Box Score CSU claims top spot in G-MAC with triple overtime win over Alderson & Broaddus

Wilberforce, OH - In a crucial Great Midwest Athletic Conference contest between the first place Alderson & Broaddus Battlers and the second place Central State Marauders, CSU outlasted its opponent in a 100-95 triple overtime win on Saturday night.

With the win, CSU jumps A&B for the top spot in the conference standings. The Marauders improved to 7-2 in the G-MAC and are 15-8 overall. A&B dropped to 8-3 in conference play and are 15-7 on the season.

Getting out to an early 6-4 lead at the 15:20 mark of the 1st half, the Battlers went on a 9-3 run to go up by 8 at the 12:39 mark. CSU senior guard Ray'Chaun Thompson drained a 3 pointer from the corner on the team's next possession, sparking a 13-2 run to take a 26-23 lead with 4:47 left. The Marauders ended the half with an 11-2 run and took a 37-28 lead at the break. Forward Raheem Lemons scored 18 points, which included a 2 for 2 performance from beyond the arc.

CSU maintained its lead throughout the early part of the second half. A 3-pointer by sophomore Sterling Gilmore gave the Marauders their largest lead, 49-36, with 13:10 to go. With his team facing a large deficit, A&B coach Greg Zimmerman took a gamble and reinserted leading scorer Richard Lemon, who had picked up his 4th foul at the 16 minute mark. The gamble worked as Zimmerman scored A&B's next 9 points. Thylas Perkins scored on back-to-back trips for the Battlers as they cut the Marauder lead down to 4 with 6:22 left. Lemon provided the answer for the Battlers again with a jumper to cut the lead down to 2 with 2:47 remaining. CSU guard Masceo Harmon responded with a 3 pointer on the other end of the floor to put his team back up 5. A&B's Imanol Artinaro cut the lead down to 3 at the 1:08 mark. After a Harmon turnover, Ali Bilal banked a 3-pointer in off the glass to tie the game, 65-65, with 21 seconds left. CSU would be unable to come up a score as the game went into its first overtime.

Playing with new life, A&B got out to a 7 point lead in overtime after Bilal hit again from beyond the arc at the 2:18 mark. The Marauders quickly erased the Battler lead, with Harmon scoring 5 of the game's next 7 points. Tied 78-78 with 48 seconds left, A&B's Thylas Perkins split a pair of free throws to give his team a 79-78 lead. Turning the ball over on the next possession, CSU was forced to foul Perkins again with just 7 seconds left. Perkins converted 1 of 2 from the line. Forced to go the entire length of the floor, Gilmore found freshman Jeremy Brown who forced a second overtime with a make as the buzzer sounded.

"There aren't many underclassmen who can step up in that situation and make a play," CSU coach Joseph Price said. "That was impressive."

Lemon, who played over 20 minutes with 4 fouls, finally picked up his fifth 27 seconds in to the second overtime period. With the A&B big man forced to sit and watch, CSU took advantage inside as 6 of the team's 7 points in the period were scored in the paint. Junior Tre' Edwards scored with 1:23 left to tie the game, 87-87. Neither team could manufacture anymore points as the game entered the 3rd period of extra time.

CSU opened the third overtime with a 8-1 run to claim a 96-88 lead with 1:57 left. A&B cut the deficit down to 5 with 41 seconds. After Gilmore put CSU back up by 7 with clutch free throws with 29 seconds left, the CSU defense came up with the necessary stops to win the game.

Harmon led all players with 32 points and 7 assists. Lemons recorded his twelfth double-double of the season with 26 points and 12 rebounds while holding reigning conference Athlete of the Week Tobias Dowdell to just 4 points. Gilmore finished with 13 points and 4 assists. Edwards chipped in with 10 points and 2 steals.

Perkins led the Battlers with 23 points. Malcolm Tatum scored 22 followed by 21 points from Lemon.

"We came up big tonight. We continue to play well at the right time of the year," Harmon said. "We have another huge game coming up at Kentucky Wesleyan. We have to keep doing the small things in order to win."

CSU travels to Owensboro, KY on Thursday to play KWC. The Panthers are 16-6 overall with a 5-3 mark in the conference.

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