It took the first six minutes of the game against Andrews University for the Golden Eagles to crack the code to the Cardinals defense, but when the puzzle was solved, they rode a hot streak to an impressive halftime lead and outgunned AU 79-51 in Founders Hall Gym on Saturday.
The Cardinals tormented the Golden Eagles by taking an 11-6 lead before a Vinnie Roper tip in at the rim finally gave the navy and gold their first lead of the game at 12-11 at the 14:01 mark. The lead teetered back and forth and when the score stood at 16-16 the Eagles swooped in with a back breaking air raid.
London Cobbs knocked down a triple with 8:37 left in the opening half for a 19-16 advantage in what turned out to be four consecutive KSU Tusc treys. Aaron Gergley launched one home from the left corner, Cobbs rained down another from the top of the key and Ethan Bower lit the nets on fire at the 4:44 mark spotting the Eagles to a 28-16 lead.
Things were just heating up and the Eagles would have made The Most Interesting Man in the World happy, because "they don't aways settle for three-point shots, but when they do, they prefer to shoot them in a recurring sequence."
Realizing Bower was a threat from distance the Andrews defense ran at him near the arc, but Bower faked a three and drove baseline for a deuce to extend the margin to 30-16. Kyle Shockley added a reverse layup and Bower tilted the Cardinals ship even more converting on consecutive three-balls from the left angle for a 38-16 lead.
During the air assault the Eagles turned the tables on AU, making them commit silly turnovers. Those miscues resulted in a scoreless drought of a little more than eight minutes as KSU limited the early potent Cardinals offense to just three points over the final 10:32 of the first half, while taking a 40-19 lead into halftime.
The hot shooting Eagles continued breaking down the Andrews defense in the final 20 minutes. With 13:31 left on the game clock, Kameron Shockley came up with a loose ball near the Cardinals basket and threaded a full court bounce pass to his younger brother Kyle for a layup and a 58-29 lead.
Kameron Shockley was rewarded for his authentic play at the 6:45 mark, as Cobbs fielded a rebound and tossed the ball ahead to Shockley as he streaked past the Andrews defenders. Shockley took contact, but completed a reverberating dunk and subsequent foul shot for a 68-37 lead which made the Eagles comfortable enough to start celebrating their 18th win of the season.
Cobbs led all scorers with 22 points, he scored 14 of them in the opening half of play. Kameron Shockley was next with 16 points, while Kyle Shockley and Bower both added 11.
The win improved the Golden Eagles record to 18-9 on the season and complete a season series sweep against the Cardinals. They remain home for their last two games of the regular season, as they host CC Beaver County on Wednesday evening at 6 pm and Miami Middletown on Saturday at 1 pm. Both games are revenge games for KSU Tusc who lost to both teams earlier in the season.
Kameron Shockley soars to the hoop for a dunk, while Ethan Bower sank this three-ball for a 28-16 lead.
Nick Wancik gets set on defense against the Cardinals.
Kyle Shockley tosses the ball in for two of his 11 points.
(Photos by Lindsey Nicholson)