Wildcat Basketball Team Wins On Late Tip-in, 71-69
This story was written by NMU Sports Information The Wildcats will now take on the winner of Gannon and West Virginia Wesleyan College at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in the championship game. Johnson led the Wildcats with 18 points and tied for the team's lead with three assists. Sophomore Will Carius (Bettendorf, Iowa/Pleasant Valley) notched a double-double, finishing with 13 points and 10 rebounds. He also dished out three assists. Junior Naba Echols (Memphis, Tenn./Mitchell) chipped in with 14 points and tallied three steals. Senior Eddie Tornes (Muskegon, Mich./Cumberland CC) tied Johnson and Carius with three assists. Sophomore Myles Howard (Chicago, Ill. /Marian Catholic) tied a career-high with five blocked shots, including one to seal the win. NMU jumped out to an early 9-0 lead and held a 9-2 advantage at the first media timeout. The Golden Knights pulled within three, 13-10, but Carius hit two three-pointers around a Saint Rose layup to put the Wildcats back up 19-12. Another three, this time by Echols pushed NMU back up 22-12 with 8:35 to go in the half. The teams continued to trade baskets for the next five minutes, heading into the final media timeout seeing a 31-24 Wildcat lead. Saint Rose came out of the timeout and chipped away at the NMU advantage, eventually capturing a 34-32 lead as the team's entered halftime. To start the second half, NMU tied the game with two free throws by Carius. The Golden Knights responded with a three-pointer and jumper to take a 39-34 lead. With the game tied, Saint Rose scored on their next two possessions, but a Howard dunk gave the Golden Knights just a 43-41 lead with 14:53 to go at the media timeout. Johnson came out of the timeout with another three-pointer, and freshman Dolapo Olayinka(Chicago, Ill./Mather) made a layup to take a 46-43 lead. A three-pointer by Saint Rose tied the game for the fourth time. After a fifth tie at 48-48, Olayinka and Johnson hit three-straight layups to put NMU ahead 54-48. Saint Rose pulled within 59-58 with 6:19 to go in the half, but the Wildcats would respond and pushed out to a 65-58 lead with 3:28 to go after an Echols jump shot. The Golden Knights answered with a three-pointer, but Echols hit two free throws to go back up 67-61 with 2:46 remaining. A three-pointer by St. Rose dropped the NMU lead to 67-64, and Echols answered with a layup to put the Wildcats back up five. The Golden Knights responded with a layup of their own and called timeout, with NMU ahead 69-66 with 1:02 to go in the game.
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