Box Score

RIO GRANDE, Ohio – Campbellsville was left for dead by Rio, but the Tigers rallied to tie it in regulation, only to lose 132-121 in double overtime.

 

"It's hard to look a college kid in the face and tell them to keep giving it their all when we keep coming out on the losing end of these close games," said coach Keith Adkins. "We have guys who came in from big-time high schools and who are not familiar to losing. This was a tough one to swallow, but I am proud of my guys for fighting and not giving up in regulation."

 

Campbellsville trailed 92-79 with 2:15 left in regulation but Elliott Young and Miles Rice sparked the Tiger comeback.

 

Young hit his fourth 3-pointer of the game and the Tigers were down only 10 with 2:05 remaining. But that is when fellow freshman, Miles Rice, came alive.

 

Rice hit three 3-pointers in a span of 45 seconds to cut the Rio Grande lead to two.

 

Darius Clement fouled Jermaine Warmack with 14 seconds on the clock. Warmack, who was a perfect 15-for-15 from the charity stripe at this point, missed the back-end of the double bonus.

 

Eric Gaines gathered the rebound and passed to Rice sprinting up the court with 13 seconds left on the clock. Rice passed up a deep 3, but saw some daylight on a step-back shot attempt and was fouled by Rio's Josh Reagan.

 

The game was on Rice's shoulders and the freshman from Shelbyville, Ky. went to the free throw line. He showed his poise, hitting all three while the Rio Grande faithful tried desperately to rattle the freshman.

 

The free throws tied the game at 101 but Rio's D.D. Joiner narrowly missed a half-court heave at the buzzer.

 

OVER TIME #1!

 

Both teams started the extra five-minute period with turnovers, but Young fouled Reagan. Rio's big man, who was playing in only his fifth game of the season due to ineligibility, missed the first but made the second free throw attempt to give the RedStorm a 102-101 lead.

 

Rice came back down and with four seconds left on the shot clock drove in the middle of the lane and his circus shot went in as Joiner fouled him. Rice made the old-fashioned 3-point play and gave CU the lead 103-101.

 

With 55 seconds left on the clock in the first OT, Darius Clement was also fouled on his shot attempted in the paint that went down as well. The junior from Bowling Green, Ky. knocked down his free throw to put CU up by two points.

 

Adkins rushed A'Darius Pegues back in the game so the big-man could have a presence in the lane for the Tigers. But Rio did not back-down against the 6-10 junior as Reagan received an entry pass and went right at Pegues who was called for a touch foul; which was his fifth.

 

Reagan knocked down both free throws and Campbellsville rushed back down the court trying to uncork the tie at 111.

 

Clement drove to the lane again and this time, Rio's big-man Reagan fouled the CU guard, which also was his fifth foul. Clement stepped to the line shooting 83-percent from the charity stripe but missed both.

 

On the ensuing possession for Rio, Warmack got the ball across center court and dribbled the clock down to eight seconds before he started to make his move. But Eric Gaines came up with a CU steal and rushed forward with four seconds left on the clock. The junior transfer from Kent State University, got to just past half court and his desperation heave went all the way down but came right back up. Game tied at 111.

 

OVER TIME #2!

 

With a short-handed bench the CU coaching staff did everything it could. Adkins gathered his troops in the huddle and gave one last speech before the final overtime period.

 

"Guys, I am so proud of you all for the way you battled back and the poise you showed in the later stages of the game. We had every opportunity to call it a night but we didn't and battled back. No matter the outcome, I am proud of each and every one of you."

 

Rio's Ricky Tisdale opened the second overtime with a 3-point basket. but no one else than Rice came right back down the floor for Campbellsville and answered with a triple of his own. Game now tied at 114 with 4:05 remaining.

 

But the minutes started to pile up for CU as the top three scorers (Gaines, Rice and Clement) all played 40-plus minutes with Rice playing 44:44.

