Bobcats Fall Short in OT Thriller
The Bryant & Stratton College men’s basketball team went on the road to Peoria, IL last night where they suffered a thrilling overtime...
MILWAUKEE, WI. (February 20, 2018) – The Bryant & Stratton College men's basketball team went on the road to Peoria, IL last night where they suffered a thrilling overtime loss to Illinois Central College 87-85.
This marked as the Bobcats second loss in a row as they fall to 14-14 overall with one game remaining in the regular season. The Bobcats have lost four of their last five games by four points or less.
Both teams came out strong as there were multiple lead changes throughout the first half. A remarkable shooting display by both sides consisted of the Bobcats shooting 14-26 in the first half and the Cougars shooting 19-34.
"Our shot selection was very good throughout the first half," Bobcats head coach Brian Richert said. "We were making the extra pass and getting easy baskets underneath the rim."
At the end of the first the Bobcats trailed 43-36.
To start the second half of play, the Bobcats struck first as they were able to tie the game midway through the half.
"The difference was we were contesting more of their shots which forced misses and allowed us to get out in transition," Richert said.
With under a minute to go the Bobcats led by four and seemed well on their way to a victory. After a couple uncharacterstic turnovers, the Cougars tied the game up at 72-72 a-piece with just seconds remaining. At that time, the Cougars forced another turnover which led to a potential breakway layup but the Bobcats fouled. The Cougars went to the charity strike to win the game with 0.2 seconds remaining but missed both free throws; this gave the Bobcats a second chance to win the game in overtime.
Overtime consisted of a back and forth battle by both sides but with just seconds on the clock the Cougars held a four-point lead and the Bobcats were unable to overcome the deficit.
Jeffrey Steel (Miami, FL) led the Bobcats with 25 points followed by Lewrenzo Byers with 23 points and eight assists.
Lincoln Wieseman (Lake Geneva, WI) added 12 points and eight rebounds.
Up next for the Bobcats is the final game of the regular season at home against Kennedy-King College on Thursday February 22.
Tip-off takes place at 7:00pm. Spectators can view the game live on the official YouTube Channel
The Bobcats will look to capture a victory in their last regular season game to gain some momentum going into the playoffs.