WILLIAMSBURG, Ky. – Tiger basketball was in a war against the (RV) Union College Bulldogs Thursday night winning in double overtime 88-86.
Campbellsville opened their play in the University of the Cumberlands Classic facing off with the 2-1 Bulldogs. Their single loss came in their season opener against the #1 Shawnee State University Bears only losing by five points.
The Tigers won the tipoff and it looked initially as if they may break the game wide open in just the first few minutes. A
Jarius Key slam capped off a statement 11-2 run for the Tigers to show they meant business. Campbellsville scored 24 points as a team in the first 10 minutes but would cool off after that allowing the Bulldogs to chip away at their lead. Union took the lead 25-24 and the back-and-forth began. Heading into the half it was 35-33 with Campbellsville only a basket ahead.
At halftime,
Jace Wallace had 11 points and was the only Tiger in double-figure scoring. The Tigers were behind in the rebound game having only 12 total compared to the Bulldogs' 19. Wallace led the team in that category with four boards. Keeping in mind the rebound advantage, Campbellsville was fortunate to have the lead after shooting only 37% from the field and 25% from three. However, Union's eight turnovers balanced the shooting efficiency and rebounding discrepancies.
The rest of the game was truly a war of attrition. The largest lead by Campbellsville was six in the opening time of the half and four for Union in the final minutes. The Tigers were able to cut the lead to just two with under two minutes remaining. A huge pull-up three by
Keaston Brown established a one-point lead but then a Campbellsville foul on the other end forced a one-and-one situation where the Bulldogs made one and missed the other to tie the game.
It would be Brown again down the floor with a step-back three in the pick-and-roll game to go up two. Union's Silva responded by getting the rebound from his own initial miss and putting it back to knot the game once again. With time running down and the shot clock off, Brown held the ball and attempted a fading midrange jumper which missed as time expired.
In the opening overtime, the intensity continued to raise. After two made free throws by Wallace, the Tigers were down by one with two minutes left in overtime. The ball would fly up-and-down with both teams taking rapid fire possessions until a
Cameron Carmical three nearly goes in with about a minute remaining. It would be 41 seconds on the clock after a pivotal Tigers defensive stop. After a timeout, the ball found
Peyton Broughton in the paint with a smaller defender on him drawing a double team from the wing. Wallace's man had helped down and Broughton found Wallace for a clutch three pointer to take the score to 80-78.
A Union layup brought the score even. Without taking a timeout, Wallace took the ball into isolation and drove to the rim. Pulling Key's defender, Wallace attempted to dump a pass to Key by the basket but a turnover with three seconds left. However, on the ensuing inbounds, Carmical leaped into the air snatching a steal whilst also calling timeout with 1.6 seconds to go. A Broughton three at the top of the key wouldn't go and it would be double overtime.
Two free throws pushed the Union lead to three with a minute and a half remaining in double overtime. An and-one layup by Wallace evened things up. A shot clock violation forced by the Tigers gave them the ball back with 47 seconds remaining. That possession would mean a missed Wallace layup but a scramble for the ball would end with a Key rebound who passed the ball out. A disheveled Bulldogs defense would lose track of Key, who was still by the basket, and lead to a wide open put-in. A foul by Carmical led to a Union chance at the free throw stripe where they missed the first and made the second taking the lead down to a single point 87-86. With time winding down, the Bulldogs intentionally fouled Carmical who himself missed his first and made the second. It was an 88-86 lead as Union had the ball with the shot clock off and it was Carmical's defense that forced the final airball three at the buzzer.
Campbellsville was able to raise their shooting percentage to 41% through the second half and overtimes. Wallace finished with a career-high 29 points while also leading the team in rebounds with eight and tied for the most assists with four (
Ross Ryan also posted four assists). The Tigers won the turnover battle by double digits forcing the Bulldogs into 21 total turnovers compared to their 10. Campbellsville had four scorers in double-figures: Wallace (29), Key (16), Broughton (14), and Ryan (10).
Campbellsville University's second and final match in the University of the Cumberlands Classic will be tomorrow at 2 p.m. ET when the Tigers take on the Indiana University Southeast Grenadiers.
