Box Score Gilmore hits game-winning free throws to lift Central State over LeMoyne-OwenÂ
WILBERFORCE, Ohio – After coming off the bench to lift CSU to a victory over Spring Hill on Thursday, junior guard
Sterling Gilmore helped CSU deliver another win to their fans with game ending free throws to propel Central State to a 73-72 win over LeMoyne-Owen College on Saturday afternoon.
Playing against a much bigger LeMoyne-Owen team, the Marauders got off to a 8-4 start sparked by a dunk from
Robert Konteh and a three pointer from Sean Cassidy, Jr.
Tre' Edwards hit back-to-back shots from beyond the arc midway through the 1
st half to give CSU a six point advantage. LOC slowly crawled back to tie the game and manufactured a 7-0 run thanks to the perimeter shooting from Justin Street to take a 28-21 lead with 7:21 left in the opening half. The Magicians built their lead up to 13 before CSU managed to cut the deficit down to 40-33 by halftime.
A rare three pointer by Hosie Smith, Jr. and a layup by
Jeremy Brown cut the Magician lead down to 2 in the early phases of the 2
nd half, but the Magicians remained steady and kept a slim lead until a Gilmore three pointer tied the game up, 55-55, with 9:14 to go. CSU finally took their first lead since the first half with a Smith, Jr. layup at the 5:06 mark. LOC answered back as Jerry Hampton put his team back up 64-63. A Rashawn Brown layup put LOC up 68-65 with 3:41 left.
Akil Cornish, who was nursing a soar shoulder, hit a big three pointer to tie the game back up with 2:50 left. After two LOC free throws, Edwards hit again from the perimeter to give the Marauders a 71-70 lead with 1:10 to go. Free throw shooting would decide the outcome from their as LOC managed to hit just two of four attempts in the final 60 seconds. Down 1 with 16 seconds left, CSU's
Tom Johnson pushed the ball up court and drove the lane. Johnson's shot attempt went off the rim with a jump ball ensuing the errand shot. With the possession arrow giving CSU one last chance with 2.6 seconds left, Gilmore took the inbound pass and drew contact from LOC guard Larry McGaughey as time expired. Gilmore calmly hit the game-winning free throws as the team celebrated their second consecutive victory.
Gilmore finished with a game-high 15 points, converting 5 of 10 field goals. Edwards had 13 points and 4 assists. Smith, Jr. recorded 12 points and 6 rebounds. Celebrating his 20th birthday,
Jeremy Brown filled the stat sheets with 10 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals.
As a team, CSU shoot 41% from the field and a season best 45.5% from three point range as they improve to 8-11 overall with a 7-7 ledger in the SIAC.
LOC received a 15 point-8 rebound performance from Street. The loss drops the Magicians to 10-13 on the season and 7-7 in conference play.
Central State will attempt to win three straight on Monday when they make the short trip to out-of-conference rival Wilberforce University at 8 pm.
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