 

Rio Grande's Phillip Hertz picked up a Clement turnover and drove to the basket where he was fouled by Gaines, which was his fifth. The Tigers, now without two of three bigger players, aallowed Rio capitalized.

 

The RedStorm went on an 11-0 run after the foul-out by Gaines. CU stopped the bleeding with 53 seconds left on a Rice free throw, but Rio came back down and finished on a 17-7 run to close out the game, 132-121 in double OT.

 

Rice finished the night with a career-high 41 points. The freshman was 11-for-21 total and 6-for-11 from 3-point range. But his shooting down the stretch is what put Campbellsville into the overtime periods. He also shot 13-for-16 from the free throw line.

 

Young also recorded a career high but did so in just the first 20 minutes of play. He finished the first half with 12 points but added on after the break and finished with 23. He was 8-for-12 overall and 4-for-6 from behind the arc. He also was a perfect 3-for-3 from the charity stripe. Young was also one rebound shy of a double-double as he finished with nine.

 

"It's tough to have career nights and it be hampered by a loss like this," said Adkins. "But those guys know how to win and it's going to take hard work for the rest of the season but they are up for the challenge and showed they weren't freshman anymore after tonight."

 

CU also had four others in double figures as Gaines finished with 17, Clement with 15 and Jordan Myers and Pegues with 10.

 

Reagan for Rio Grande finished the night with a career-high 36 points. The matchup between Reagan and the CU defenders was tough as Adkins and CU assistant Bryan Milburn threw multiple players at him.

 

"It was tough for us because he is such a force in the post," said Adkins. "We don't have a true power forward and used our small forwards to play the four position a lot and they do not guard out on the floor as well. Reagan is a good player with good instincts on both sides of the ball. He took advantage of the situation and mismatches tonight."

 

Before all the fireworks happened for both squads there still was a first half in the game. Rio scored 54 points, which was a season high for the first half. The RedStorm took a 54-45 lead at the intermission.

 

 "We gave up 54 points in the first half and that will doom us every time. We did battle back and that showed a lot about our team but it's a lot to ask when you give up that many points in one half. I told the guys at the half that sports are all about teams getting breaks and others not. Rio got the breaks tonight when it needed it and we didn't. All you can do is keep playing and never give up.

 

"I do not doubt our competitiveness and effort. That has been there from day one for all nine players we threw out there tonight," said Adkins. "But sometimes our competitive nature takes over and we try to do too much. We need to be able to play at a competitive level and give 100 percent but convert that into competing with intelligence. That'll come with experience."

 

CU came into today's matchup and had won 11 of 13 meetings against Rio since the 1970 season. But the Tigers (7-9, 2-6 MSC) drop their second straight game on the road trip to southern Ohio to move to 16-7 overall against the RedStorm. Keith Adkins is now 8-2 against Rio coach Ken French.

 

In tonight's double OT loss, it was the most points allowed and scored by CU in a conference game since joining the Mid-South in 1995. It was also the last time the Tigers had scored and also gave up 100 points in a game twice in the same season; 1994-1995.

 

Tonight's scoring was the highest in all the meetings with Rio Grande. It tops the 125-106 CU win on Dec. 11, 1967. It was also the third time both teams each scored 100-plus points dating back to the first three games of the series in 1965, 1966, and 1967.

 

Campbellsville will return to Powell Athletic Center on Thursday, Jan. 23 to host St. Catharine College. The Tigers bring in a 7-5 record over SCC with the two teams splitting the season series last year, winning on their respective home courts.

 

"They are extremely hard to guard and have the athletes to run you up and down the floor for the whole 40 minutes," said Adkins. "They are one of the tougher matchups for us in the conference, but we have four days to come back and get ready for another home conference matchup."

  

To follow Tiger basketball throughout the rest of the 2013-14 season check them out on Twitter - @CUTigerHoops and @CvilleTigers and Facebook – Campbellsville Tigers.