ETTRICK, VA – The Virginia State Men's Basketball team earned their fifth straight conference win in a thrilling double overtime victory Johnson C. Smith 86-81.
At the Half
The Golden Bulls pushed their lead out to as much as nine points with 10:27 left in the first half after going on a 9-0 run. After a three-pointer form
Zach Newkirk and a momentum shifting dunk by
Terrence Hunter-Whitfield, the lead was cut to 26-23 with 6:13 left. JCSU was able to strategically increase their lead to eight points with 2:43 left in the first half. To end the half, the Trojans were able to cut the lead to 41-38 after
Zach Newkirk drained another three-pointer. Both teams shot over 50% from the field in the first half while the Golden Bulls held the slight edge from beyond the arc shooting 5-of-9 (55.6%) while the Trojans shot 6-of-14 (42.8%). Both teams left points at the foul line shooting under 50% from the free throw line.
End of Regulation
Francis "BJ" Fitzgerald started the half with a three-pointer which allowed the Trojans to go on a 9-2 run to take a four-point lead with 14:55 left in the second half. After
Tim Montgomery gave his squad a seven-point lead with a three-pointer, JCSU was able to fight back to tie the game at 55. The Trojans took a four-point lead before JCSU roared back once again to tie the game at 61. After JCSU split two free throws, they tied the game at 64 with 1:16 left in the game. The Golden Bulls had the opportunity to take the lead twice but missed both 1-and-1 free throw opportunities which allowed the Trojans to survive and force an extra five minutes of basketball in overtime.
Overtime
The first overtime period started with the Trojans taking a four-point lead until the Golden Bulls went on an 8-0 run to take a 72-68 lead with 1:18 left in the first over time period. After
Daryl Mackey,Jr. scored a put back layup to put the Trojans down by one,
Francis "BJ" Fitzgerald proved to have ice in his veins as he nailed a pair of free throws to ultimately tie the game and force a second overtime period. To start the second overtime period,
Francis "BJ" Fitzgerald stayed hot scoring five points to lead the Trojans to a 77-74 with 3:12 left. VSU took their lead up to 84-79 after
Tim Montgomery dished a sweet dime to
Dajour Rucker with :14 left in the second overtime. While the Golden Bulls cut the lead to three going coast-to-coast to hit an elbow jumper,
Terrence Hunter-Whitfield put the game on ice after hitting a pair of free throws to make the final score 86-81. The Trojans did a solid job crashing the boards winning the rebound battle 41-32 while 17 offensive rebounds led to 26 second chance points. The VSU bench was key down the stretch in the matchup outscoring the JCSU bench 13-7. What held the Trojans back was turnovers (21) and free throws (13-of-25, 52%).
Stat Leaders
Francis "BJ" Fitzgerald neared a double-double after scoring 21 points along with nine rebounds and five assists.
Terrence Hunter-Whitfield scored 23 points along with two rebounds and three assists and a steal. JCSU struggled to find an answer for
Tremere Brown as he scored 17 shooting a perfect 7-of-7 (100%) from the field. Brown grabbed five boards dished an assist along with a block and two steals.
Dajour Rucker played extremely important minutes in the win scoring six points on 3-of-6 (50%) shooting from the field. Rucker also accounted for a season-high eight rebounds (four offensive) along with a pair of assists.
Daryl Mackey,Jr.. earned a career-high seven rebounds along with six points shooting 3-of-4 (75%) from the field with a steal.
Robert Smith did more than hold his own accounting for four points on 2-of-3 (66.7%) shooting from the field along with five rebounds and an assist in just 11 minutes.
Tim Montgomery held down the point guard duties after
Zach Newkirk fouled out. Montgomery scored three points and added four dimes with a rebound in the win.
Up Next
The Trojans will now have three days to prepare to host a heavyweight bout against I-95 rivals in Virginia Union. The Freedom Classic is set for January 14 at 3:00 p.m.
