March 9, 2008

Box Score

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - In a game which featured two buzzer-beating shots, it was No. 18 Drury who got the final one, via a tip-in from junior Jamal Grant at the end of overtime, to send the Panthers to an 89-87 win over the Lewis Flyers in a thrilling Great Lakes Valley Conference Championship game, Sunday afternoon at Weiser Gym.

The game went to overtime after Lewis senior Dustin Warfield drained a baseline jumper at the end of regulation.

The overtime session went back and forth, as the teams battled to four ties. Drury and Lewis traded 3-pointers twice before free throws put Drury ahead by two with 2:05 to go.

A reverse lay-up by Junior Jason Genova with 45 seconds remaining re-tied the game 87-87. Drury took the ball down the court and attempted a 3-pointer with 21 seconds left, but the ball bounced off the rim to the right side.

Lewis senior Stephan Bolt and Drury's Adam White both dove for the ball and both slid out of bounds before gaining control of the ball. The officials ruled out of bounds on Lewis and awarded the ball to Drury with 18 seconds left.

Drury ran the clock to about two seconds before White attempted a 15-footer from the right wing. The ball bounced off the front of the rim, but Grant was able to tip back in as the clock ran out.

The Flyers trailed by as many as eight points in the second half before going on a 16-6 run midway through the half. A lay-up by Bolt at the 9:51 mark gave Lewis its first lead of the second half. After Drury knotted the game, junior Brandon Dagans hit a three to put Lewis up two again.

Lewis led by five with 5:19 to play after Genova's third trey of the game, but they had to go the rest of the way without Dagans who fouled out with just over five minutes remaining after being called for offensive fouls on consecutive drive attempts.

Following Genova's three, the Panthers answered with two jumpers and a free throw to tie the game with 3:44 to go. Lewis was able to work back to a three-point lead with 2:05 to play, but Collins Harris hit consecutive jumpers to bring the Panthers back again.

The game was tied 77-77 when Chris Ijames hit a jumper with seven seconds left to put Drury back in front.

Lewis had five seconds left for a final shot to win or force overtime. The Flyers got the ball to Warfield in the left corner, and he hit a difficult jumper just inside the 3-point stripe at the buzzer to send the contest to overtime.

Bolt led Lewis with 27 points, hitting 11-of-11 from the floor. He also pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds. Genova finished with 25 points, becoming the third Flyer this season to reach 1,000 career points. Dagans had 14 before fouling out. Freshman Dennis Thomas, Jr., scored 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting.

Ijames led the Panthers with 28 points. Harris scored 26, getting 11 of those during the final four minutes of regulation.

The Flyers (20-10) now await word on an NCAA tournament berth. The selection show will air live on www.ncaasports.com on Sunday at 9:30 p.m.