Box Score Fighting Scots shock Central StateWilberforce, OH - Entering Saturday's game tied in the loss column with Alderson Broaddus for the top spot in the G-MAC, Central State fell 78-68 at home to Ohio Valley.
The loss snapped the Marauders 5 game winning streak and dropped the team to 12-7 overall with a 4-2 mark in the conference. With Alderson Broaddus losing while Cedarville and Kentucky Wesleyan both winning on Saturday, four teams are atop the conference standings with 2 losses. Ohio Valley climbs back into the mix with a 4-3 record in G-MAC play.
The Marauders got off to a solid start, leading by 7 after the first 7 minutes and 33 seconds. The OVU shooters responded with a 18-1 run which included a rare 4-point play by Markese Allen and a fastbreak dunk by Darryl Walker to give the Scots a 24-14 lead with 7:11 left to play in the first. CSU battled back to cut the deficit to 30-28 at half thanks to 10 first half points from forward
Raheem Lemons.
The Marauders struggled to find any offense early on in the second half. A blown layup on the first possession led to a OVU fastbreak basket on the other end. CSU head coach Joe Price watched as his team surrendered the first 9 points of the half to trail 39-28. OVU kept their distance from the Marauders until back-to-back 3 pointers from
Masceo Harmon and
Sterling Gilmore sparked a 12-0 run to knot the score at 51-51 with 10:59 to go. Unfortunately for the Marauders, the team was unable to overcome the hotshooting Scots down the stretch. OVU converted 8 of 11 field goal attempts in the final 9 minutes and made 10 of their 12 free throw attempts to close out the game.
Walker led all players with 24 points on 10 of 17 shooting from the field. Allen followed with 17 points to go along with a game-high 5 steals.
Lemons paced the Marauders with 23 points and 15 rebounds. Harmon and Gilmore each had 12 points in the loss.
Central State will now have one day to prepare before traveling to Frankfort, KY to play rival Kentucky State (4-11) on Monday. CSU beat KSU earlier this season on a
Sterling Gilmore buzzer beater.
