Sometimes maximum effort is not enough and even giving all you got has limits.

The Golden Eagles basketball team went all out at Bluefield State College on Saturday, but fell short in their bid to spoil the Big Blues senior day 94-88.

After a four-hour drive down I-77, KSU Tusc served notice to the NCAA D-II, USCAA D-1 No. 5 ranked Blues that they had come to play and leapt out to a 30-18 advantage early in the game. The Eagles played their hearts out and led by as many as 21 first half points taking a 52-43 lead into the locker room at the half. Many of their first half baskets came on drives to the hoop by Andre Leavell and Malik Campbell, while Braden Rostad rained in four 3-pointers.

Playing for a possible post-season tournament spot, the Eagles kept their cool when the hosts made a second half run. It wasn't until there were just five minutes left in the game that BSC tied the game and the two teams traded baskets until the winners grabbed the lead for good with just over two minutes to play.

Down the stretch, the Golden Eagles missed a couple of valuable free throw opportunities and failed to convert on two straight possessions as the Big Blues took a five-point lead.

Failing to convert on free throws cost the Navy and Gold as they made just 13/21 charity tosses for the game (62%). They also allowed BSC to collect 12 offensive misses and score eight second chance points.

For the fifth time in the last two weeks and second straight game, Leavell led the Golden Eagles with a double-double performance. This time, he scored 27 points on 11/20 field goal shooting and grabbed 11 rebounds to go along with three assists and three steals. Gunnar Tharp, the team's lone senior knocked down 4/9 3-point attempts in his final regular season game in a KSU Tusc uniform and scored 17 points. Rostad converted on 5/11 3-point shots for 16 points and Campbell added 14 points, nine rebounds and six assists.

It's a waiting game now for the USCAA D-2, No. 13 Eagles, as the final regular season poll comes out on Wednesday before post season bids are awarded. They finished the season at 16-12 on the year and were 11-3 in January and February. After starting the season 2-6, the Eagles went 14-6 and at one point won six straight games.

Jacob Hicks and Gunnar Tharp clamp down on the defense against BSC.

Jacob Hicks protects the basketball after a rebound.              (Photos by Jason Keller)