a fast break layup and a stick back to cut a late first half Lourdes lead to 35-33 and finished with 11 points at the break. His productivity was needed as Lourdes jumped to early leads of 8-2 and 18-8 in the first 10 minutes of the game.
Trailing by 10, the Golden Eagles rallied with a 10-3 run on two Malik Campbell layups, a Gunnar Tharp triple and a couple of free throws to pull within 21-18. Hicks' late baskets and 13/27 (48%) field goal shooting by the Eagles kept things close as the Gray Wolves took a five-point advantage into the locker room, 38-33.
Early in the final half, the NAIA 14th ranked Gray Wolves wrestled control of the game by opening with a 9-2 run that was the impetus to a 19-point, 61-42 lead. The Eagles however, responded with a 14-1 surge of their own to climb back into the game and trail by just six at 62-56 with 7:30 left to play.
Key to the Golden Eagles run were three Tharp triples, another by Campbell and a nifty lay-in by Hicks.
Coach Dennis Hopson's Gray Wolves got a quick three of their own along with a short jumper to stretch the lead to 67-56. They finished the game on a 17-7 run to win 84-63.
Hicks led Kent State-Tuscarawas (5-9) making 7/10 action shots and grabbing eight rebounds, while Tharp connected on 5/10 three-point attempts for 15 points and Campbell scored 14.
Next up for the Golden Eagles is a trip to Villa Maria College in Buffalo, NY on Saturday, January 4th for a 4:00 p.m. tipoff.
Gunnar Tharp (24) made five three-point shots against Lourdes and scored 15 points. (Photo by Jason Keller)