Phoenix ends regular season with 112-108 victory
Men’s basketball team puts UNC-G away after three
overtimes in front of sell-out crowd Colin Donohue / Managing Editor
It would’ve been easy to pack it in, hit the showers,
come to practice the next day and prepare for the tournament.
One emotionally charged, draining overtime game was enough
for one week.
The odds were stacked against them: Jackson Atoyebi –
fouled out. Montell Watson – down with an ankle injury.
Steve Harvin – battling a stomach virus. Rasmi Gamble
– playing with four fouls. Matt Nowlin –
struggling to find his range.
Yet in the face of such adversity, Elon displayed heart,
fearlessness, moxie – all the qualities this Phoenix
team needed to complete a gutsy performance.
Elon emerged victorious in three overtimes Saturday night,
in a game large on length, but larger on actions. The 112-108
victory against UNC-Greensboro only determined which team
would receive the third seed in the North Division of the
Southern Conference tournament that started Wednesday.
But the two teams played as if it was the championship game.
Both teams scratched and crawled, kicked and punched, leaped
in excitement and slumped in rejection, until Elon landed
that last exhaustive blow that forced a sell-out crowd of
1,585 at Alumni Gym to rush the floor. The victory ended
Elon’s up-and-down, yet wholly successful, first season
in the SoCon at 7-9.
“That was the most emotional game I’ve ever
played in,” Nowlin said. “We just kept playing.
We run at 6 a.m. for a game like this.”
Nowlin was hero No. 1. Down one with 10 seconds left in
regulation, Nowlin – shooting only 2 for 10 at that
point – came off a screen and nailed a fade away
3-pointer to put Elon up by a point. After two Watson free
throws, Elon had a 79-76 lead.
“I’m never going to stop shooting. Every shot I
take I think is a good one,” Nowlin said. “I
thought the game was over then.”
The Spartans’ Ronnie Taylor didn’t. With two
seconds remaining, Ronnie Burrell caught the cross-court
inbounds pass, spun and passed it to Taylor, who drilled a
27-footer to send that game into overtime at 79-79.
A Harvin lay up with less than a minute remaining in the
first overtime put Elon up 87-84. Taylor, though, would again
pull his team from the jaws of defeat.
UNCG’s Josh Gross corralled an offensive rebound and
dished it off to Taylor who knocked down the open here once
more. Elon got off one more play with three seconds left, but
Nowlin’s 3-pointer was off point.
In the second overtime, UNCG could taste the spoils of
victory. Elon, again up by three, fouled Taylor on a 3-point
attempt. He sunk all three of his free throws to tie the game
95-95. On Elon’s ensuing possession, Harvin slipped
near midcourt, forcing a jump ball. As a result, UNCG gained
possession.
A poised Taylor hit an 18-footer with three seconds left to
give the Spartans a 97-95 lead.
Then, the play of the game.
“As soon as (Taylor) made his shot, Scottie (Rice)
started running, so I grabbed the ball out of the net, then I
stepped back, then I threw it,” said senior Gary Marsh,
playing his last game in Alumni. “I lobbed it over long
enough so he could take one dribble and shoot. I’m glad
he caught it and made it.”
Only 2.4 seconds remained on the clock when Rice and Marsh
made eye contact.
Rice sprinted ahead of the pack and received Marsh’s
pass. His lay up spun all the way around the rim before it
finally fell.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a guy make a
play like that before,” Nestor said. “Great
reaction. Play of the game, really.”
In the third overtime, Elon grabbed a 105-104 lead with
close to two minutes remaining and never lost it.
“I didn’t know which way the game was gonna go
the whole time,” Nowlin said. “A lot of teams
would’ve folded up in a spot like that.”
The 55 minutes of basketball resulted in five players from
each team reaching double figures. Watson led Elon with 23
points. Atoyebi had 18 points, Rice recorded 19 and Nowlin,
despite his shooting woes, finished with 17. Gary Marsh, who
provided the offensive spark late in the second half and
overtimes, had 14 points and 10 rebounds.
The Spartans’ Taylor led all scorers with 27 points.
Jay Joseph had 22 points, and Josh Gross recorded the
game’s other double-double, scoring 16 points and
grabbing 12 rebounds.
Early in the contest, though, Elon was in total control. Up
by as much as 13 points, Elon frittered away the lead and
went into halftime down 42-41. The two teams traded baskets
throughout the second half.
It was the inability of both teams to rip off any
significant runs that forced the three extra periods.
“The real statement about it is this was a great
college basketball game that was difficult to lose,”
Nestor said. “Anybody who thinks they only play great
games when there are big buildings with a lot of people has
no idea what they’re missing in this conference.”
PHOENIX NOTES: Point guard Montell Watson, Elon’s best
player off the dribble, is unlikely to play in
Wednesday’s game. He left the game against UNCG with a
sprained ankle … Matt Nowlin’s deft shooting
touch garnered him enough attention to be named to the
Southern Conference’s All-Freshmen team Monday. He was
the runner up for SoCon Sports Media Association Freshman of
the Year award … Ernie Nestor finished third in the
Southern Conference Coach of the Year honors. East Tennessee
State’s Murray Bartow was named Coach of the Year after
leading the Bucs to a 15-1 conference record … Jackson
Atoyebi was inexplicably left off the SoCon’s
All-Conference team, as decided by the coaches. Atoyebi was,
however, named to the Sports Media Association second team
All-Conference.
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