Down 72-70 with 16 seconds left, Belmont Abbey's Anthony Bell
calmly sank three free throws, and the Crusaders held on for dear
life as Lees-McRae's last second shot fell off the top of the
backboard, as the eighth-seeded Crusaders advanced to the
quarterfinal round of the 2007 CVAC Tournament with a 73-72 win
over the ninth-seeded Bobcats Monday evening. The Abbey improves
to 8-19 while the Bobcats end their season with a record of
6-22.
With the Abbey leading 66-65 with 3:25 left in regulation,
Lees-McRae scored the next four points, layups by Aaron Dugger and
Mike Fox, to give the Bobcats a 69-66 lead. It held the advantage,
never building its lead any higher than three points, until there
were 16 seconds remaining. A free throw by Dugger pushed the
Bobcats lead back to two points after a layup by Sidney Hoff.
On the ensuing Abbey possession, Bell took a pass at the top of
the key with 16 seconds left and went up for a shot, however the
Bobcats Henry Williams was called for a foul. In the silence of
the arena, Bell swished home three free throws to give the
Crusaders its first lead since the 3:25 mark.
After both teams used their final timeouts, the Bobcats set up
one final play with 12 seconds left. Dugger took a pass and drove
from the top of the key to the right side of the basket and let fly
a high arcing shot that hit the top of the backboard and fell off,
allowing the Crusaders to advance.
The game opened with the Crusaders in control from the opening
tip, as it led for most of the half. Tied at eight with 16:28 left
in the stanza, the Abbey went on a 20-6 run to build a lead of
28-14 with 9:24 left. The barrage included six three point field
goals, two by Bell, two by Karl Bauza and one by Brooks Beard. The
Bobcats countered with a 22-7 run, culminating with a three-pointer
by Dugger, giving Lees-McRae its first lead of the contest at 36-35
with 1:45 left. The Abbey would score last in the half, as Ric
Marczenko took a feed from Bauza and converted a layup with 50
seconds left to give the Crusaders a 37-36 halftime advantage.
Lees-McRae scored the first basket of the half to briefly regain
the lead, but the Crusaders answered with a 12-2 run, using
three-pointers by Jonathan Jackson and Beard, and a pair of layups
by Jackson and Hoff to give the Abbey a nine-point edge at 49-40
with 15:48 to play. The Crusaders held the lead for the next 9:42
until the Bobcats tied the game at 59 with 5:33 remaining.
The Crusaders were leading 59-53 with 7:26 left before
Lees-McRae embarked on a 6-0 run to knot the contest at 59. Beard
gave the Abbey the lead again with a layup, but the Bobcats
answered with a layup to tie, followed by a free throw to give them
a one-point advantage at 62-61 with 4:23 left. The two teams would
trade baskets, and with the Crusaders down two with 3:25 left, Bell
drained a three-pointer, giving the Abbey the lead for the 13th
time. The Bobcats would continue to claw their way back into the
game as Dugger, (pictured top left) and Fox hit consecutive layups
to stretch the lead to 69-66. Hoff would pull the Abbey within one
with a layup, but Dugger stretched the advantage to 71-68 with two
free throws. Hoff again cut it to one with a layup, and after
Dugger's free throw with 26 seconds left, the stage was set for
Bell's game ending heroics.
Bell and Hoff led four Crusaders in double figures as the pair
finished with 16 points each. Jackson finished with 12 points and
Beard added ten as the Abbey shot 45.8 percent (27-59) from the
field.
Lees-McRae was led by Williams' 23 points, while Dugger added 21
and eight rebounds. The Bobcats shot 42.2 percent (27-64) from the
field.
Seniors Dugger, Fox, and Williams all played their final games
in Bobcat uniforms.
