SWANNANOA, NC - Entering the game with just seven healthy players, the Men's Basketball Team had their work cut out for them in Friday's matchup against Trinity College (FL). Compounding the challenge, Friday's game was the Owls fourth game in as many days. Despite the adversity, the Owls were able to sneak away with a 91-86 victory.
Less than 10 seconds into the game First Year Guard,
Daishaun Handy, drew first blood with a tough contact finish over a Trinity defender.
Marcus Andrews also came out of the gate firing, burying two threes to help key an early 10-2 lead for the Owls. Despite the Owls opening flurry, Trinity stayed in the game and took their first lead at the 13-minute mark of the first half. With one of the team's most explosive scorers,
Dylan Wheatley, out for the first half of the contest, the Owls offense sputtered. Four crucial threes from Senior Guard,
Antonio Banuelos, kept the struggling Owls within striking distance as they entered halftime with a 6-point deficit.
With seven made threes keeping the Owls afloat in the first half, it was clear that the emphasis was attacking the paint in the second. On the opening possession, Banuelos passed into the post where
Nasir Cotton created an easy basket for himself. That possession proved to be indicative of the Owls strategy moving forward, as they repeatedly found Cotton and
Aaron Cuthbertson for shots around the rim. Andrews and transfer forward
Demarshaun Worley also added tough finishes at critical junctures in the second half.
Down 80-79 with under 3 minutes left in the game, the Owls made a rare departure from their paint assault as
Dylan Wheatley dribbled to the top of the key before nailing a stepback three. Wheatley's three seemed to be the bucket that would put the Owls ahead for good, but the feel good didn't last long. Trinity scored on the ensuing possession to tie the game at 82.
On the next three Owls possessions,
Aaron Cuthbertson made game-defining plays. With the game tied at 82-82, Cuthbertson attacked a scrambling defense to get a glass-tapping easy layup. After an Owls stop, Cuthbertson earned an offensive rebound and another easy finish to extend the lead to 86-82. With under one minute to play and after a Trinity missed FT, Banuelos made an outlet pass to Cuthbertson that was almost surely going to be intercepted, but Cuthbertson flashed his high school football skills to breakup the pass to preserve Owl possession and allow Wheatley to scoop up the deflection. Wheatley then made two free throws to push the lead to 89-83.
After a Trinity three-pointer made the score 89-86 with 37 seconds left, the Lions took a timeout to set up their full court press. Showing incredible poise under pressure, the Owls broke Trinity's press and played keep away for 22 seconds before Trinity finally had to foul Wheatley. On the decisive 22 second possession, all five Owls possessed the ball and completed at least one pass against the Lions' swarming pressure. Wheatley provided the payoff for the beautiful team possession by cashing in his two free throws to bring the Owls to their final total of 91. The Owls defense was able to escape the final 17 seconds unscathed to earn the 91-86 win.
Friday's win was the Owls' third home win of the season. The Owls next couple contests will be on the road before they return home to the friendly confines and raucous crowd of the DeVries Athletic Center Wednesday January 24.
