February 12, 2005
[Gamenotes] [Final Stats]
 |
Sheldon Pace notched the Bearcats' first double-double this season with 10 rebounds and 11 assists versus MSSU and was only two points shy of an incredible triple-double. |
JOPLIN, MO. ...After seeing the women's team fall on a desperation shot at the buzzer and MSSU guard Tyler Ryerson nailing a three-pointer at the buzzer to end the first half, Southwest Baptist (12-11 / 6-8 MIAA) denied the Lions of Missouri Southern (9-16 / 5-9 MIAA) another magical and dramatic ending, winning on the road in Joplin for the first time in ten years, 74-71.
After being shutout for the entire game from the field, Deon Davis scored SBU's final five points including the difference maker with only 24 seconds remaining in the game. Davis connected on a three-pointer to put the Bearcats ahead 74-69.
Quentin Edwards of Missouri Southern had a chance to tie the game with a three-pointer with seven seconds remaining and give the 1,844 people in attendence at the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center another jaw dropping ending that night, but fell short.
Sophomore Martez Young scored the Bearcats' first nine points of the game, all from beyond the arc and finished the half with 14. SBU took control of the game early with a 17-4 run that consumed seven minutes in the middle of the first half and gave Southwest Baptist a 30-13 lead. Chris Schulze had only one point in the half, but grabbed eight key rebounds.
MSSU then turned around and ended the half with a 23-8 run capped off by Ryerson's last second trey. Hiram Ocasio led the Lions with nine points, six rebounds, and three steals all in the first half to spark the rally. Missouri Southern leading scorer, Orestus "O.C." Cavness also pitched in with nine points in the half.
The Lions started off the second half just as they ended the first with a quick layup in the first five seconds by Dan Jones to give MSSU their first tie since the game was at 6-6 and then Ocasio scored a layup less than a minute later to finish off the 17 point comeback and give Missouri Southern their first lead since the game barely got started at 2-0.
Just like the game versus Missouri Western last week, senior Cedric Ousley came up huge with his three-point shooting including knocking down a trey immediately after Ocasio gave the Lions the lead at 40-38. When MSSU was trying to make another comeback in the second half after being down by as many as eight and cutting the lead down to two, Ousley connected on two more crucial treys. The first to give SBU a five-point lead with 6:37 remaining and the latter regaining the lead for SBU at 67-64.
The Bearcats got impressive production out of their three main post players including David Martin scoring 11 points off of a perfect 5-5 from the field. Schulze finished the night with a game high and new career high 13 rebounds. Michael Johnson finished the game with nine points, but will be most remembered for having a highlight reel type block in the first half on a Jeremy McCadney jumper and another block on Cavness that turned into a fast break opportunity and Johnson, in return for his defense was rewarded with a slam dunk assisted by Pace.
For the game, the Lions were led by Cavness' game high 20 points and Ocasio's impressive stat line of 18 points, seven rebounds, and five steals. For the Bearcats, Young led the team with 16 points, Ousley connecting on four three-pointers, scored 14 points, and Pace, who was named this week's MIAA Player of the Week notched the first double-double of the Jeff Guiot era in the most unconvential of ways grabbing 10 rebounds and dishing out 11 assists, but was two points shy of a triple-double with eight to cap off an incredible overall effort from the floor.
Up next for Southwest Baptist will be another matchup where the Bearcats will be looking for payback as Missouri-Rolla rolls into Bolivar and the Meyer Sports Center, where SBU is 8-3 at home on the season. Tipoff is slated on Tuesday, February 15 at 7:45 pm. In the earlier meeting, UMR defeated the Bearcats 80-71 in Rolla, MO on January 12.
NOTES: This was the first win in Joplin, MO for Southwest Baptist since the 1994-1995 season when SBU went 17-10 under Head Coach Jerry Kirksey. This was also the last year SBU has ever had a winning season.
Cedric Ousley is now in fixth place all-time in SBU history for 3-point field goals attempted with 265 and counting on the season. Igor Majoros is in fourth after shooting 295 treys in his Bearcat career from 1998-2002. Ousley is also in sixth place all-time with 98 made three-pointers. Majoros is again next in front, currently sitting in fifth place all-time with 102 made treys.
