Bryan JV loses a thriller to Southeastern Bible in 2 overtimes

The Bryan College Men's JV team again proved that they can play with the best teams from NCCAA Division II when they traveled to Birmingham, AL to take on the Sabres from Southeastern Bible College.  The game was held in Seibert Gym on the campus of Samford University.  "The guys were thrilled to play in a Division I facility", Coach Schock said.  Fortunately the awe did not stay as the Lions went to work with the opening tip off.  Coming off a game the previous night where the Lions shot only 22% from the floor and 40% from the free throw line, it looked as if their poor shooting would continue as the Sabres jumped out to a 7-0 lead.  But Jordan Thompson answered with a hook shot and 3 pointer to cut the lead to 7-5.  The teams traded baskets for the next 10 minutes with Bryan finally taking the lead at 28-27 with 8 minutes to play in the first half.  That lead was short lived as Southeastern hit back to back threes.  The two teams again played even for the rest of the half with Southeastern taking a 46-41 lead into half-time.  "I felt good about where we were at half-time." Coach Schock said.  "We were playing a varsity team that had beaten Pensacola Christian by 19 and Toccoa Falls by 18.  But I told the guys that we needed to get some stops and contest their shooters better."  The second half started the same way as the first half.  The teams traded baskets, each team unable to stop the other from scoring.  But Southeastern was able to build a 14 point lead with 10 minutes remaining.  The scoreboard read 77-63.  "I called timeout and after discussing the situation with Coach Terry, we decided to make a couple of adjustments."  The result was a 23-9 run that ended regulation with an 86-86 tie game.  Another 5 minutes were added to the clock for the first overtime.  The two teams again battled to a tie with one minute remaining.  At that point, Tyler Boyd got an offensive rebound and put back to give the Lions a 2 point lead.  Bryan then got a much needed stop and Southeastern fouled Boyd.  He hit both foul shots to give his team a 4 point lead with 30 seconds remaining.  "I thought we had the game won at that point." Coach Schock said.  But Southeastern had other plans.  They hit a three from beyond NBA range.  "I don't know how the kid hit that shot.  Slikker did everything defensively but foul the kid."  Clinging to a 1 point lead, Bryan inbounded the ball and Boyd was immediately fouled.  With ice-water in his veins, he again hit both foul shots to give Bryan a much needed 3 point lead.  Southeastern called timeout with 12 seconds to go.  "We switched to our three point defense.  That is where we don't help on the drive and stay with their shooters."  That plan almost worked to perfection.  Almost.  The Sabres hit a very contest 3 at the buzzer to tie the game at 106-106 to send the game into a second overtime.  "The most frustrating thing about the game is that we did everything right to win the game."  Coach Schock said.  "We made our free throws, we did not let them penatrate and dish to open shooters.  We stayed with their shooters and contest every shot.  I give them a lot of credit, they hit some very big shots."  The second overtime started with Southeastern getting a quick three.  Bryan answered with a three of its own.  Southeastern got to the foul line on their next possession, hit the first free throw but missed the second and got a tip in to give them a three point lead.  Bryan was never able to recover as Southeastern made its free throws down the stretch to come away with a 117-111 victory.  Bryan was led in scoring by Tyler Boyd with 26 points and 11 rebounds.  Chase Baker had 17 points and 18 rebounds, Andrew Slikker had 17 points and 10 rebounds and Jordan Thompson had 17 points and 10 rebounds as well.  The Lions also got strong play from Justin MacKay inside, JD Davis and Jonathan Dilts both played well on the perimeter and hit big shots.  "Steven Gunter's defense was a big reason for the Lion's 23-9 run to send the game into overtime.  He got steals and rebounds and took care of the ball.  He really stepped up."  Coach Schock said after the game.  Tyler Winstead and DJ Scheidt provided important minutes off the bench.  Coach Schock said, "As much as I was impressed with our guys tonight, I would say our MVP was Tyrone Sheppard.  He only scored 6 points, but we was under constant pressure the whole night.  They defended him full court, brought double teams, triple teams.  He handled the pressure and still managed to run our offense.  Defensively he held their point guard in check the whole night.  Southeastern's point guard had previously played at UAB.  The win would have been awesome, but I am still so proud of these guys.  This is a great group of young men and they making coaching basketball fun."