By Chris Schmidbauer, Sports Information Director
Toledo, OH -- Trailing by 17 points in the second half to #4 Cuyahoga, Owens came up missed half court heave from pulling off a big upset. Aamir Solomon's shot from just inside the half court strip hit off the glass, then the front of the rim, and fell to the floor as the final buzzer sounded to secure the Cuyahoga win.
The first half would be one the Express would like to forget. Owens would turn the ball over several times, wilting under the Challengers relentless pressure. Also Cuyahoga's James Anderson started off hot from the field, making his first four shots, three of which came from three. Owens was outscored in the first half 43-26.
The second half was a similar affair until the final two and a half minutes of the second half.
The Express were trailing 60-46 after a Leonard Cottrell tip in for Cuyahoga. Dimarius Hill would hit a three to cut the lead to 11 points. James Graham would hit a pair of free throws with 57 seconds left to make the score 64-51. The Express would finish the game on an 11-0, highlighted by two three pointers by Jordan Grayson. Unfortunately for the Express, there just wasn't enough time on the clock, and the comeback bid fell two points short.
Grayson was hot from beyond the arc. The McKeesport, PA native would shoot 7-11 from three and he would lead the team with 21 points. Aamir Solomon would score 18 points on the evening, and he would lead the team with six assists and four steals. Joseph Ochoa would grab several crucial rebounds, leading both teams with 14 total boards on the night. Tyler Brooks would score eight points off the bench and grab six rebound as well.
Owens falls to 2-9 on the season and 0-2 in the OCCAC.
The Express will host Macomb on Saturday afternoon at home. Tip off is slated for 3 PM from the SHAC.