Marauders top rival Kentucky State in overtime, 97-95
 
FRANKFORT, Kentucky - The Central State Marauders won an overtime thriller on the road over Kentucky State, 97-95, on Saturday night.


With the win, CSU improves to 11-14 overall with a 9-8 mark in SIAC play. KSU falls to 7-17 on the year with a 6-11 mark in the conference.


KSU started off strong with a 6-0 run sparked by a Ray Croon dunk to open the game. Down by seven at the 12 minute mark of the first half, CSU fed off the energy of Jeremy Brown to manufacture of 7-1 run and eventually claimed a 21-20 lead at the 6:51 mark. Davone Daniels hit back-to-back three pointers to extend the Marauder lead, 27-20. CSU increased the lead to 10 on a Brown put back with 4:42 left but KSU closed the half with an impressive 11-0 run as Dattalion Battle knocked down from long range as time expired to give his team a 32-21 lead at intermission.


The Marauders regained their composure in the locker room and came back to build a seven point lead by the 14:34 mark of the second half. KSU's Dorain Jordan responded with four straight baskets as the teams were deadlocked at 55-55 with 10 minutes to play in regulation. Neither team gained significant separation until KSU mounted a 6-0 run to go up 77-71 with 3:15 on the clock. After exchanging points, KSU took advantage of a CSU turnover to extend the lead, 81-73, with 2:16 left in the half.


CSU cut it down to four by the 1:04 mark. After a KSU turnover, forward Chris Scott converted down low to bring CSU within two, 82-80, with 41 seconds to go. KSU split a pair of free throws. Frank Barber III scored on the other end with 29 seconds to bring CSU within one point. After KSU split another trip at the free throw line, CSU regained possession down, 84-82, with 26 seconds on the clock. A missed Charles Ruise jumper was corralled by Barber III, who quickly laid the ball in to send the game into overtime.
The overtime period would eventually belong to Ruise and the Marauders. The junior guard from Florida scored nine points in the five minutes of extra time, including a game-winning jumper with 1.7 seconds left on the clock to give CSU the victory.


Keys to CSU's victory included outrebounding KSU, 64-40 while enjoying a 35-11 edge in second chance points and a 37-16 advantage in bench points.


Ruise scored 24 of his game-high 27 points during the second half and overtime periods. Brown finished with a season-high 19 points and led CSU with 14 rebounds. Scott recorded his ninth double-double of the season with 17 points and 13 rebounds. Barber III recorded 15 points and 7 rebounds.

 
KSU was paced by Dorian Jordan's 23 points and 10 assists.

 
CSU will have a week off before traveling to play Tuskegee next Saturday at 1:30 pm cst.
 
 
 
Notes
With Saturday's result, CSU now leads the all-time series against KSU, 56-55.
 
CSU's 97 points scored on Saturday is a season-high.
 
CSU recorded a season-high 64 team rebounds on Saturday.

Since joining the team in January, Charles Ruise is averaging 14 points per game.
 
Prior to Saturday, CSU had not won in Frankfort, Kentucky since the 2013-14 season.
 
CSU is currently in second place in the SIAC West Division. Lane leads the division with a 9-7 conference record.
 
CSU has three regular season games remaining.




Next Game
Opponent: Tuskegee
Date: Saturday, February 17th
Tip-Off: 3:30 pm
Location: Tuskegee, Alabama
 
 
 
Coverage
Live statistics provided by Tuskegee Athletics on - http://www.sidearmstats.com/tuskegee/mbball/