A last-second jumper didn’t fall and SUNY Niagara survived to play another day.
The 16th-seeded Thunderwolves edged No. 17 Oakland (Michigan) Community College 74-71 in overtime of the first round of the NJCAA Division II men’s basketball tournament Monday in Danville, Illinois.
After Oakland’s Linden Holder made a free throw with seven seconds remaining to force overtime, Chioke Marshall made a layup to tie the game with 1:49 left in overtime and added another free throw to take the lead with 37 seconds left as part of his 27-point performance off the bench.
Oakland jumped out to a 17-6 lead halfway through the first half and led 29-16 with less than five minutes left before halftime. But Niagara went on a 10-1 run to close the opening half to cut the lead to 30-26.
Daniel Reyes made a layup to give the Thunderwolves their first lead with 6:37 remaining. But Oakland made a 12-4 run to take a seven-point lead with three minutes left. An 8-0 run to regain the lead was capped by a Reyes free throw with nine seconds remaining.
Niagara’s Jamyier Patton had four points and two steals in overtime, including two free throws in the final 10 seconds. Patton finished with 16 points, five steals and four rebounds in the game.
Marshall shot 11 of 18 from the field and scored 25 of his game-high 27 in the second half and overtime after scoring two points on 0 of 3 shooting in the first 20 minutes. Reyes finished with seven points and six rebounds.
Justin Latham led Oakland with 22 points and 13 rebounds.
The Thunderwolves advance to face top-seeded Pima (Arizona) in the second round at noon Tuesday.
SUNY Niagara women drop overtime slugfest
The SUNY Niagara women weren’t as lucky in their overtime bout with Rock Valley (Illinois), falling 89-85.
The 16th-seeded Thunderwolves didn’t go down without a fight against the No. 17 Golden Eagles in Joplin, Missouri. They trailed by 15 at halftime and the lead grew to 17 six minutes into the third quarter.
Niagara trimmed the lead to five at the end of the third quarter and battled back to take the lead on a layup by Anaya Smith with 4:19 remaining. The Thunderwolves led by four with 1:27 left and had a chance to win it on two shots at the final buzzer.
Rock Valley went 2 of 5 from the field in overtime, but 8 of 10 from the free-throw line. Mia Moore made the go-ahead layup for Rock Valley with 19 seconds left and Niagara missed a pair of shots to tie or take the lead. Moore scored 15 of her game-high 33 in the first half, but the Thunderwolves held her to three in the third quarter, only for Moore to score 15 in the fourth quarter and overtime.
Smith scored 17 of her team-high 22 after halftime. Krystal Smith chipped in 17 points and nine rebounds, while Niagara Falls alumna Atarah Walker had 14 points and 10 rebounds in 18 minutes off the bench.
Niagara plays No. 13 Schoolcraft (Michigan) at 10 a.m. Tuesday in an elimination game.