Playing in the PSU Beaver Christmas Tournament against a mirror image-like opponent off four straight wins, the Golden Eagles relied on a big second half to down Bryant & Stratton Cleveland 91-72 on Friday night.
Things didn't start pretty for KSU Tusc. The Eagles turned the ball over four times in their first five possessions and missed a shot the third time they had the ball allowing a runout basket as the Bobcats raced to an 8-0 lead.
London Cobbs got the first Eagles bucket at the 17:41 mark to stem the tide for but a moment. BSC found their legs again and led 16-6 after a pair of three balls that followed three more Eagles miscues. The Eagles however, chipped their way back after a Braden Rostad triple and six straight points by Kyle Shockley.
The score stood at 22-19 in the Bobcats favor until another Rostad bomb tied the game at 22-22 with 8:32 to play in the opening half. The Eagles took their first---albeit brief lead (24-22)---when Rostad hit a step back hoop from the right elbow with 6:48 left, but BSC responded to tie the game at 24-24.
A Kyle Shockley steal resulted in an and one that gave KSU Tusc a 31-26 lead with 3:20 left, while yet another Rostad shot from distance spotted them to a 34-28 lead. The half ended with a Kameron Shockley hoop off a backside offensive rebound with :02 left. They maintained the six-point lead (38-32) going into the locker room fighting off the effects of 14 first half turnovers.
Two Eagles turnovers in their first three possessions of the final 20 minutes allowed the Bobcats to grab the momentum and tie the game at 40-40. Another ball handling error was the gateway to a 43-42 BSC lead---their first since they held a 22-19 lead with 8:50 left in the opening half. It didn't last long.
A pair of DeJuan Lawrence free throws and a three-point play by Kyle Shockley, who was fouled on a jumper from the free throw line staked the Eagles to a 47-43 lead. Any chance of a Bobcat comeback went awry when navy and gold went on a 12-0 tear, stretching a 50-47 advantage to 62-47.
Key to the run were six points from Cobbs, one basket after a steal at the 10:22 mark, while Lawrence added baskets on a short jumper and a very aggressive drive to the rack which started near the 28-foot line. Ethan Bower and Rostad both rained home three-balls and a Bower pull up jumper broke the game wide open at 70-51 with 7:35 still left in the game.
The Eagles never let up and the decided advantage led to hurried shots by the Bobcats, as the lead swelled to 26 points (89-63) and a final score of 91-72. The loss dropped the Bobcats to 5-4 on the year.
Six KSU Tusc players scored in double figures led by Rostad's 17 points. He converted on 5/6 three-point attempts. Three Eagles scored 16-points apiece led by a double-double performance by Lawrence who also logged 15 rebounds, Cobbs made 7/8 field goal tries and Kyle Shockley added a team high three assists. Kameron Shockley scored 11 points and Bower had 10 points and led the team with four steals.
Winners of five straight the Eagles are now 7-3 on the season. They play Penn State Beaver on Saturday at 3 p.m. in the final game of the Lions Christmas tournament.
Ethan Bower scored 10 points and had four steals off the bench, while Kyle Shockley netted 16 points and 3 assists.
Braden Rostad made 5/6 three-point shots against BSC and ended with 17 points.
Gabe Green gave solid minutes off the bench and had three points, a rebound and a steal.
(Photos by Patty Tolloti)