An ancient proverb says, "Turnabout is fair play. It is allowable to retaliate against an enemy's tricks by using the same ones against them." That's just what KSU Tusc did in outlasting Bryant & Stratton Buffalo on Sunday night 122-113 in Founders Hall Gym.
After playing a near flawless opening 20 minutes and heralding a 68-39 lead at the intermission, the Eagles played through a physical, foul-plagued second half as the Bobcats weared down their prey only to come up nine points short even though they outscored the navy and gold by 20 points in the final frame.
KSU Tusc avenged a January 4th shellacking at Buffalo (97-64), but this time it was the USCAA DII, No. 6 Golden Eagles turn to set things right against the DI, No. 2 ranked Bobcats.
A slew surprises awaited the Eagles quarry, because they weren't going to roll over this time and were in attack mode from the opening tip. Kameron Shockley tied the game at 2-2 on a lob, Kyle Shockley faked everybody out on a spin move into the lane for a hoop on a fast break and right after that move, Vinny Roper stole the inbounds pass and assisted Kyle Shockley on an easy lay in for a 6-2 lead.
Kameron Shockley rocked the house on a dribble drive from the left wing when he turned the corner at the top of the key on a straight line drive for a one-handed jam and an 8-4 advantage. Just 25 seconds later Shockley saw Ethan Bower cutting back door for another hoop and a 10-4 lead that prompted a Buffalo timeout. The lead spurted to 17-10 before a flurry of baskets over a three and one-half minute period spotted the Eagles a 25-12 margin. Key to the success was a one-man press breaking full court assault to the basket by Javier Ward who boat-raced past Bobcat defenders and who also split and rose above two BSB defenders to sink a short jumper in the lane.
From that point the Bobcats just tried to weather the storm as KSU Tusc went on a 43-27 tear to end the half. They did so on the strength of three Braden Rostad triples in the last 6:34 and another by Bower after the Eagles secured a miss free throw on the offensive end of the floor. Twice during the air raid Kameron Shockley benefitted from a pair of one-handed full court outlet passes---one from brother Kyle and the other from Rostad---to send the crowd into a frenzy after slamming them through the basket.
The final half was a little disconcerting for Eagles fans and to quote Paul Simon, they must have believed the game was in hand and they were "gliding down the highway, when in fact", they were "slip slidin' away."
Buffalo put up a 20-spot on the Eagles while limiting the home team to eight points as they whittled the score down to 95-76 nearing the 11-minute mark. All told, the Bobcats rung up 40 points as the Eagles could only muster 18 of their own during a 10-minute stretch to close to within nine points at 105-96. Problematic for KSU Tusc was the fact that the Shockley brothers were playing with four fouls each and Rostad had three. The interior defense was easily exploited and the perimeter had its own issues as the Bobcats started raining in three balls.
With the game was still hanging in the balance at the 3:05 mark, Kyle Shockley converted on a pair of free throws and Kameron Shockley shook defenders and dunked a ball home for a 115-102 lead. An interior basket and a couple of freebies by Roper finally sealed the win with just under a minute to play and propped the Eagles up with a 122-111 lead.
Five Golden Eagles scored in double figures led by Kameron Shockley's 32 points. Kyle Shockley was right behind with 28 points, Rostad canned 22 tallies, Ward scored 15 and Roper added 11.
On Wednesday, the 19-8 Eagles who have run their home record to 11-0 on the season, travel to the University of Rio Grande for a 6pm game.
Kyle Shockley takes some contact dribbling upcourt and scored 28 points in the Eagles win over Bryant & Stratton Buffalo.
Kameron Shockley dunks home two of his game high 32 points and Braden Rostad lines up one of six three points he sank while scoring 22 points.
(Photos by Lindsey Nicholson)