Men's Basketball Falls Short in Double Overtime Thriller

SYLVANIA, OH - UNOH men's basketball played one of the best games of the season Wednesday night at the Russell J. Ebeid Rec Center, but the final nod was not in their favor losing a heartbreaker to Lourdes, 111-107, in double overtime.

Momentum swung violently back and forth all night but a slow start in each half forced the Racers to play from behind most of the game. The Gray Wolves went up 18 early opening the game 24-6 in less than eight minutes, but like Newton's Third Law, every action had an equal and opposite reaction. The first came over the next six minutes as the Racers held Lourdes 0-10 from the field and rattled off a massive 19-0 run to take their first lead of the night, 25-24, with 6:15 left in the half. The two began trading blows as the lead shifted five times before a quick 10-2 spurt gave the Gray Wolves a seven point advantage at the break.

Quickly the lead was pushed back up to ten to start the second, 47-37, but it was the final time as the gap was never more than seven for either team over the final 25 minutes of game time. The teams kept matching each other producing four ties and four lead chacnges but with 63 seconds remaining, UNOH held a 79-75 lead with a chance to steal the upset. After a couple Lourdes free throws and a missed shot for the Racers, the game was on the line in the Gray Wolves' final possession. The initial game-tying shot was missed but an offensive rebound and put back at the buzzer did enough to send the game into overtime.

Both teams led in the first overtime period but neither by more than two points as the two went toe-to-toe down the stretch. Once more, it was UNOH with a chance to finish the game holding a 92-90 lead with just 25 seconds left. Lourdes missed an initial game-tying shot again but another offensive board resulted in a foul and a chance to tie the game at the line. Both free throws were knocked down and forced a second extra frame to decide a winner.

The same trends continued with four more lead changes before Lourdes hit a big three at the 1:42 mark that put them in front for good. The Racers kept fighting and trailed by just two, 109-107, with three seconds to go, but another pair of charity tosses sealed the game for the Gray Wolves.

The teams combined to shoot 46% from the field making 77 total field goals and 45 free throws in the game. The two leading scorers on the night, Lourdes' Derek Fairley and UNOH's Antonio King, combined for 69 points and 19 total rebounds. King's 32 point night matches his career best as he logged his second consecutive double-double. 

Alex Benson came off the bench to mark a new career high with 24 points on 8-13 (62%) shooting. Caleb Chapman and Grant Pikkaart added 16 and 15, respectively, while Chris Johnson established his own personal best with ten off the bench on a perfect 4-4 performance. After coming up just short in back-to-back games, Jyheim Spencer finally got over the hump for his first career double-double scoring ten and grabbing a game high 17 rebounds. With 35 rebounds in his last two games, Spencer moves into second place in the conference averaging 9.3 per game this season.

Rebounding was in the Racers' favor all night as they tallied 53 as a team, their most in conference play this season, with 18 coming on the offensive glass, a season high.

UNOH will return home for one game on Saturday, January 17 when they take on Rochester Christian before hitting the road for three straight at No. 13 Indiana Tech, Lawrence Tech and Siena Heights.