By Nicholas Huenefeld/Owens Sports Information
Toledo, Ohio---Bikramjit Gill (Our Ascension of the Lord/Toronto, Ontario, Canada) saw his double-double streak end, but the sophomore picked up the single season blocks record as the No. 11 Express men's basketball team defeated Columbus State Community College 94-83 in the Student Health and Activities Center (SHAC) tonight.
Gill totaled 21 points, eight rebounds, six blocks and two assists. With his six blocks, he now has 59 this year and eclipsed the previous record of 58 held by James Kelly (2011-12 season). He finished 9-for-13 from the field, 1-for-2 from 3-point range and 2-for-3 from the foul line.
In addition, Gill had his five game double-double streak snapped tonight. He didn't produce one for the first time since Jan. 29. In fact, those are the only two conference games in which he didn't have a double-double.
The Express jumped out to a 12-4 lead following a lay-up and 3-pointer from John Murry (North Central/Indianapolis, Ind.) in the game's first 4:19.
The Cougars started chipping away, however, and took an 18-17 lead with 9:55 left in the half. They went up 20-17 before Edmond Early Jr. (Thurgood Marshall/Dayton, Ohio) drained a 3-pointer to tie it up with 9:04 left.
Once again, though, the Cougars stretched their lead, this time to four on the next two possessions. With five minutes left in the half, they led 32-27 following two free throws from Jordan Marrow.
The Express got four free throws from Murry and another 3-pointer from Early, however, to take a 37-36 lead. Shaakir Lindsey (Teaneck/Teaneck, N.J.) put the Express up 44-42 heading into the half with a lay-up in the final minute.
Columbus State's Christopher Cook opened the second half up with a jumper to tie it at 44-all before the Express went on a 6-0 run, capped by a free throw and a lay-up from Murry to take a 50-44 lead with 16:30 left.
Later, Murry converted a pair of free throws to give the Express a 62-52 lead with 10:26 remaining. Following that, an Andy Bachman (North Side/Fort Wayne, Ind.) 3-pointer put the Express up 67-56 with 8:39 left.
Three minutes later, another Bachman 3-pointer gave the Express their largest lead, 14, with 5:26 left.
The Cougars made a final charge, formulating a 10-3 run to pull within seven with 3:39 left, but the Express made their free throws down the stretch to seal the game.
Murry scored a game-high 28 points, while adding a season-high eight rebounds, six assists and two blocks. He finished 7-for-16 from the field, 2-for-4 from 3-point range and 12-for-14 from the foul line.
Lindsey added 14 points, a game-high eight assists and two steals to round out a starting lineup of three double-figure scorers.
Off the bench, Early and Kenny Jones (Clay/South Bend, Ind.) each had a bench-high eight points, with Jones adding three rebounds.
For the Cougars, Taivion Thomas had 23 points, a game-high 12 rebounds, two assists and one steal in 36 minutes. Twenty of his points came in the first half, however, as he finished 1-for-6 from the field in the second half.
Thomas was assisted in scoring by Claude Lewis (15), Cook (14) and Marrow (13).
The Express shot 30-for-59 (50.8 percent) from the field and 25-for-31 (80.6 percent) from the foul line in the game, and they only committed four second half turnovers.
With their win tonight, the Express (22-5 overall, 9-1 OCCAC) remain tied for first place in the loss column in OCCAC play. Should they win their final two road games, they would clinch at least a share of the OCCAC championship for the first time since the 2001-02 season.
The next action for the Express will be Wednesday at 7 p.m. in Cleveland, Ohio against Cuyahoga Community College. They will close out their regular season on March 1 at Sinclair Community College.
Notes
After scoring 12 combined points in his past two games, Murry picked up a 28 point game for the third time in his past five matchups.