For the second straight year the Golden Eagles swept a pair of games in their own Christmas Classic. This time it was made possible by KSU Tusc's own Grinch who literally stole the show with nine steals while stuffing his Christmas stocking with a collegiate career high 20 points to lift the Eagles past CCAC 86-75.
Christmas tale or fairy tale, the Eagles wrote a wonderful script in the opening act of the contest and burst to a 20-4 lead. That guy in green, uh, the one wearing jersey No. 11--- Vinny Roper ---inserted himself as the hero early and ended the night as the catalyst to KSU Tusc's victory.
With the game tied 2-2, Roper stole the ball and raced in for a layup to give the navy and gold a 4-2 lead. Seconds later, he pilfered the ball again and kicked it to Ethan Bower who drained a triple to make it 7-2. Then the spoilsport hit a runner and committed a third theft and was rewarded with a great feed on a backdoor cut for an easy hoop as KSU Tusc led 15-4 at the 12:47 mark.
The Wild Cats responded in a big way however, outscoring the Eagles 25-9---14-0 at one juncture---to trim Tusc's lead to 25-23. The combatants traded the lead five times over in the last five minutes of the half. A layup and a pair of free throws by Roper with 3:11 left boosted the Eagles to a 35-34 lead and they finished the half with a 40-39 lead, but some of their luster had tarnished a bit.
It was more tit for tat at the start of the final act despite two early Roper buckets, one courtesy of another one of his own thefts. Suddenly, CCAC took a 50-49 lead and they wouldn't give it back. They toyed with the lead which got as high as eight points at 61-53 for over ten minutes, but KSU Tusc wasn't about to settle for a lump of coal for Christmas.
Kameron Shockley stole the ball and raced downcourt for a jam, Ethan Bower hit a three-ball followed by two more Shockley buckets and a resounding dunk with 7:44 to play to draw the Eagles within striking distance at 66-65. The Wild Cats scored to make it 68-65, but two Kyle Shockley free throws sliced the margin to one again at 68-67.
Just in like any fable you never poke the bear. Well, in this case the mean one, Mr. Grinch.
Enter CCAC's antagonist once again in the form of Roper. He made another steal which he tossed to Kyle Shockley for dunk with 6:10 left as the Eagles stole the lead back 70-68. The precarious lead teetered near the edge like the Grinch's overpacked sled as Shockley zoned in two more free throws for a 72-68 advantage.
Twice more in the final minutes Roper was there to close the door---at least part way. With 4:58 left he stole the ball once again and raced home for a layup spotting the Eagles to a 74-71 lead. When the Wild Cats closed to 74-73, he answered the call by going glass on a drive for a 76-73 margin with 3:30 left. With 2:44 left, he split a pair of free throws for a 77-75 cushion. It was all KSU Tusc would need.
With 2:25 to go Roper had a clear lane to the basket, but he showed some big heart passing up a shot and giving the ball to Kameron Shockley for a dunk and a 79-75 lead. The Eagles defense did their part to keep the ending from turning into a Brothers Grimm twisted tale by holding CCAC scoreless over the last 3:10 of the game. Meanwhile, the Grinch added a little more insult to injury as he blocked a Wild Cats shot into the backcourt with :29.7 left. CCAC was stunned and didn't foul until it was too late as Roper's heart seemed to have grown two sizes too big.
Vinny Roper and Kyle Shockley led KSU Tusc with 20 points each. Roper made 8/12 action shots, had those nine fateful steals and added six caroms while Shockley was 6/10 from the floor and 8/10 from the charity stripe and grabbed eight boards. Ethan Bower rained in 19 points making 5/9 three-point tries and Kameron Shockley scored 18 points on 8/11 from the floor, snagged nine rebounds and dished out six assists.
The Golden Eagles home record remains spotless at 5-0 on the season, as they raised their overall record to 9-4. After a short holiday rest, they will host a huge double header against Villa Maria College on Friday, Dec. 29th at 4 pm and Cincinnati Clermont on Saturday, Dec. 30th at 1 pm. Admission for both games is $5 at the door and is on a cash only basis.
Kyle Shockley scored 20 points againt the Wild Cats while brother Kameron scored 18 in the 86-75 win.
Vinny Roper had a multitude of steals like this one against CCAC and scored 20 points.
(Photos by Lindsey Nicholson)