Owings Mills, Md. – Men's basketball comes up short in overtime to Eastern University 78-69 on Saturday afternoon.
First Half
Eastern opened the scoring, which was quickly answered by sophomore forward Cameron Smith; teams traded baskets as the Mustangs led in the first five minute of action, 12-8. Junior guard Cameron Sapienza stretched the Stevenson lead to seven, the biggest lead of the half. The Eagles' answer was to begin to chip away at the lead, but thanks to a fast break by junior guard Ethan Jones, the Mustangs regained the seven-point advantage with a minute to go in the half. In the final second, sophomore forward Nate Arrington jumped and blocked a shot from Eastern's Kawshawn Ward to send the teams to the locker room with the Mustangs up 29-24.
Second Half
The second half opened as the first ended, with the teams matching pace. It wasn't until the 9:38 mark that Eastern captured the lead, but a Smith three put the Mustangs back on top. Stevenson held onto their slight advantage until 2:31 when Eastern's Sam Gallardo hit a three, which was quickly answered by SU graduate student McKale Williams. Following an Eagles layup, Williams sprinted down the court, making a buzzer- beating driving layup to send the game into overtime knotted at 62.
Overtime
The Eagles quickly took control of overtime as Draig Colley sank a layup four seconds in. Eastern climbed to a nine-point lead and sealed their victory 78-69.
Game Statistics
- Holton – 14 pts. 5 reb. 4 ast. 1 blk.
- Williams – 13 pts. 4 reb. 2 ast.
- Sapienza – 13 pts. 2 reb. 2 ast.
- Smith – 12 pts. 2 reb. 1 ast.
- Arrington – 5 pts. 9 reb. 3 ast. 3 stl. 1 blk.
Following the loss, the Mustangs fall to 12-13 (6-11 MACC) and have been eliminated from the MACC playoff picture. Eastern improves to 17-8 (10-6 MACC) and will take on No. 5 York College in the MACC Championship play-In round on Monday, Feb. 20 in St. Davis, Pa.
