Southwestern University and Hendrix College combined for 13 ties and 13 lead changes and took 45 minutes of action to decide the victor on Friday night at Grove Gymnasium. The Pirates pulled out the overtime win, 78-65, over the Warriors in front of a raucous crowd.
Neither team managed to pull away for a definitive lead in the first half, with eight ties and three lead changes. Four points was the largest lead of the half for both teams. The Pirates were poised to go into halftime with a four point lead, but the Warriors were able to bring it back even in the final two minutes and go into halftime locked at 26.
The second half was much of the same. Southwestern led by as many as 6 after a three pointer by sophomore guard Nick Caputo and layup by sophomore forward Jonathan Brown. Hendrix put together its largest run of the game on eight straight points from David Foley to put the Warriors up 55-51 with 5:47 remaining.
The Pirates stayed within reach and would eventually hold a one-point advantage with 52 seconds to play off a layup from junior forward Ross Hayes.
Senior forward Andrew King and Foley combined to go 4-for-4 from the charity stripe over the next 37 seconds to give Hendrix three-point cushion, 64-61, with four ticks left in regulation.
Southwestern head coach Bill Raleigh used a time out with 2.8 seconds remaining to draw up a last-second play and junior guard Anthony Cox drained the fade away 3-pointer to send the contest to overtime, 64-64.
The Pirates rode their wave of momentum into the extra minutes and held the Warriors to just four points in overtime. Foley knocked down a 3-pointer with 30 seconds showing on the clock off to make it a two-point affair, but Southwestern tallied five unanswered points for the victory.
The Pirates were led by Brown who scored 18 points on 7-11 shooting and 4-7 from the free throw line. Junior guard Travis Barber posted a double-double in the victory with 12 points and pulling down a team high 12 rebounds. Junior guards Zach Bergstrom and Anthony Cox chipped in 11 points each.
The win improves Southwestern to 14-8 overall and 5-7 in SCAC Conference action. The Pirates remain in fourth place in the conference as they remain on the road of a key match-up with fifth place Millsaps. Tip-off will be at 12:00 pm.
