Courtesy of LoyolaGreyhounds.com
VESTAL, N.Y. – Loyola University Maryland trailed by 16 points with less than 10 minutes to go in regulation, but the Greyhounds’ defense found its stride late, and Loyola overcame Binghamton University to a 90-85 overtime victory Saturday afternoon at Dr. Bai Lee Court at the Events Center.
The Bearcats (7-5 overall) led by nine, 42-33, at halftime after making 16 of 22 shots in the first half (72.7 percent), but Loyola cut that deficit to 53-46 on a Jarred Jones jumper with 13:12 left in regulation. Binghamton, however, scored 11 of the next 13 points and led 64-48 after two Willie Rodriguez free throws with 9:12 to play.
From that point until the end of regulation, however, Loyola held Binghamton to 5 of 11 from the floor and 3 of 6 from the foul line. The Greyhounds, meanwhile went 9 of 14 from the field and 9 of 10 from the free-throw line. Helping matters, Loyola outrebounded Binghamton 9-4 in the final nine minutes of the second half.
Three Andre Walker threes, wrapped around four Jarred Jones free throws and a Chuck Champion jumper, pulled the Greyhounds within 10 at 5:16.
Everson Davis had a layup for Binghamton with 3:34 on the clock, but an and-one score by Jones trimmed the deficit to seven, 75-68, with 3:25 on the clock. Chancellor Barnard then converted a dunk off a Walker assist, and it was a five-point Binghamton lead with 2:28 on the clock.
Davis’ layup would be the Bearcats’ last field goal made of the second half.
Timmy Rose was fouled on Binghamton’s next possession, but he hit just one of two at the line, and Walker made a three on Loyola’s offensive end to make it a one-possession game, 76-73, with 1:43 on the clock.
Rodriguez misfired on an inside look for the Bearcats, and Barnard came away with the rebound. Kostecka was fouled, and he hit two free throws, bring Loyola within a point, 76-75 with 69 ticks left.
Binghamton’s J.C. Show drew a foul, but he missed the back-end of two at the line, and the Bearcats were up 77-75 with 44.5 seconds on the clock.
Walker drove and was fouled with 19.3 ticks showing, and he buried both free throws, tying the game at 77-77.
The Bearcats brought the ball over the timeline and called a timeout with 14.3 seconds left. Show drove into the paint and stepped back for a 10-foot jumper, but Jones swatted his shot, and the game headed to overtime.
Barnard gave the Greyhounds their first lead since 10:56 in the first half with a layup 1:30 into overtime, pushing Loyola up 79-77. Thomas Bruce was fouled on Binghamton’s end of the floor and made one of two at the line, getting the Bearcats within a point.
On Loyola’s next possession, the Greyhounds missed three shots but got as many offensive rebounds, and Jones stuck a layup with 2:00 on the clock, to spread the margin to three. The Greyhounds then forced a missed Yacob shot, and Kostecka came down with the rebound for Loyola.
Jones missed a 20-foot shot, but Barnard followed up with a putback dunk, and Loyola led by five, 83-78, with 69 seconds left in the first overtime.
Marlon Beck II could not hit a 3-point attempt for Binghamton, and Barnard was fouled after corralling the rebound. He made the second of two at the line, and Loyola led by six with 43 seconds left.
Thomas Bruce’s dunk with 34 ticks remaining pulled the Bearcats back within four, and Binghamton called a timeout.
Champion was fouled for with 26 seconds on to clock, and he hit two foul shots, and the Greyhounds led by six, 86-80. Show, however, made a three with 15 ticks left, and it back to a one-possession game.
Walker was fouled with 12 seconds left, and he made both free throws, putting Loyola up five, 88-83. Binghamton came back with a Bruce basket with five seconds left, and it was a three-point game once again.
Champion again was fouled and went to the line where he sank both shots with four seconds left to seal the win. Prior to this game, Champion was just 1 of 2 at the line in his young career. With his final fouls shots, he finished the game with a career-best eight points in 23 minutes of action.
Jones led all players with 25 points and 11 rebounds while Walker scored 16 of his 19 points in the second half and overtime. Kostecka finished with 12 points and a career-high nine rebounds, and Barnard and James Fives both scored 11. It was the first time this season Loyola has had five players score in double figures.
Overall, Loyola posted a 42-26 advantage on the glass, 12-2 in overtime. After Binghamton took its 16-point lead with just over nine to play in regulation, Loyola outrebounded the Bearcats 21-6.
Loyola (4-6 overall) raced out to a 12-4 lead on an Andrew Kostecka 3-pointer 3 minutes, 31 seconds into the game, and a James Fives three put the Greyhounds in front 17-8, but threes on back-to-back possessions pulled Binghamton (8-4) back within three at 12:50 in the first half.
Yosef Yacob converted a layup at 11:50 to make it a one-point game, and Dusan Perovic then scored at 10:56 to give the Bearcats a lead they would not relinquish until overtime.
Bruce paced Binghamton with 20 points, while Rodriguez had 17. Loyola, however, held Show and Bobby Ahern to four and five points, respectively. Entering the game, Show was leading the Bearcats with 14.1 points per game, and Ahern was the reigning America East Conference Player of the Week and averaging 11.6 points.
Loyola will take a 13-day break for fall-semester final exams before playing its next game. The Greyhounds will host UMass-Lowell at 1 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 23, in Reitz Arena.
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