Cleveland, OH---The Express men's basketball team came from three down with 1:29 remaining to defeat Cuyahoga Community College 70-67 on the road Wednesday night.
Owens was up 63-59 with just under three minutes remaining when Cuyahoga's David Goodwater was intentionally fouled attempting a lay-up by Kelvin Clark. Goodwater made both free throws, and then hit a three from the left corner to give his team a 64-63 lead with 2:28 remaining.
After James Kelly hit one of two free throws for the Express to tie the game at 64, Jamil Brooks converted a three point play to give Cuyahoga a 67-64 lead with 1:29 remaining. However, in the final stretches of the game, Justin Edmonds hit a floater in the lane and four free throws to secure the win for the Express. Brooks missed a potential game-tying three at the buzzer.
Kelly led the Express with 18 points, 15 rebounds, four blocks, two assists and one steal. He had only one turnover in 38 minutes and shot 8-for-18 from the field. Jordan Basinger had a season-high 17 points to go along with nine rebounds, six assists and three steals.
Edmonds finished with 17 points, three rebounds, two assists and one block. He was 9-for-11 from the foul line.
The Express shot 23-for-54 from the field, 7-for-21 from three point range and 17-for-24 from the foul line.
Tri-C was led by Darrell Robinson's 20 points, while Brooks had 19, Goodwater had 13 and Da'Jon Lewis had 10. They shot 24-for-52 overall, 2-for-6 from three point range and 17-for-24 from the foul line.
Owens was outscored 42-24 in the paint and 31 to 8 in points off turnovers. They made up some of that by outrebounding Tri-C 36-31, while also producing more assists (14-7), more blocks (6-0) and more bench points (13-3). The game was tied seven times and saw 15 lead changes.
The Express (17-9, 4-4 OCCAC) will take on Sinclair Community College on Saturday at 3 p.m. in the SHAC. Tri-C falls to 15-6 overall and 4-3 in the OCCAC.
The Express led 31-30 at halftime.