02/09/2008
Men's Basketball Stunned by Springfield in Double-OT

WORCESTER, MASS. 12/01/07 - Jamaal Gibbs' (Norwalk, Conn.) half-court shot as time expired in the second overtime lifted the Springfield College men's basketball team to a dramatic 90-87 victory over Clark University in a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) game at the Kneller Athletic Center on Saturday afternoon.

With the victory, Springfield (9-11, 4-4 NEWMAC) remains tied for third place in the conference. Clark (10-11, 5-4 NEWMAC), which dropped its second straight conference game, is currently second in the league.

Greg Daly (Farmington, Conn.) led all scorers with 31 points and 18 rebounds for Springfield, while Gibbs and Pat Crean (Sleepy Hollow, N.Y.) each added 18 points.

Pat Landers (Worcester, Mass.) had 16 points to lead Clark. Mark Alexander (Providence, R.I.) scored 15 points and Byron Roberts (New Haven, Conn.) and Jack Minister (Manchester, England) finished with 14 and 13 points, respectively. Peter Normandin (Westminster, Mass.) had a team-high nine rebounds.

Up by one, Gibbs connected on one-of-two at the charity stripe for a two point edge (87-85) with 19 seconds remaining in the second overtime. Minister then slashed to the basket with a right-side lay-up to knot the score (87-87) for the seventh time in the game with 3.7 remaining. Following an inbound pass, Gibbs raced down the right-side and hurled the ball just inside the half-court line and swished his second-game winning shot in as many games as time expired.

Trailing by six (71-77) in the first extra session, Slader Lyell (Portsmouth, R.I.) drained a three-pointer to bring the game within 74-77 with 1:57 on the clock and then hit one-of-two at the line just 21 seconds later for a two-point game (75-77). On the ensuing possession, Lyell stole the ball and missed a fast-break lay-up, but Pat Ochoas (Springfield, Mass.) put-back tied it up, 77-77, at the 1:16 mark. Springfield could have taken the lead, but Chaz Burrel (Idaho Springs, Colo.) missed a pair at the stripe with 46 seconds remaining. That left the door open for Alexander's inside jumper for a 79-77 advantage with 26 ticks on the clock. However, Gibbs struck again as he sunk another key basket as time ran out to send the game into double-OT.

Clark let an 18-point second half lead (53-35) slip away in the final 10 minutes of regulation. Springfield' Daly and Gibbs took over as they combined for 11 of the next 13 points to bring the Pride within 46-55 at 8:34. Over the next 5:06, Springfield made four trips to the line, converting on 8-of-8 for a five point deficit (58-63). Daly' basket snapped a 1:06 scoring drought to make it a three-point game with 2:23 remaining. After Clark pushed its lead back up to seven (67-60), Springfield went on a 6-2 run highlighted by Daly's conventional three-point play to trail by one (68-69) with 11 seconds remaining. Landers sank two freebies on the next possession to stretch Clark's lead to three (71-68), but Dan White (Troy, N.Y.) knocked down a baseline three with two ticks left in regulation to extend the game.

Springfield opened the game on a 16-4 run capped by Daly's jumper to take a 12-point lead (19-7) at the 13:17 mark. However, Clark charged back with a 17-2 run capped by Roberts trifecta sandwiched between a bucket and three-pointer from Landers to give the Cougars their first lead (24-21) of the day at 6:48.

SC went on a run of its own outscoring Clark, 6-0, for a 27-24 advantage, but Ochoa's hoop sliced the margin to within one (26-27) with 4:31 remaining. Neither team scored over the next 3:30, until Clark scored the final eight points of the half for a 34-27 advantage headed into the locker room.

Clark will host Coast Guard on Wednesday (7 p.m.). Springfield will play at WPI that same day (7 p.m.). -30-