By Nicholas Huenefeld/Owens Sports Information
Toledo, Ohio---Henry Ford College rallied from a 10-point deficit with under seven minutes left and buried a late 3-pointer to force overtime, but the Owens Community College men's basketball team made key plays in overtime to pick up a 90-80 win at home in the Student Health and Activities Center last night.
With the victory, Owens improved to 2-0. They will host Washtenaw Community College at 3 p.m. on Saturday. Henry Ford falls to 0-2.
DOWN THE STRETCH
Shondell Jackson (Warren Harding/Warren, Ohio) made a 3-pointer with 6:40 left to give Owens a 67-57 lead. Henry Ford answered with an 8-0 run that was highlighted by a pair of baskets from Matthew Eldridge to trim the deficit to two in just under two minutes.
Ty'Rese Searles (Cornerstone/Pontiac, Mich.) would convert a layup and made a free throw, but JaShean Green and Kevin Rice each made layups for Henry Ford as Owens led by just one with 3:19 left. Jackson answered with five points over the next 30 seconds on a layup and three free throws to give Owens a 75-71 lead one minute later.
Henry Ford didn't stay down, though, as they got a layup from Eldrige to pull within two. Jaylen Tucker (Northland/Columbus, Ohio) was then called for an offensive foul, but Henry Ford couldn't capitalize as they missed a 3-pointer. Tucker pulled down the rebound and was fouled. He made one of two at the line to give Owens a 76-73 lead with 47 seconds left.
Donovan Miller, who went 0-for-10 from the field for Henry Ford, missed a jumper on the other end, and Rico Stafford (Lima Senior/Lima, Ohio) rebounded and threw an outlet pass to Jackson for a potential fast break layup, but Henry Ford forced a turnover - giving them one more possession with a chance to tie it.
That's when John Merriewether buried a 3-pointer from the left wing to tie the game with six seconds left. Owens had a chance to win it following a timeout, but a turnover with one second left forced overtime.
In the first 2:21 of overtime, Owens outscored Henry Ford 5-0 via a layup and a free throw from Searles and a jumper from Roy Hatchett Jr. (Glenville/Cleveland, Ohio). Jerris Cargile ended the run with a layup, but Hatchett Jr. buried a 3-pointer with the shot clock running down to give Owens an 84-78 lead with 1:23 left.
The next five possessions for each team resulted in zero points before Searles made a pair of free throws with 23 seconds left for an eight point lead. Four more free throws for Owens down the stretch resulted in a double digit win as Owens outscored Henry Ford 14-4 in overtime.
HOW WE GOT THERE
Owens scored 13 of the first 19 points over the game's first 4:26. Jackson had five points during that stretch via a 3-pointer from the left corner and a layup in traffic. Marquevious Wilson (Lima Senior/Lima, Ohio) and Searles made back-to-back layups a couple minutes later as Owens maintained a lead at 17-12.
Derrik Jamerson Jr.'s (Cornerstone/Pontiac, Mich.) 3-pointer with 11:42 left pushed the lead to six, but Henry Ford answered with an 8-0 run to take their first lead. Tucker quickly tied it up with a layup as the game went back-and-forth resulting in a 37-37 score at halftime.
The start of the second half saw an offensive outburst for Owens, which led to five straight points from Wilson to give Owens its largest lead of the game at 54-43 with 13:49 left. Luke Mayer (Davidson/Hilliard, Ohio) made one of two at the foul line to keep the lead at double digits with just over 13 minutes left.
Five minutes later, Stafford's steal and fast break dunk gave Owens a 62-53 lead. The lead then jumped to 10 following Jackson's 3-pointer with 6:40 remaining, which is when Henry Ford started its rally to force overtime.
KEY STATS
Owens went just 20-for-38 (52.6 percent) from the foul line, but finished 31-for-62 (50 percent) from the field, including an 8-for-19 mark (42.1 percent) from 3-point range. On the other end, Henry Ford was 12-for-13 from the foul line.
Henry Ford only made 2-for-16 from 3-point range, but one of those two tied the game and forced overtime.
STAT LEADERS
Tucker and Searles each scored a team-high 17 points for Owens, while Tucker has now produced back-to-back double-doubles to open the season following a game-high 15 rebounds. He also had a team-high two blocks. Jackson totaled 15 points, and Stafford had 11 points. Jamerson Jr. and Hatchett Jr. each contributed 10 points, and Wilson had nine. Hatchett Jr. had a team-high seven assists and four steals, although Stafford also had four steals.
Henry Ford was led by Eldridge, who had a game-high 18 points along with eight rebounds. Diangelo Carlton added 14 points and nine rebounds, while Mack had 10 points and seven rebounds. Green chipped in nine rebounds.
BCSN
Both games of last night's doubleheader were broadcasted on BCSN.