Despite facing an 11-point halftime deficit to a team that handed them a 92-77 loss on their home floor in early February, the Golden Eagles men's basketball team fought their hearts out but fell 79-75 at UC Clermont on Saturday afternoon.
Time and time again the Golden Eagles battled back when Clermont threatened to put them away. With KSU Tusc trailing 75-70 and 1:02 showing on the game clock, London Cobbs (Chicago, IL / Roosevelt) drove baseline and hit a jumper and was fouled. He converted on the and-one to pull the Eagles to within 75-73. The Eagles had a chance to tie or take the lead with just :17 ticks left, but they made a costly turnover and were forced to foul.
The Cougars took advantage by sinking a couple of free throws to make the score 77-73. Not done yet, KSU Tusc responded with an Arthur Jackson (Euclid, OH / Euclid) field goal that got the no-quit Eagles to within 77-75 with :07 left. A Jackson foul led to two more charity tosses and a 79-75 deficit and provided the insurmountable winning margin as the Cougardome roared with approval on senior day.
Poor free throw shooting (15/28)---54%---and 27 turnovers didn't help the Golden Eagles cause, but who could fault their overall effort.
For the game the Eagles shot 49% from the floor, converting on 29/59 field goal attempts, and they held a 44-43 rebound advantage. Both teams made 29 field goals and 15 free throws on the afternoon, but the Cougars made four more three-point shots that made the difference.
DeJuan Lawrence (Akron, OH / Kenmore) had a huge day for KSU Tusc and recorded his fifth double-double on the season with 25 points and 18 rebounds. He scored 16 points in the first half and made 8/14 field goals, while also adding four blocks, 4 assists and 3 steals.
Jackson canned 23 points making 10/18 action shots and snagging 8 rebounds while scoring 16 second half points. Cobbs had 17 points going 8/12 from the floor and grabbed 9 caroms.
The Golden Eagles are now 1-7 and host Bryant & Stratton Buffalo on Saturday, March 13th.
DeJuan Lawrence recorded his fifth double-double on the season at UC Clermont.
Photo by Jason Keller.