COLUMBUS, Miss. –
Eric Bass Jr. hit the game-winning basket with two-tenths of a second left in regulation to give The W men's basketball a thrilling – albeit nerve wracking- 66-65 win over Westminster College in a St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) bout at Pohl Gym. The win upped the Owls record to 9-9 (6-5 SLIAC), while the Blue Jays dropped to 2-16 (1-10 SLIAC).
In a game that wasn't for the faint of heart, there were total seven ties and 13 lead changes. Four of those lead shifts occurred in the final 44 seconds alone. MUW was never able to shake the pesky Jays, with neither team leading by more than single digits.
The W led by four point, 62-58, after Bass Jr. hit one-of-two free throws. But WC immediately went down and drained a three and, after an Owls' turnover, added a layup to take the lead (63-62) with 44 tics remaining.
Dariun Doss calmly sank both ends of a one-plus-one with 18 seconds left to put MUW back in front. Almost on cue, however, the Jays drove down court for a layup with 6.7 seconds showing in the seesaw affair. The W in-bounded the ball, dribbled to the front court and took a time out with 3.2 seconds showing.
The inbound pass went to Bass Jr. near the right-side elbow. After receiving the ball, the junior from Baltimore, Maryland, turned and launched an off-balance leaning jumper that drew nothing but net as the horn went off. However, the officials put 0.2 on the clock and, after the inbound was intercepted by the Owls, the celebration began in earnest.
Doss finished the night with a team-leading 16 points, hitting 5-of-9 from the floor. Bass Jr. finished with 13 off the MUW bench.
James Dukes narrowly missed another double-double with a game-leading 12 rebounds and nine points, to go along with two blocks.
Chris Evans boked nine points, all from beyond the arc, and had four assists.
The Owls had their lowest turnover total of the season, making just six miscues. MUW also held a 42-30 margin for points in the paint, as well as a 21-13 cushion in bench scoring.
The W will next host Webster University on Saturday (Feb. 1/3 p.m.) at Pohl Gym.
