Williams’ Heroics Leads Spartans to OT win over Boston University
BOSTON, Mass. – Pendarvis Williams scored the last six points of regulation and then sealed the comeback with some late free throws in overtime to give the Norfolk State men’s basketball team an 86-82 victory over Boston University on Sunday afternoon at Case Gym.
The Spartans found themselves down eight with less than two minutes to go in the second half. After a bucket from senior Malcolm Hawkins, Williams connected on a pull-up jumper from the right side and then stole the inbounds pass for another quick two points with a minute to go.
After BU’s 3-point attempt came up empty, Williams drove down the left side of the lane and hit a floater from seven feet out right along the edge of the paint with just 9.6 seconds to go. A desperation 3-pointer from BU fell short at the buzzer, sending NSU to its first overtime game this year.
In the extra session, Williams connected on a deep trey from the right key to give the Spartans the lead back, 72-70, with 2:13 on the clock after Travis Robinson had drained a trey for BU in the previous possession.
Senior Anell Alexis dropped in a 3-pointer from the right corner and added a pair of free throws for a five-point edge, 79-74, with 28.3 seconds left. Hawkins sank a pair from the free throw line, and Williams went 5-of-6 in the last 10 seconds to seal the victory.
Williams finished with 27 points on 9-of-13 shooting, including four 3-pointers. Hawkins added 17 points, and Alexis finished with 16 points and seven boards.
Read the complete story at NSUSpartans.com.
Howard Defeats Delaware State in Big Apple Classic
Brooklyn, NY--James “JT” Miller scored the game-winning basket with 16 seconds in overtime and then the defense held on as Howard University edged Delaware State, 64-62 in a thrilling Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference game in the Seventh Annual Big Apple Classic at the Barclays Center.
Miller’s play was set up after the Hornets’ Casey Walker converted two free throws to tie the game at 62 with 1:51 on the clock. From there, both teams had chances but failed to convert. The Bison defense forced an errant shot by Delaware State and gained possession. Howard called a timeout and spread the floor. It allowed Miller to dribble past his defender and score on a reverse shot.
The Hornets came down and got a shot that was contested and went out of bounds with 3.1 seconds left. On the inbounds, Walker attempted a three-point shot that would have won the game, but it came up short and Howard’s Prince Okoroh gathered it in as the clock ran out and ended the Bison’s 11-game losing streak.
It was only fitting that Okoroh factor in the last play. The 6-5 junior forward put the young Bison on his back in the second half and the overtime and carried them. He scored 15 of his game-high 21 points in the second half and overtime while corralling a career-high 11 rebounds, many of them coming at crucial times.
The game was one of runs by both teams. The Bison (3-11, 1-1 MEAC) came out strong to start the game on the long-range shooting of freshman forward Solomon Mangham and Miller, who combined for 19 first half points. Howard led by as many as 13 with a little over eight minutes left in the first half before Delaware State rallied with a run of its own, led by Kendall Williams, who scored 15 of his team-high 19 points in the first 20 minutes. The Hornets led by as many as 11 before settling for a 38-31 halftime lead.
Read the complete story at HUBison.com.
Brilliant First-Half Not Enough for Hawks in Loss to Oregon State
CORVALLIS, Ore. – The University of Maryland Eastern Shore men’s basketball team was defeated by Oregon State, 98-66, at Gill Coliseum before 2,404 fans on Sunday afternoon. The contest, which was the first ever meeting between the two, was dominated in the paint by Oregon State in the second-half. With the loss, UMES drops to 2-5 on the year, while Oregon State moves to 5-2.
Trailing by just one at the half, UMES could not hold its own in the second as Oregon State took control early in last period. The Beavers scored 15 unanswered points across an eight minute span in the middle of the period to run with the game. UMES put up a valiant fight throughout the first, but foul trouble and a substantial size difference would plague the Hawks the rest of the way. Oregon State completed nine three-point plays altogether.
UMES fell behind quickly in the game as Oregon State used a three-point play by Devon Collier to jump out to a 15-7 lead after six minutes of play. Oregon State would hold a multi-possession lead for the next ten minutes, but the Hawks would use seven consecutive points by freshman Hakeem Baxter (Philadelphia, Pa.) to bring the game to within three, 28-25, with three to go. UMES held the Beavers scoreless for nearly five minutes in that span.
After two free-throws by OSU’s Angus Brandt, junior Isaac Smith (Chicago, Ill.) buried two consecutive three-pointers to give the Hawks their first lead of the game, 31-30, with 1:20 remaining. OSU scored the next three points to take the advantage, but two free-throws by junior KyRee Jones (Indianapolis, Ind.) closed the gap to one, 34-33, at the halftime break. The Hawks shot 6-of-11 from three-point range and held the Beavers to just one field goal in the last eight minutes.
Read more at UMESHawks.com.