Jan. 8, 2008

Final Stats

Johnson C. Smith University traveled to Bluefield, West Virginia to take on the Big Blues of Bluefield State College. It was the Golden Bulls who emerged victorious by a double overtime score of 82-76.

JCSU was on fire in the first half shooting a striking 57% from the field. The score would remain close for the first few minutes of play but a 12-minute offensive surge by JCSU opened up a 22-point lead for the gold and blue. By the time the clock ran to zero in the first half, JCSU controlled an 18 point lead.

The second half was a different story. Bluefield State must have had an impressive talk during halftime. After missing their first long ball on the second stanza, the Big Blues connected on their next six shots, two from beyond the arc. Before JCSU knew it, the lead was down to six. David Sanders finally killed the scoring drought on a jumper with 15:14 remaining. Smith went on to miss several shots while committing four turnovers and now the score was tied. The lead would go back and forth and come down to the final seconds.

With just a one possession lead, (65-63) Ryan Scott stole the ball from Mario Thompson and Rico Thompson fouled Scott with 1:05 remaining in regulation. Scott went to the charity stripe for the free throw attempt. Unfortunately, he missed and Howard Coston came up with the big defensive rebound. After taking a timeout to talk it over, Bluefield State's Mario Thompson hit the jumper and the game went into extra sessions knotted at 65-all.

The first overtime had both teams scoring just eight points each and the second extra session began. The Golden Bulls finally composed themselves in the second overtime and outscored the Big Blues 9-3 en route to the 82-76 victory.

Golden Bulls in double figures were Edmund Rainey (Buffalo, N.Y.) who had a team high 16 points and nine rebounds. Guards Maurice Hooper (Reidsville, N.C.) and Ryan Scott (Reston, Va.) both had 13 points while senior David Sanders (Buffalo, N.Y.) chipped in 12. Scott also had five steals and three assists in the victory.

The Big Blues were led by Howard Coston's 23 points. Rico Thompson and Mario Thompson chipped in 16 and 12 points each.

The win improves JCSU's record to 8-4 overall, 2-2 in conference play. The Big Blues drop to 0-8.

The Golden Bulls will move on to the grueling conference play beginning with the Broncos of Fayetteville State University on Saturday, January 12. Game time is scheduled for 7:30 pm in Capel Arena in Fayetteville, N.C.