It was hard to watch!
But I can imagine it was doubly hard to coach and probably triply as hard to play through the commission of 31 turnovers in a single game.
The Golden Eagles did it. And, they did it after falling behind by double digits late in the game against Bryant and Stratton Buffalo on the road. And, they managed it all after a four-hour plus bus ride, playing without the services of two players----one a starter----while never leading in the second half until there were only :16.7 precious seconds of life left in the game.
Oh, and they won! The USCAA D2, No. 7 ranked Golden Eagles took down the USCAA D1, No. 4 ranked Bobcats 60-58 even while mired in what seemed like a rock fight for most of the game while breaking a two-game losing skid.
After leading 26-25 at halftime, the Eagles trailed 42-41 after a James Roundtree 15-foot jumper at the left elbow, before the host Bobcats took a 10-point, 51-41 lead with 6:15 left in the final half ripping off nine straight points. They were the beneficiaries of three consecutive Eagles turnovers via a trapping full court press. A lob over top of the pressure for an Arthur Jackson tip in at the rim with 4:30 left, started an Eagles uprising and somebody, as you might say, poked the proverbial bear.
DeJuan Lawrence, KSU Tusc's 6'8" center netted a beautiful 12-foot jumper and followed with a short one in the lane to trim the deficit to 54-49. Following a Bobcat offensive foul, Lawrence rammed home a dunk off a missed shot and the bench erupted as the gap narrowed to 54-51 with 3:06 left.
He, yes, that man Lawrence wasn't finished yet.
After blocking a shot, Lawrence collected the loose ball but lost his balance and fell to the floor as the ball bounded out of bounds. The Eagles were called for a foul on the ensuing
Bobcats offensive set, but they missed two fateful free throws with 2:29 to play. Lawrence was fouled after picking the second miss out of the air. He calmly walked to the opposite end of the court and sank both free throws which cut the lead to 54-53 at the 1:53 mark.
Bryant and Stratton would finally make a basket to expand the lead to 56-53, but just as quickly, JaJuantae Young weaved his way through the Bobcats press for an easy basket with 1:20 left. The score stood 56-55 as the Eagles call timeout.
Out of the break the Bobcats got an unexpectedly easy backdoor hoop that gave them another three-point cushion at 58-55 with :56.7 seconds left. It almost appeared like the Bobcats were playing from behind, as London Cobbs was fouled almost immediately after the Eagles inbounded the ball. Cobbs sank both charity tosses to make it a one-point game again (58-57).
The Eagles got another chance after forcing two errant Bobcat shots at the rim. Kameron Shockley was fouled in the melee for the rebound and moved the game into a deadlock at 58-58 when he split a pair of free throws as the ugliness brightened. Seconds later, the Bobcats missed another shot and the Eagles raced downcourt with the ball. A Golden Eagles misfire resulted in a backside offensive rebound by Cobbs who laid the ball over the rim for the final points of the game and a 60-58 lead with :16.7 ticks remaining in a beautiful ending.
But there was still drama left to unfold.
Bryant and Stratton worked the ball into their front court and looked for an open path to the basket. They were forced to kick the ball into the corner where Kameron Shockley deflected the ball out of bounds with :06.2 left in the game. The Bobcats sideline inbounds pass went toward their basket, but it was knocked away and out of bounds underneath the hoope by Cobbs with :05.9 to go. The two teams called consecutive timeouts to assess the inbounds strategy after viewing one another's setup.
The Eagles denied an entry pass into the lane and the ball was tossed outside the arc on the opposite side of the floor. They ran at the Bobcats player and forced him to make another pass as the seconds drained off the clock. As time ran out, the Bobcats had to settle for an uncomfortable three-ball attempt which was long and the rebound was snared by the Eagles as the buzzer sounded.
In the game, the Eagles had two players achieve double-doubles. Lawrence led the way with a scoring 13 points on 5/11 shooting and hauling down 15 boards. He was also a perfect 3/3 from the free throw line. Joining him in double figures was Cobbs who finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds, while Kameron Shockley contributed a solid 10 points on 4/9 shooting, eight rebounds and four blocked shots. As a team the Eagles made 25/58 action shots (43%), were 7/11 from the free throw line (64%) and held a 51-33 rebounding edge. They limited Bryant and Stratton to 30% shooting on 20/66 tries. The Bobcats converted on 11/16 free throws for 69%.
Now 8-4 on the season, the Golden Eagles host Terra State on Friday, January 14th in a 7:00 p.m. start. They will also be at home on Sunday, January 16th for a 3:00 p.m. game against Bryant and Stratton Cleveland.
DeJuan Lawrence had 13 points & 15 rebounds at B&S Buffalo.
London Cobbs had 12 points & 10 rebounds along with the game winning hoop.
Photos by Andrew Dolph