Winton Churchill, is probably one of the greatest statesmen of the twentieth century and once said, "Sometimes doing your best is not good enough. Sometimes you must do what is required," would sum up the ending of the Golden Eagles game early Friday afternoon.
Entertaining NAIA Indiana University South Bend (15-6) was a tall task for the comparatively undersized Eagles, but after leading for most of the game they didn't make the plays they needed to and fell short near the end, losing 61-57.
It was KSU Tusc who came out early and grabbed a 7-2 lead spurred on two thefts that led to baskets by London Cobbs and Kameron Shockley for runout layups. But the offense hit a bump near the middle of the opening 20 minutes and the Titans fired their first salvo of the game and took an 12-10 lead with 11:06 left.
Then the curtain was raised for the opening act of KSU Tusc frosh Aaron Gergely, who confidently canned two consecutive long range bombs to propel the Eagles back into the lead 16-12 with 9:18 showing on the clock.
Minutes after Cobbs banked home another bucket, Gergely snuck back to the arc on the right elbow extended like a Trojan Horse and surprised IUSB with another triple to give the home team their largest lead of the game, 21-14, at the 7:31 mark.
When the visitors inched closer at 25-23 with 1:48 left, Ethan Bower drilled home a long ball to lift the lead to 28-23. The extra padding was short lived however, as the Titans countered with a trey of their own to cut the lead to 28-26 at the half.
IUSB tied the game at 28-28 to begin the final half that would see three ties and three lead changes. Gergely and Bower both sank three-balls as the Eagles got "uncle mo" on their side to build a 43-36 advantage. A Titans triple would bring them closer once again (43-39), before the turnover bug which has seemed to hit the Eagles lately reared its ugly head once more.
Buckets in the lane by Kyle and Kameron Shockley were sandwiched around a turnover and with 8:14 left KSU Tusc clung to a 47-41 lead. However, the Titans were gifted two straight Eagles turnovers and they took full advantage to knot the game at 47-47 with 4:41 to go.
A pair of wide-open triples from the left corner on back-to-back possessions was a back breaker and put the Eagles in a 53-47 hole with 3:41 left. The navy and gold stalled on two possessions and were called for an offensive foul at the 2:12 mark and the winners capitalized for an eight-point 57-49 lead.
Braden Rostad gave KSU Tusc a much-needed triple to trim the deficit to 57-52 with 1:33 on the game clock. A Kyle Shockley layup with :49 left breathed new life into the Eagles wings and a Kameron Shockely triple off an offensive rebound brought them all the way back to 59-57 with :20.9 remaining.
The Eagles were forced to foul and did so with :15.5 ticks left and the Titans sank both ends of a bonus situation for a 61-57 lead. KSU Tusc wasn't done as they pushed the ball into the front court looking for any kind of basket, but an off-the-dribble turnover with :06.6 second left sunk their comeback effort and sent them to a fourth straight loss.
Cobbs led the Eagles with 16 points and dropped eight points in each half, while Gergely came off the bench and sank four triples for 12 points. DeJuan Lawrence snared 11 caroms for KSU Tusc.
Now with a record of 12-9, the Golden Eagles hit the road on Saturday, February 4, to Cincinnati Clermont to avenge an early season 77-74 home loss to the Cougars.
The Golden Eagles bench erupts after a triple by Aaron Gergely.
London Cobbs scored 16 points to lead the Eagles and Braden Rostad is closey guarded against the Titans.
Kyle Shockley is in the hands of IUSB defenders.
(Photos by Lindsey Nicholson)