Blue Hens Fall at the Buzzer as Old Dominion Tips In Game-Winner in Overtime for 68-66 Victory
January 11, 2012
Photos Courtesy of Mark Campbell
NEWARK, Del. -- The University of Delaware finally got Old Dominion's Kent Bazemore to miss a shot in overtime, but unfortunately for the Blue Hens that misfire was followed by the winning basket as the Monarchs picked up a 68-66 Colonial Athletic Association men's basketball victory Wednesday night at the Bob Carpenter Center.
Bazemore, a 6-5 senior guard and the pre-season CAA Player of the Year, scored a career-high 27 points, sent the game into overtime with two free throws with 2.4 seconds remaining, and exploded for nine points in the extra session, but it was his missed shot that set up the most important play of the game.
With the score tied at 66-66 in the closing seconds of overtime, Bazemore drove the lane but missed a short jumper. Fortunately for the Monarchs, Chris Cooper was there to grab the rebound and his follow-up just before the final buzzer gave the Monarchs the win.
Delaware (7-8, 3-2 CAA), which had a two-game win streak snapped, rode the hot hand of freshman guard Kyle Anderson (bottom left) and inside play of junior forward Josh Brinkley (at right) throughout the game.
Anderson, who hit for a career-high tying 17 points for the third straight game, had given Delaware a 64-61 lead on a three-pointer with three minutes left in overtime and had tied the game at 66-66 on a jumper with 1:13 remaining.
Old Dominion (9-8, 4-1 CAA), playing its fifth overtime game of the season, got 14 points and 10 rebounds off the bench from Cooper while Richard Ross contributed 14 points. Bazemore also pulled down 12 rebounds as ODU, the league leader in rebounding, held a 51-37 advantage on the boards and pulled down 23 on the offensive side.
Brinkley posted his first career double-double as he scored 16 points and pulled down a career-high 11 rebounds. Sophomore guard Devon Saddler added 16 points but junior forward Jamelle Hagins, who entered the game averaging 14.6 points per game, was held scoreless. Hagins, who was in foul trouble for much of the night, did add eight rebounds.
"This was two good, tough clubs battling it out tonight," said Delaware head coach Monté Ross. "Give credit to Old Dominion for pulling out the win. I thought we played well, but the biggest difference was the offensive rebounds that they had, none bigger than that last one. Josh (Brinkley) has a lot of confidence in his abilities and I was happy to see him step up tonight. We will lean on our leadership in the locker room. We need to bounce back right away and get ready for VCU (Saturday at home).”
Delaware controlled the game early, leading for all but the first minutes of the opening stanza and vaulting out to a 33-23 lead at the break. The Hens made 7 of their first 9 shots from the field and led by at least five points over the final 12 minutes of the stanza.
Old Dominion came out strong in the second half, outscoring the Hens 13-3 over the first six minutes and eventually tied the game at 36-36 on a dunk by Ross with 14:35 left to play.
From there the game was tied four times and the lead changed hands on six occasions heading into the final minute. Old Dominion led by as much as seven points at 49-42 on a layup by Ross with 8:58 remaining before the Hens battled back to tie the score at 51-51 on a free throw by Brinkley with 5:25 left.
The Monarchs went back in front until Saddler knocked down three free throws with 2:35 left and Hens went ahead 57-55 on an Anderson trey with 40 seconds remaining. Old Dominion got one last possession in regulation and made it count.
After Saddler blocked a three-point attempt by ODU’s Trian Iliadis with 15 seconds left, the Monarchs got the rebound and Bazemore was fouled by Hagins while shooting with 2.4 seconds left. Bazemore knocked down both shots from the stripe to send the game into overtime.
Bazemore continued his momentum into overtime as he scored 9 of ODU’s 11 points in the extra session. He opened the stanza with a three-pointer before the Hens came back to take the lead at 61-60 as Brinkley drained two free throws and followed with a layup with 3:27 left.
Bazemore tied the score again on a free throw before Anderson answered with a three-pointer with 3:00 left for a 64-61 Delaware lead. Bazemore answered with another three-pointer to tie the score again and then added a jumper with 1:46 left to give ODU a 66-64 advantage. Anderson then gave Delaware its last share of the lead when his three-pointer with 1:13 left knotted the score at 66-66.
The Hens had the chance to take the lead after a Bazemore turnover gave Delaware possession with 44 seconds remaining, but they could not take advantage as Saddler’s long three-point attempt from the left corner with 11 seconds left was off the mark, setting up the final play for the Monarchs.
Delaware will continue its two-game CAA home stand Saturday when the Hens host 2011 NCAA Final Four participant VCU at 4 p.m. at the Bob Carpenter Center.
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