Nineteen points off turnovers, some ole' defense and unguarded shooters can all make a bright sunny Sunday a gloomy one. The Golden Eagles managed to combine all those imperfect ingredients in falling hard to Miami Hamilton 78-64, losing their second straight game on a weekend trip to Southwestern Ohio.
They seemed a step slow and too late on passing decisions as they threw away possessions and allowed a single digit win team to be the better team on this particular day.
It didn't start out that way in a first half that saw eight ties and 10 lead changes, but the navy and gold found themselves on the short end of a 41-31 score with 1:51 left to play. They managed to close out the half with a triple by Braden Rostad, a Vinny Roper lay in and a long distance shot from Ethan Bower with :04 remining to cut into the double-digit deficit and trail 43-39 at the intermission.
Going into the locker room they had to feel good about themselves despite not playing their best basketball and surrendering 10 first half points on seven turnovers.
The second half however, started with a Harriers three-ball to quickly wrest any momentum away from KSU Tusc. It took the out of snyc Golden Eagles nearly four minutes to get off the ground with a basket, but three turnovers in their first five possessions allowed Hamilton to expand their lead to 55-41 at the 16:23 mark.
KSU did show some signs of life and whittled the lead down to 59-54 on a Kyle Shockley jumper with 10:54 remaining, but it was as close as the Eagles would get.
They added to their own demise by committing five turnovers in their next 10 possessions to trail 72-60 with 3:28 left in the game. Hamilton also scored three times on uncontested layups off of inbounds passes from the baseline---a cardinal sin.
At one point, the Eagles stood flatfooted in disbelief after missing an easy layup and watched as an MUH player raced the length of the court for an uncontested layup that seemed to break their will. To further complicate matters, they committed 10 second half miscues that translated into 11 MUH points.
With :54 left KSU Tusc trailed 76-60 and after two Kameron Shockley buckets, they ended the game just as they started---with a turnover on their final possession.
The Golden Eagles fell to 16-8 on the season, while the Harriers evened their record at 10-10.
Rostad and Kameron Shockley both posted 14 points for the Eagles, with Rostad making four three-point shots. Kyle Shockley contributed 12 points.
On Friday, February 9th the Eagles travel to Andrews University hoping to get back on the winning track.
James Roundtree battles for a rebound.
(Photo by Patty Tolloti)