Box Score Johnson's drive falls short as Lane tops Central State, 66-65

WILBERFORCE, Ohio - The Dragons of Lane College narrowly blew a 17 point second half lead before escaping with a 66-65 win over Central State on Monday night.
 
After a tough loss to rival Kentucky State last Thursday, Central State come out looking to deliver a victory in front of their home crowd. To the delight of the home fans, CSU opened the game on a 7-1 run with baskets from Sean Cassidy, Jr., Tre' Edwards and Hosie Smith, Jr. Lane immediately responded as a dunk from Kendarius Ash sparked an 17-4 run. Up by six, Lane managed to build their lead to as many as 14 thanks to 9 first half points from Terrance Bridgeman. A good layup from Maurice Alexander gave the Dragons a 39-25 lead with 23 second to go in the half. A Sterling Gilmore layup at the end of the half made the score 39-27 in favor of the Dragons.
 
Lane built their lead up to 17 in the opening minutes of the second half as a three point play by Ash gave LC a 47-30 lead at the 17:11 mark. CSU slowly chipped away at the lead over the next 4 minutes. A Windale Glinton basket down low cut the lead to single digits, 47-39, with 13:36 to go. The Lane offense went stagnant over the ensuing minutes, managing just 3 points on 1 of 4 from the field while committing 4 turnovers. While Lane struggled, CSU managed to cut the deficit down to six, 50-44, with 9:48 left. Bridgeman struck from beyond the arc to put his team up 9 on the next possession. Lane appeared to be in full control after two free throws from Ash put LC up 61-52. The guard play of Tre' Edwards and Dymiere Finch sparked a 11-2 run for the Marauders as they pulled even, 63-63, with just 1:08 remaining. Edwards was a perfect 6 of 6 from the line and Dymiere Finch quickly turned defense into offense when he picked off a Lane ball handler and swooped in for the basket and free throw.
 
With the score tied, Ash split a pair of free throws to give the Dragons a 64-63 lead with 48 seconds to play. Tom Johnson drew a foul on the Marauders' next possession and the freshman calmly knocked down both of his free throw attempts to give CSU its first lead since the early stages of the first half. With 16 second left on the clock, Lane went to his muscle in big man Devontay Clark. Clark took a pass from Ash and finished strong at the basket while being fouled. After Clark missed his free throw, CSU corralled the rebound a quickly called timeout with 6 seconds to go. With the ball in his hands, Johnson quickly advanced the ball into the paint. Johnson's potential game winner from the lane grazed the front iron and a tip-in attempt from Hosie Smith, Jr. did not beat the clock as Lane hung on for the victory.
 
In a highly competitive SIAC contest, the two teams were virtually even in nearly every category. Each had 30 points in the paint, 18 points off turnovers and 8 second chance points. Lane did manage to outrebound the smaller Marauders, 43-25. which helped to limit CSU to just 49 shot attempts on the night.
 
Ash finished with 14 points to lead the Lane scoring to go along with an impressive 14 rebounds. Bridgeman and Clark each chipped in with 12 in the victory. With the win, the Dragons improve to 13-10 on the year with a 9-4 mark in the SIAC.
 
Losing five of their last six contests, the Marauders fell to 6-11 overall and 5-7 in conference play. Edwards finished with 13 points to pace the CSU scoring. Finch and Johnson each scored 12 points in the loss.
 
Central State returns to action on Thursday when they host Spring Hill College at 7:30 pm.

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