By Nicholas Huenefeld/Owens Sports Information
Columbus, OH---James Kelly and Chris Wilson led the Express men's basketball team to a hard fought 80-76 road win over Columbus State Community College today.
With the win, the Express close out their OCCAC slate with a 10-2 record. They are currently in second place, but still have a chance to tie for an OCCAC title should Lakeland lose their final game.
Kelly had several dunks in the first half, including a monster one where he came down the middle of the lane and threw it down over several defenders. He had 10 of his 16 points in the first half and finished 8-for-16 from the field.
Additionally, Kelly picked up a team-high 12 rebounds for his 17th double-double of the season and his 33rd of his career.
Meanwhile, Wilson came up with big rebounds throughout the game and finished with a season-high 16 points and nine rebounds (six offensive). He finished 7-for-9 from the field.
The Express led by as many as 11 in the second half. The game, which featured three ties, changed score only once. Columbus State took a 4-0 lead to start the game before Kelly's monster dunk at the 14:18 mark put the Express up for good at 10-9.
Joe Retic II added 15 points, six rebounds and team-highs in assists (9) and steals (3) for the Express. He finished only 3-for-11 from the field, but made 8-for-9 from the foul line and made, perhaps, the biggest shot of the game. After Columbus State had trimmed the deficit to four with 2:50 left, Retic came down the court and hit a pull-up 3-pointer from straightaway to give the Express a seven point cushion just 10 seconds later.
The Cougars cut the deficit back down to four, but it came under a minute left. Again, Retic made a big play. This time, he stole the ball with 27 seconds left and dished it to Jay Marquette, who threw it off the backboard for a two-handed stuff from Kelly.
After Jorian Hudson cut it back to four with a jumper, Retic iced the game with two free throws.
Marquette and Markese Allen each added three assists for the Express.
Mohamed Conde scored a game-high 25 points along with 17 rebounds for the Cougars. In the second half alone, Conde had 17 points, 12 rebounds (eight offensive) and went 9-for-11 from the foul line.
Hudson added 22 points, eight rebounds, four assists and four steals, while Keevin Tyus added 10 points and eight rebounds. Kendrick Williams had a team-high five assists.
Notes
The Express improved to 21-8 overall and 10-2 in the OCCAC. They close out their regular season with a 7 p.m. home matchup against the University of Akron club team on March 1.
Today's win marked the first time that the Express men's basketball team has won 10 or more games in OCCAC play since 2004-05.
Columbus State fell to 15-12 overall and 3-8 in the OCCAC.
Kelly, who had one block today, is now two blocks away from breaking the program's career record. With those two blocks and one more steal, he would become the first Express men's basketball player to record 1,000 career points, 600 career rebounds, 100 career blocks and 100 career steals.
Currently, Kelly has 1,092 career points, 615 career rebounds and 98 career blocks. Additionally, he has 99 career steals. He had a team-high 52 last year and currently leads the team with 47 this year.
