Centre defeats Oglethorpe 76-75 in overtime for SAA championship - Mar 10, 2014
The
Centre men's basketball team used some late game heroics to defeat
Oglethorpe 76-75 in overtime and claim its second straight Southern
Athletic Association Tournament championship on Sunday in Danville, Ky. Though
the Colonels had previously beaten Oglethorpe twice on the way to a
13-1 SAA record and regular season conference championship, they found
themselves in a tough spot in the closing minutes of Sunday's game. The
Stormy Petrels took their first lead on a Tyler Courson (6'3''-G) 3-pointer with 3:25 remaining and were up 65-62 after a pair of Alex Davis (6'0''-PG) free throws with 30 seconds to play. With time running out, Collin Lopez
(6'2''-G) (Louisville, Ky.) made a deep 3-pointer from well beyond the
arc to tie the game at 65 with 19 seconds left. After Centre kept
Oglethorpe from scoring on the other end, Lopez buried another 3-pointer
to start off the overtime period. Matt Gump
(6'4''-G) (Bellefontaine, Ohio) made another 3-pointer on the next
Centre possession to put Centre up 71-65 with 1:55 left in overtime, and
the Colonels led the rest of the way. Courson, who led all players with
21 points, made two 3-pointers and a layup in the final minute, but
Lopez, Blake Blake Scinta
(6'8''-C) (Louisville, Ky.) and Donovan Whiteside (Knoxville, Tenn.)
made free throws down the stretch for Centre to keep the lead at two
possesions. Blake Scinta led Centre with 18 points while Lopez finished with 16. Five Colonels reached double figures, with Josh Karsner (6'4''-F) (Frankfort, Ky.) adding 11 off the bench and Whiteside and Ryan Murray (6'0''-PG) (Springboro, Ohio) each scoring 10. Similarly
to the Colonels' semifinal win over Rhodes, Centre opened the game on
an early run, going up 9-2. The Colonels controlled much of the first
half and eventually led by as many as 14 points when a Blake Scinta layup put them up 35-21 just inside the five minute mark. Centre
took a 39-32 lead to the half, but the Petrels opened the second half
with an 8-2 surge to cut the margin to one. The margin remained within
six points the rest of the way. Overall,
Centre shot 53 percent (26-of-49) to Oglethorpe's 41 percent
(29-of-70). Oglethorpe held a 35-30 rebounding advantage, including 19-5
on the offensive glass, and turned the ball over just six times to the
Colonels' 12.
Courtesy of Centre
SAA Tournament Final: Centre - Oglethorpe 76-75
SAA Tournament Semifinals: Centre - Rhodes 64-61
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Mason
