Warriors Win Wild One, 116-114, In Triple Overtime

 

Saturday, Nov. 20, 2004

 

WILLIMANTIC, Conn. -- First-year junior guard Michael Stallings (WATERBURY) scored on an off-balance bank shot at the horn ending a third and final overtime session to give men's basketball a 116-114 victory over Westfield State College Saturday afternoon in the championship game of the Nancy K. Suliniski '76 Memorial Basketball Tournament at Francis E. Geissler Gymnasium.

 

The game was the longest and involved the most points in the 25-year history of Eastern's annual men's and women's basketball tournament and the win gives Eastern (2-0) its seventh title, second in a row. Eastern had last won consecutive championships in 1987 and 1988.

 

Westfield had tied the game 80-all and forced the first overtime on a bucket by sophomore guard Ricky Ogboin with 1.4 second left in regulation, then tied the game at 90-all and forced a second overtime when sophomore forward Dan Holbrook grabbed an offensive rebound and scored with 12 seconds left. Stallings tied the game 101-101 at the end of the second overtime when he scored on a driving layup with three second left. A basket by Eastern freshman forward Saliym Wilson (MANHATTAN, NY) with 20 seconds left had given Eastern a 114-111 lead in the third overtime. The Owls (1-1) pulled to within 114-112 on a free throw by junior guard Bayete Gordon with 18 seconds left, and after Eastern turned the ball over with 15.5 seconds remaining, Westfield tied the game on a basket by senior forward Vaso Jaukovic with with 13 seconds left. On their final possession, the Warriors went the length of the floor and Stallings dropped in a twisting bank shot from the left of the key as time expired for the winning points.

 

Five Eastern players (four starters ) and two Westfield players fouled out in a game which featured 66 fouls and 86 free throw attempts. Although only one started, first-year players contributed 69 points.

 

The Owls, making their first appearance in the finals in their fifth time in the tournament, scored 41 points from the free throw line, hitting 73.2 per cent of their 56 attempts. Gordon was 10-for-11 and freshman guard Tony Collier 11-for-14. Eastern senior forward Jeroy Smith (NEW HAVEN) was 7-for-9 from the stripe and sophomore guard Matt Albon (MIDDLEBURY) 5-for-6.

 

Eastern guard Shiwon Davis (STRATFORD) became only the second freshman (first since Eastern's Gary Wooten in 1981) to gain tournament Most Outstanding Player honors. Despite fouling out seconds into the first overtime, Davis finished with a team-high 21 points (8-for-11 from the floor), scoring all but six of his points after halftime. He was joined on the all-tournament team by teammates Stallings and Smith, Gordon and Jaukovic of Westfield and senior forward Steve Monteiro of Saint Joseph's College (ME).

 

Stallings and Smith were among six Eastern players to reach double figures against Westfield. Stallings came off the bench to score 19 points (9-for-17 from the floor). Smith, who shared last year's Most Outstanding Player Award, had 15 points and a game-high 12 rebounds in the final before leaving with his fifth personal foul with 23.6 seconds left in the second overtime.

 

Eastern's final point total was its highest since defeating Westfield State 116-89 Jan. 12, 1972 on its previous home court -- Windham high School.

 

In Friday's come-from-behind 64-59 win over Saint Joseph's, Davis had seven points and four assists -- scoring five of his points to give Eastern the lead for good late in the game. Smith had 12 points and nine rebounds in the first-round win and Stallings seven points.

 

In Westfield's 93-80 first-round win over Newbury College, Gordon had a team-high 22 points (8-for-12 from the floor) and five assists. Jaukovich had only two points in that win.

 

Saint Joseph's (1-1) won the consolation game over Newbury College (0-2), 65-44. Monteiro led all players with 20 points (9-for-12 from the floor), freshman forward Walky Maglorie leading Newbury with 19 points (6-for-9 from the floor). As they did against Eastern, the Monks built an early lead against the Nighthawks. Behind Monteiro's 14 first-half points, Saint Joseph's moved out to a ten-point, 21-11 advantage before Newbury battled back to within four points on several occasions. Saint Joseph's regained the momentum with a seven-point run -- sophomore forward Pat Mileski scoring five points and grabbing two rebounds in that stretch in the opening minutes of the second half.

 

In the opening loss to Eastern, Monteiro also led both teams in scoring with a game-high 14 points. In the tournament, he converted 15 of 22 chances from the floor.

 

Eastern Conn. 116, Westfield State College 114, 3 ot

 

WESTFIELD STATE (1-1): Steve Martins 0-2 3-4 3; Gavin Illangakoon 4-7 0-0 8; Bayete Gordon 6-18 10-11 22; Tony Collier 3-18 11-14 18; Vaso Jaukovic 9-19 7-10 27; James Ogbunize 1-2 4-5 6; Ricky Ogboin 4-8 3-5 11; Dan Holbrook 8-14 3-7 19. TOTAL: 35-88 41-56 114.

EASTERN CONN. (2-0): Shiwon Davis 8-11 3-5 21; Antwoine Key 5-8 0-0 11; Mike Bartunek 3-9 0-0 8; Matt Albon 4-9 5-6 13; Jeroy Smith 4j-9 7-9 15; Tyrone Murphy 0-0 0-0 0; Geoffrey Richardson 7-11 1-1 19; Michael Stallings 9-17 1-2 19; Leon Martin 0-1 0-0 0; Tim Callahan 1-5 2-7 4; Saliym Wilson 3-3 0-0 6. TOTAL: 44-83 19-30 116.

Score at halftime: W, 39-37

Score at regulation: 80-80

Score after first overtime: 90-90

Score after second overtime: 101-101

Three-point goals:W 3-20 (Jaukovic 2-7, Collier 1-5, Martins 0-1, Illangakoon 0-2, Gordon 0-2, Ogboin 0-1, Holbrook 0-1; E 9-21 (Richardson 4-6, Davis 2-3, Bartunek 2-7, Key 1-1, Albon 0-1, Martin 0-1, Callahan 0-2). Rebounds: W 45 (Holbrook 11), E 54 (Smith 12); Assists: W 13 (Collier 4, Jaukovic 4), E 17 (Smith 4, Callahan 4).