The Student News Site of Bob Jones University

The Collegian

The Student News Site of Bob Jones University

The Collegian

The Student News Site of Bob Jones University

The Collegian

Spartans dominate Rams 50-47 in overtime thriller

Rams+and+Spartans+go+into+overtime%2C+Spartans+barely+winning.+Photo+by+Holly+Diller%2C+29.15
Rams and Spartans go into overtime, Spartans barely winning. Photo by Holly Diller, 29.15

Ben Gingery led the Sigma Alpha Chi Spartans to a 50-47 overtime victory over the Phi Kappa Pi Rams 50-47 Friday night.

Gingery drained a three-pointer as time expired in regular time to tie the game, and the Spartans would go on to win in overtime, overcoming a 15-point deficit and a 19-point performance from the Rams’ Micah Gold.

Both teams started out slow offensively, but the Spartans’ defense cracked first, and the Rams’ offense began to find the basket. Gold became a key cog in the Rams’ half-court offense, as he attacked the rim repeatedly.

On defense, the Rams set up in a 2-3 zone, daring the Spartans to beat them from behind the arc. The zone proved to be effective, as the Spartans missed several long-range attempts early, and the Rams pulled out to a 20-10 lead with 6:22 left in the first half.

Despite a timeout, the Spartans could not capitalize on offense, and the Rams took a 26-16 lead into halftime.

The second half looked as if it would be similar to the first, as Gold opened with a long three on the first possession. However, the Spartans’ Evan Fisher countered with a three of his own, sparking a small Spartans’ run to narrow the gap to 39-26. The Rams responded, forcing the Spartans to take a timeout down 43-30 with just 7:37 left in the game.

The timeout proved to be effective, as the Spartans began to slowly chip away at the lead. With 2:45 left, the Rams lead had dwindled to just seven. The Rams’ usually potent offense suddenly turned stagnant and one-dimensional, letting the Spartans capitalize and narrow the gap to just three with 40 seconds left.

Up by just three, the Rams were unable to find a basket, and the Spartans called a timeout with 15.9 seconds. If the Spartans tried to run a play, it did not work as planned, but Gingery hit a wild three-point shot from well beyond the arc to send the game into overtime.

The comeback seemed to demoralize the Rams, and the Spartans jumped out to a quick lead after converting a Rams’ turnover into a fast-break layup. The Rams were down by only three, however, and called a timeout with 19.9 seconds left in overtime. They hit a quick layup, but were unable to overcome the deficit. The Spartans finished off the come-from-behind win with a final score of 50-47.

Afterwards, Gold blamed selfish play as the reason for the Rams’ collapse.

“I think we were too selfish,” Gold said. “We tried to go one-on-one with them, and it didn’t work out for us.”

The Spartans are now in a four-way tie for first place in the National League with Beta, Omega and the Royals. Beta currently bests the other three with a +72-point differential.

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Spartans dominate Rams 50-47 in overtime thriller