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LWC Men's Basketball knocks off No. 1 Dalton State in OT, 79-71

Next Lou Cunningham Classic: The Blue Raiders v, Ohio-Chillicothe on Saturday, October 31, 2015 at 1pmCT/2pmET in Campbellsville, KY, in Powell Gym, 203 Tiger Way, Campbellsville, KY

By Charles Balcom

CAMPBELLSVILLE, KY - The Lindsey Wilson men's basketball team opened the 2015-16 season in style as they knocked off the defending national champion and No. 1-ranked Dalton State (GA) 79-71 in overtime on the opening day of the Lou Cunningham Classic held at the Powell Athletic Center in Campbellsville, KY. Bryan Wallace led all players with a career-high 24 points including a perfect 10-for-10 mark from the free-throw line. Dmitry Utolin added 17 points while Charles Sutton and Kevin Windley each finished with 10. Pepper Ben Ofokile led the Blue Raiders with eight rebounds as Sutton and Utolin both finished with seven boards.




The Blue Raiders (1-0) nearly let a 10-point second half lead slip away after a 15-0 run by the Roadrunners (0-1), but Lindsey Wilson charged back in the final minutes to tie the game and was able to fend off a last-minute shot by Dalton State to send the game into overtime.

Lindsey Wilson carried the momentum into overtime by scoring the first point and never looking back as they never trailed in the extra period en route to the 79-71 win.

In the waning seconds of regulation, Lindsey Wilson newcomer Utolin made a game-saving play on the defensive end.

With the game tied at 66-66, Dalton State missed a shot with less than 30 seconds to go, but the Roadrunners were able to collect the offensive rebound and hold the ball for the final shot. Dalton State's Marcel Hawkins dribbled around a pair of Blue Raider defenders and only Utolin stood between him and the hoop. Instead of attempting to block the shot, Utolin smartly planted his feet and held his ground as Hawkins crashed into him, making the layup in the process. But the shot was waved off and Hawkins was hit with an offensive charge to give the ball to Lindsey Wilson with 3.4 seconds to play.

Wallace attempted a deep three pointer as the buzzer sounded at the end of regulation, but it missed the mark and the game went into overtime tied at 66.

From there, the Blue Raiders scored the first five points of overtime and kept the Roadrunners off the scoreboard until there was just 1:38 remaining in the game.

Lindsey Wilson flourished in the extra period as Kevin Windley got the scoring started with a free throw, followed by a steal and layup by Wallace. Sutton made a pair of free throws and after Utolin missed a shot, Hannes Erhardt was there to tip the rebound back in. Wallace followed with another steal and layup and after a Roadrunner miss, Dalton State intentionally fouled Wallace. Wallace sank both free throws to make it a 77-68 with 34 seconds to play, virtually putting things out of reach. Lindsey Wilson was then able to dribble out the clock to secure the season-opening win.

There was little separation in the opening half as both teams used short runs in the back-and-forth affair to trade the lead multiple times.

With the game tied at 32-32, Utolin took control of the game during the final three minutes of the half by scoring eight of the Blue Raiders' final nine points before the break.

He began with a pair of free throws, followed by a three pointer with 1:21 to play to put the Blue Raiders ahead 38-33. Utolin followed with an off-balance three point shot with 33 seconds to go to give Lindsey Wilson their largest lead of the half at eight points. Dalton State was able to respond with a three at the buzzer, but the Blue Raiders took a 41-36 lead into the break.

Lindsey Wilson did all the little things right in the first half to help build their lead. The Blue Raiders hustled for loose balls, played strong defense and crashed the boards, limiting the Roadrunners to just five second-chance points. The defense was also able to limit last season's national tournament MVP Jordan Bowling to just four points on 1-of-6 shooting in the half.

And when the Roadrunners went to a press midway through the opening half, the Lindsey Wilson offense was able to use smart passes to move the ball up the court and break the press.

In the first half, Lindsey Wilson shot 43.8 percent from the floor including 36.4 percent from the three-point line. The Blue Raiders got to the free-throw line 16 times but left points on the court as they made just nine attempts.

Dalton State shot 31.7 percent from the floor and 33.3 percent from three-point range. The Roadrunners only got to the charity stripe seven times but converted six attempts.

The Blue Raiders won the rebounding battle 26-21 but committed seven turnovers compared to just two by the Roadrunners.

As the second half began, the Blue Raiders continued to play smart basketball and limit mistakes as they built a nine-point lead in the opening minutes of the frame.

Lindsey Wilson was finally able to push the lead to double digits after a three by DJ Lambert with 14:44 to play made it a 10-point game.

But as soon as it reached double digits, the Roadrunners began their climb back into the contest as the Lindsey Wilson offense stalled and Dalton State scored nine straight to cut the lead to one at 52-51 with 10:29 to play.

Soon after that, Dalton State hit a three pointer to take a 54-52 lead, their first of the half. After a Blue Raider miss, the Roadrunners followed with another three to make it a 15-0 run in a span of five minutes to take a 57-52 lead.

Utolin drew the charge in the final seconds of regulation and the Blue Raiders ran away with things in overtime for their first win of the season. After losing the lead with 9:58 to go in regulation, the Blue Raiders did not take the lead back until 4:43 to go in overtime.

Lindsey Wilson finished the night shooting 38.7 percent from the field with a 30.0 mark from three-point range. After making just 9-of-16 free throw attempts in the first half, the Blue Raiders went 16-of-19 from the charity stripe in the second half to account for 25 points. Dalton State shot 34.2 percent from the field and 28.0 percent from beyond the arc, making 12-of-18 free throws.

The Roadrunners were led by Hawkins and Deshawn Ruffin who both finished with 19 points. Corey McDonald added 12 and Bowling finished with nine.



This story was posted on 2015-10-30 21:12:38
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