Men’s basketball battles for OT win against Lambuth

UNA junior guard Beaumont Beasley defends against an opposing player in the Lions’ game against the University of West Alabama Feb. 19. The Lions defeated UWA 90-60 at Flowers Hall.

Orrey Bolton Student Writer

The UNA Lions used a second-half explosion to battle back from 14 down to win in overtime at Lambuth Thursday, Feb. 17, keeping their season alive.

In a game that started off almost exactly as the West Georgia game with a lot of fouls and also getting out rebounded in the first half, the Lions came out in the second half with a new mindset that this was not going to happen again.

“We gave them the facts and just gave it to them in black and white,” said head coach Bobby Champagne. “We got out rebounded by 18 and we need to get to the line more.”

The Lions took that with a sense of anger in the second half as junior center Marcus Landry scored all of his 21 points in the final 20 minutes, and five different players reached double digits in scoring for the game. The bench for the Lions also came up big, led by junior forward Warrick Mastin, scoring 13 points and grabbing four rebounds.

The game started off very even with both teams trading baskets for the first 10 minutes of the first half. The Eagles took the lead 24-20 with 8:37 remaining and went on a 14-2 run late in the first half. The Lions went scoreless for nearly four minutes until finally junior forward Sam Buxton ended the drought. The Eagles took control of the Lions, getting up 14, but the Lions got within eight at the half trailing 42-34. The Lions were outrebounded by 18 in the first half and only went to the free throw line two times.

“Coach was telling us that we weren’t playing hard enough and we weren’t playing like a team that is fighting to get a spot in the conference tournament,” said Mastin. “So in the second half, we came out with better energy and we played harder.”

The Lions came into the second half with urgency as they clawed back from eight down at the half to tie at 66 by a pair of free throws by Landry with 8:48 remaining in the second half. After the Eagles regained the lead 68-66, freshman guard Wes Long hit a big three to give the Lions the lead for the first time since the first half.

The rest of the half was a flip-flop of baskets with 13 ties and 13 lead changes for the game. With 1:06 to go in the second half and the game tied at 84, Mastin came away with a huge rebound that gave the Lions another opportunity to score. Junior guard Beaumont Beasley hit a two-point basket to give the Lions the lead and eventually put the game in overtime.

The Lions took total control in overtime with a big steal by Mastin that forced the Eagles’ best player Nakeem Floyd to foul out of the game and also gave the Lions a 93-89 lead off the pair of free throws.

“Warrick made some big shots and made a big steal in overtime, forcing their big guard to commit his fifth foul,” said Champagne.

The Lions never lost the lead behind Mastin as he made the go ahead free throw giving the Lions a 99-97 overtime victory. With the win the Lions remain alive for a bid in the Gulf South Conference Tournament at 5-5 in the conference and 12-14 overall. The Lions will travel to UAH Feb. 26 for the final game of the season.

“We really needed it,” said Champagne. “It was obvious to play with a sense of urgency, and we needed this one to continue our season and to get into the conference tournament.”