NORTON, Mass. – Sophomore guard Xoren Livingston (Wayland, Mass.) scored on a layup with just 6.8 seconds to go in overtime to give the Springfield College men's basketball team a thrilling 83-81 victory over host Wheaton College (Mass.) this evening in New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference play at Emerson Gymnasium on the Wheaton campus in Norton, Mass.
The Lyons slip to 5-7 overall and 0-3 in league play, while the Pride improve to 5-6 and 2-0.
Springfield shot 48.3% (28-58) for the game and missed just two field goals in the overtime period, going 5-7 (71.4%). Wheaton shot 35.2% (25-71) from the floor, including 12 three-pointers on 34 attempts.
The Lyons came back from deficits of 71-64 with 36 seconds left in the second half and 81-77 with 36 seconds left again in the overtime, before knotting the score both times prior to the visitors' eventual victory.
Junior guard Tristan Herry (East Taunton, Mass.) led Wheaton with 19 points, including four three-balls and added three rebounds, two assists and a steal. Junior forward Eoin Morrissey (Watertown, Mass.) netted 14 points, including the Lyons' last four points of the night to tie the contest at 81-81. He added eight boards, four assists and a steal, while sophomore guard Dimetri Iafrate (Johnston, R.I.) scored 15 points, pulled down six rebounds, handed out five assists and came up with a pair of steals. Senior guard Ty Murphy (Dedham, Mass.) contributed with 11 points off the bench, including a huge triple with 20 seconds left in regulation. He also came up with four steals in 20 minutes off the bench.
Livingston finished with 15 points, three rebounds, four steals and an assist for the Pride, while graduate student guard Jarron Flynn (Roslindale, Mass.) led all scorers with 21 points on 6-11 shooting to go with seven boards, two assists and a steal. Junior forward Josiah Evely (Toronto, Ont.) finished a rebound shy of a double-double with 16 points and nine rebounds in addition to a blocked shot and two assists.
Evely converted one of two free throws to give Springfield a 71-64 lead with 36 seconds left in regulation, before Wheaton's improbable bid to send the contest into overtime began.
The Lyons took advantage of three turnovers and scored seven unanswered points to knot the game at 71-71 before the buzzer sounded to signal the extra period. Morrissey converted a driving layup with 27 seconds left, the Pride turned the ball over on a bad pass, before Murphy drilled a fade away trifecta from the corner to pull Wheaton within two at 71-69 with 20 seconds showing on the second half clock. Springfield turned the ball over again on the in-bounds play, but Iafrate's driving layup would not go down. The Pride grabbed the rebound, but were called for traveling on the landing to give the Lyons one last chance. Morrissey was unable to convert on a driving layup, but Iafrate was there for the rebound and a crazy layup while turned away from the basket to tie the game with 1.1 seconds left. Flynn heaved a three-pointer from before half court that drew iron but was off the mark.
Evelyn netted the first four points of the overtime period to give Springfield a 75-71 margin with 3:54 to play in the session. Wheaton cut the margin to 78-77 after a driving layup from Iafrate, but Livingston drained a triple with 36 ticks left in the game to give the Pride an 81-77 lead. The Lyons were able to capitalize on two more crucial miscues by Springfield with back-to-back layups from Morrissey to knot the contest at 81-81 with 20 seconds left in the game. The Pride bled the clock down before Livingston converted the game-winning basket on a layup from the left side with 6.8 seconds left. Wheaton looked to come away with the improbable comeback triumph, but junior guard Sal Pedevillano's (Parsippany, N.J.) three-point try from the right corner was off the mark in the last second of the game.
The teams were tied early at 7-7 with 15:03 to play in the opening half, before a 12-4 stretch fueled by six points from Evely gave Springfield a 19-11 advantage with 10:05 to go in the half. Flynn later made a driving layup to maintain a 27-20 cushion for the Pride with 4:19 left in the first session. The Lyons closed within one after a 9-3 run, paced by five points from Herry, to make it 30-29 with 53 seconds remaining in the half. Springfield took a 32-29 margin into the break.
Livingston knocked down a pair of free throws to bump the Pride's lead to 36-31 at the 19:19 mark of the second half, before Wheaton put together a 20-8 stretch, led by nine points from Pedevillano, to give the home team its largest lead of the night at 51-44 with 13:11 to play in regulation.
Springfield regrouped and went on a blistering 14-0 run, capped by a layup from senior center Curtiss Blische (Barkhamsted, Conn.), to take a 58-51 lead with 7:33 showing on the second half clock. The Pride later extended their advantage to 65-55 with under four minutes to go in the half after scoring seven of eight points. The Lyons roared back with nine of the next 11 points to pull within 67-64 with 2:04 to play, before Springfield increased its lead to seven with 36 seconds left in the stanza.
Wheaton returns to the court on Tuesday, January 14 when it heads to Newport, R.I. to take on NEWMAC foe Salve Regina in Newport, R.I. at 7:30 p.m., while the Pride return to action on January 11 when they host Salve Regina at 1:00 p.m..
