Cougar News
Men's Basketball - Sat, Feb. 23, 2013
McKENZIE, Tenn. - As depressing as last-second losses can be, there are few things that are as elating in the world of sports as a victory in the closing ticks of the clock. Therein lies the story of the past 48 hours for the Mid-Continent University men's basketball team.
After taking a devastating home loss on Thursday night, the Mid-Continent Cougars again found themselves in a tight ballgame on Saturday afternoon at NAIA #15 Bethel University. With Just 7.2 seconds left on the clock, Mid-Continent's Larry Thompkins II connected on a traditional 3-point play to put Mid-Continent (17-12, 5-5) ahead 75-74, and Bethel (25-6, 6-4) could only watch as Darnell Moore's floater at the buzzer bounced harmlessly off the rim and Mid-Continent held on for the win.
Bethel built an early 19-9 lead when former Mid-Continent Cougar Mark Vaughn knocked down a 3-pointer with 10:36 to play in the first half, but Mid-Continent fought back. The Cougars closed the game to four with 8:22 left in the period when Gavin Scott sank two free throws, cutting the Bethel lead to 21-17, but Bethel came back with a 12-1 run to grab a 33-18 advantage with 4:33 to play. In the final minutes of the half, Mid-Continent clawed their way back into the game, closing the stanza on a 7-2 run and at intermission, Bethel led just 38-33.
Mid-Continent scored eight of the first 10 points of the second half to claim the lead for the first time, 41-40, with 17:34 left on the clock, and moments later, Reggie Elkins buried a 3-ball to push the Mid-Continent edge to 44-40. The Wildcats put together a 7-0 run to reclaim the lead 47-44 with 14:23 to play, and for the next several minutes the score would stay within a possession of being even. Joe Gilmore scored for Mid-Continent with 12:45 to play to put Mid-Continent ahead 50-48, but Bethel responded with a 12-2 run to claim the lead 60-52 with 8:34 left on the clock. Mid-Continent came out of a timeout and immediately closed the gap to one with a 9-2 run.
For the rest of the game, neither team held a two possession lead, and in the final seconds, Mid-Continent found themselves trailing 74-72. The Cougars inbounded the basketball with 14.7 second left, looking to create a shot for Lee Ames beyond the arc. Instead, Thompkins found himself open for a drive to the basket, floating a shot to the rim and drawing a foul on Bethel's Caleb Hardy. The ball bounced around the rim and fell in to tie the game, and Thompkins made the free throw to put his team up 75-74 with 7.2 to play. Bethel got the ball in against a full-court press from Mid-Continent and Darnell Moore got a floater of his own away in time to count, but the ball bounced twice on the right side of the rim before falling harmlessly off to the side, and Mid-Continent held on the for win.
The win for Mid-Continent marked just the third time this season that Bethel had lost on its home floor, though two of those times happened in the last 48 hours after Martin Methodist took a 76-70 overtime win at the Crisp Center on Thursday night.
Scott led Mid-Continent with 20 points in the game, while Thompkins and Charles Peden each added 14 in the win. Mid-Continent made 26-of-60 (43.3%) shots from the floor, including 4-of-11 (36.4%) from long range. At the free throw line, Mid-Continent was 19-for-26 (73.1%) in the upset victory.
A Freed-Hardeman loss at Life University earlier in the afternoon on saturday ensured Mid-Continent that thwy would host the Lions in the first round of the TranSouth Tournament, and with the win, Mid-Continent now has the opportunity to try and carry some momentum into that crucial contest. Mid-Continent will host Freed-Hardeman (12-18) on Thursday evening at 7 p.m. with the winner advancing to the TranSouth Semifinals for a shot at top-seeded Martin Methodist College (Tenn.) (20-9)
