Feb. 2, 2008

Final Stats

Johnson C. Smith University (13-7, 7-5 CIAA) outscored Livingstone College 11-1 in overtime to prevail to a 64-54 victory. When these two neighboring schools meet, it's hard to tell which school is the home team with the number of fans from both schools in attendance. The teams played in front a standing-room only crowd of well over 2,300 fans and kept each one in their seat until the very last second.

From the beginning of the contest, neither team controlled more than a six point advantage. By the end of the first half, the score was 29-28 in favor of the Gold and Blue.

The second half was not much different than the first with a closely played contest throughout the entire 20 minutes. There was one time where JCSU went on a 7-0 run (40-32) over the course of six minutes, but that did not last long. The Blue Bears (10-10, 5-8 CIAA) bounced right back going on an 8-0 scoring attack themselves to knot the score at 40-all with eight minutes left in regulation.

With the score reading 53-51 in favor of JCSU, the Blue Bears gave the ball to Santonio Springs hoping he would convert the long ball. His attempt fell short of the mark. There was a tussle for the rebound between JCSU's David Sanders (Buffalo, N.Y.) and Springs. Springs won that battle and converted the put-back tying the score at 53-all with 17 seconds left.

JCSU then quickly drove down the court. Junior Ryan Scott (Reston, Va.) attempted the lay-up but was met with heavy traffic. Springs got the defensive rebound but then turned the ball over. JCSU had one last chance at the victory in regulation with .6 seconds remaining. Unfortunately, the inevitable was upon the game and here came some free basketball.

The Golden Bulls regained their composure and dominated the Blue Bears in overtime. LC was held to just one free throw in the extra session while JCSU scored 11 points en route to the 10-point victory. In all, there were eight lead changes and 10 tied scores in the 45 minutes of play this evening.

Leading the way for JCSU was Jerry Hollis (Charlotte, N.C.) who tallied 17 points and eight rebounds. Sanders had a monstrous defensive outing with 11 rebounds and a career high four blocks. Fellow senior Edmund Rainey (Buffalo, N.Y.) fell one rebound shy of a double-double with 13 points and nine boards. Rounding out the double-digit scorers were freshman Ronald Thornhill (Alberta, Va.) and senior Maurice Hooper (Reidsville, N.C.) with 12 and 11 points respectively.

Michael Duncan was the only Blue Bear in double-digits with 11 points. Travis Young had 12 rebounds in the loss.

Johnson C. Smith returns to action on Tuesday, Feb. 5 when they host the Trojans of Virginia State University. Game time is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. in the Jack S. Brayboy Gymnasium.