ST. CATHARINE, Ky. – After the Tigers led most of regulation, St. Catharine College roared back from being down seven points in the final minute and outlasted Campbellsville in three overtimes, 99-92.

St. Catharine went on an 11-4 run to close out the final minute of regulation and shot 49 percent (34-69) from the floor to secure the come form behind victory and split the season series between the Tigers.

Campbellsville wasn't far behind and shot 43 percent (27-of-62) from the floor and 43 percent from behind the 3-point arc but CU's 13 3's were not enough to hold off St. Catharine.

The loss snaps a six-game overall win streak and seven-game MSC win streak, which began with a Jan. 23 win, 67-57, over then-No. 24 SCC in Powell Athletic Center. Prior to the win streak, Campbellsville (14-11, 9-7 MSC) sat in last place of the MSC standings, but entered the game Thursday tied for fourth with St. Catharine (17-9, 10-6 MSC). By the time the game entered overtime, the two were battling no longer for fourth-place but a tie for second-place after both No. 16 Georgetown College (17-9, 10-6 MSC) and No. 19 University of Rio Grande (16-10, 9-6 MSC) lost.

"It seems like we have been on the positive side of these games recently," said CU head coach Keith Adkins. "It is hard to go down to the locker room and look those guys in the face and tell them everything is going to be alright when they are heartbroken. I walked in there and told them how upset I was but that is not the answer when our backs are against the wall. We had the same situation earlier against Rio Grande when we lost a double OT game but we picked ourselves up then, and we'll do it again.

"I say all the time, it's not what happens to you that defines you and your character, it's how you deal with the things that happen in your life. Everything isn't going to be roses and positive. There will always been speed bumps, but we have to deal with the adversity."

REGULATION

Campbellsville and St. Catharine traded baskets early, but the Tigers pulled away for a 32-23 halftime lead. SCC closed the gap late in the second half.

With one minute remaining, CU led 57-50,  but Omar Skinner hit a layup and was fouled by DeMarcus Page. Skinner made the old-fashioned 3-point play to cut the Tigers' lead to four points. CU went to its bread and butter end-of-the-game set with Darius Clement and Jordan Myers. The duo played another two-man game but Clement passed an open 3 and hit a streaking Gaines for another deuce. CU now led 59-53 with 26 seconds remaining.

But St. Catharine's center Raymon Austin started to take over. He was fouled by CU's center, A'Darius Pegues, giving him four personal fouls. Austin made the free throw to cut the lead down to 59-56. Page was fouled and hit both free throws but Austin hit another contest layup and William Tolefree, who sparked the Patriots in the come back, hit one of his six 3-pointers to tie the game at 61.

OVERTIME 1

St. Catharine jumped out to a 68-65 lead but Myers made a pass to Gaines, who was streaking for a wide-open breakaway dunk but was fouled hard by Austin. The officials called an intentional foul, giving Gaines two free throws and the Tigers the ball. Gaines hit the first, missed the second but Myers hit a huge 3-pointer to quieten the student section, giving CU the lead back 69-68 with two minutes left in the first OT.

Austin went right back down the court and drew a foul by Myers as he hit a bucket. Austin missed his free throw and blocked an ensuing shot by Gaines to give the Patriots the ball. Tolefree was fouled by Clement and made just 1-of-2 from the free throw line to give CU a chance, only down two.

Although, Austin made a few big plays down the stretch for SCC, he also made a few mistakes. He fouled Clement 25 feet away from the basket with his team leading with 11 seconds left. Clement knocked down both to send the game into a second overtime, tied 71-71.

OVERTIME 2

Nike Porter opened the second extra frame with his second 3-pointer of the night but Myers came right back down and hit a jump-hook over the leaping Austin to cut the SCC back down to one, 74-73.

After Tolefree and Clement traded 3-point baskets, Taron Franklin turned the ball over for SCC and Porter fouled Clement. He hit 1-of-2 to give CU a 77-74 lead.

Myers and Austin traded baskets but the Tigers did not score in the final two minutes of the second OT. St. Catharine hit five straight free throws to knot the game back at 79 and force a third overtime for CU, the first three OT game in at least a decade for the Tigers.

OVERTIME 3

Minutes piled up for the Tigers as the game rolled past 50 minutes. Campbellsville played its entire bench throughout the game but Miles Rice, Gaines and Clement all played over 49 minutes.

Campbellsville came in overmatch with a definite size disadvantage but held tough with St. Catharine for 52-plus minutes.

Pegues and Myers, CU's tallest players both fouled out in the final overtime period and that is when the Patriots went on a 17-9 run to close out the 55-minute thriller.

"We came in overmatched in the post," said Adkins. "Raymon played well for them down the stretch and made plays when he needed too. It was tough. We lost our two post players but its a learning experience for some younger guys.

"By having all of these overtime games it is going to help us down the stretch. Our young players will be able to look back at games like these and see how far they have come as basketball players but also as young men."

Tolefree led all scorers with 31 points on 10-for-19 from the floor and hitting crucial 3-pointers down the stretch to spark his team. Austin was next with 30 points on 12-for-16 shooting. The rest of the Patriot roster scored the other 37 points with no one else over 11 points.

Campbellsville had five scorers pitch in and contribute on the night. Gaines, Clement and Rice all finished with 17 points and Elliott Young and Myers both finished with 16. Young scored 14 of his 16 in the first half, as he hit 4-for-5 from 3-point land in the opening 20 minutes but saw limited action in the second half.

With the loss tonight, CU drops to fifth-place in the MSC, but still only a game out of second-place enterinig an off day in the MSC this Saturday. Campbellsville is now 8-6 against St. Catharine in history and are 2-4 in Lourdes Hall.

"It's nice to not have a game on Saturday," said Adkins. "We are going to need plenty of rest after this game. Even recupping for Monday is going to be tough. As hard as that is physically for those key guys to recover from a game like this, it is just as hard to recover emotionally. We had the game in our hands and had the chance to put it away but we didn't and thats how it goes."

Campbellsville (14-11, 9-7) will return to action Monday, Feb. 24 at 7 p.m. when it hosts No. 26 Lindenwood University Belleville for Senior Night. CU will honor seniors DeShawn Dockery, Jordan Myers and A'Darius Pegues prior to the game.
 

To follow Tiger basketball throughout the rest of the 2014 season, check them out on Twitter -@CvilleTigers and Facebook – Campbellsville Tigers.