Eastern Kentucky outlasts Southern Utah in 2OT of CBI semifinal

Estimated learn time: 2-3
minutes

SALT LAKE CITY — Japanese Kentucky’s Isaiah Cozart couldn’t be stopped within the Colonels’ semifinal sport of the Faculty Basketball Invitational.

Neither may anyone else for that matter.

Cozart poured in a career-high 31 factors, 13 rebounds and 4 blocks to assist Japanese Kentucky survive a shootout 108-106 after two overtimes with Southern Utah in a CBI semifinal Tuesday in Daytona Seashore, Florida.

Devontae Blanton added 24 factors for the Colonels (23-13), who received their third-straight time beyond regulation sport.

Cam Healy had 23 factors to guide Southern Utah (24-13), together with an athletic slam on the buzzer to drive double time beyond regulation.

Drake Allen added 22 factors, 9 assists and 5 rebounds for the Thunderbirds, who tied the sport at 106-106 in double time beyond regulation on the guard’s 3-pointer with 9.1 seconds left. However in a sport the place each groups mixed for 166 photographs, 53 3-point makes an attempt, 42 free throws and 31 turnovers, all of it got here all the way down to the ultimate seconds.

Allen fouled Leland Walker on a drive to the rim on the buzzer, and Stroll scored his fifteenth and sixteenth factors on the line to clinch the win.

Each groups shot higher than 48% from the sector, and the Thunderbirds related on 16-of-35 3-pointers. However Japanese Kentucky shot 51% from the sector and outscored the Thunderbirds 52-40 within the paint and compelled 22 turnovers within the win.

Dee Barnes had 17 factors and 4 rebounds, Tevian Jones scored 15, and Harrison Butler added 12 factors and 10 rebounds for the Thunderbirds.

Lower than every week after former head coach Todd Simon accepted the identical place at Bowling Inexperienced, the Thunderbirds rallied from a gutwrenching loss to Grand Canyon within the WAC Event remaining for a spot within the final-four of the pay-to-play third-tier Faculty Basketball Invitational earlier than wrapping their season below interim head coach Flynn Clayman with the second-most wins in program historical past (and just one fewer than the NCAA Event squad of 2001).

The Thunderbirds superior to the CBI semifinals with a pair of wins, together with an 81-79 victory Monday over Rice that featured a program postseason-record 27 factors from Jones. The senior from Chandler, Arizona, by the use of Illinois matched the earlier excessive set by Dre Marin final season with a game-winning jumper within the remaining seconds in opposition to the Owls, shifting to No. 6 all-time on the Thunderbirds’ profession scoring checklist with 1,438 factors.

Jones, a senior, ends the season with 1,454 factors at Southern Utah, Butler has 1,468, and Maizen Fausett 1,565 after his 9 factors within the first half for 3 of the top-five scorers in program historical past. Solely Davor Marcelic (1,710 factors, 1989-92) and Jeff Monaco (1,568, 1997-2001) have scored extra, in response to SUU Athletics.

Most up-to-date SUU Basketball tales