McNeese State Survives in Overtime Thriller, Downs UTSA 78-74

McNeese State Survives in Overtime Thriller, Downs UTSA 78-74

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By Brandon C. Williams
Southland.org

KATY, Texas -- Merrell Madness indeed.

A McNeese team that had lost four straight entering the tournament trailed defending champion UTSA by 13 early in the second half and appeared to be on the way to an early exit until a pair of freshmen -- combined with shaky free throw shooting from UTSA -- led to another day of play for the Cowboys.

Six free throws in the final 43 seconds allowed the Cowboys to eliminate the Roadrunners in a 78-74 overtime nail-biter and allowed McNeese (16-14) to take on UT Arlington in Thursday night's semifinal.

"We weren't ready to go home," said Cowboys coach Dave Simmons. "We told these guys before the game that if we want to stay here (Thursday), we've got to win tonight."

Simmons words echoed loudly throughout the second half as McNeese, which trailed 32-19 early in the second half, used an intense defensive effort to slowly walk down UTSA (18-14), finally taking their first lead since the 12:01 mark of the first half when Adrian Fields knocked down a 3-pointer to give them a 57-55 edge with 2:28 left.

It was the only field goal the Cowboys would score in the final 5:30 of regulation, yet they held a 63-60 lead after a pair of Dontae Cannon free throws with 11 seconds remaining. With their season on the line, UTSA went to Kannon Burrage, who delivered a 25-foot bomb with six seconds on the clock to force the extra session.

The Roadrunners might have been able to avoid the loss had their normally reliable free throw shooting not taken the night off. The nation's 22nd best team from the stripe, UTSA missed 18 of 32 from the line, including a critical miss from Stephen Franklin late in overtime that would have put UTSA within two.

"We haven't struggled like this from the free throw line," said UTSA coach Brooks Thompson. "We are a great free throw shooting team, but tonight it wasn't there."

Great shooting from the stripe wasn't necessarily there for McNeese, which missed 16 of their 42 opportunities, but having Cannon -- who went 10 for 10 -- proved to be the difference.

While senior standout Patrick Richard struggled from the field (4 of 15), he buttressed his night by adding 11 rebounds and seven assists to go along with his 16 points. Where Richard failed in scoring, the freshmen duo of Desharick Guidry and Kevin Hardy delivered.

Guidry came off the bench to score 14 points and grabbed nine rebounds, while Hardy scored eight points and pulled down seven boards.

"I don't consider them as freshmen, because they've logged a lot of minutes," said Simmons. "I can say they're upperclassmen right now."
 
 
Postgame Quotes

McNeese State head coach Dave Simmons
Opening statement...

"I am just glad that we are still alive and our kids played hard. I thought we brought the fight here and we weren't ready to go home. We have a heart of champions, and we knew that if we wanted to play tomorrow, we had to win tonight. It was a tough opponent, and we knew they are a very good basketball team, and it was a great game. We are just glad to get the win."

On the team's effort...
"Give UTSA credit. We tried our best [in the first half], but UTSA did a good job stopping us. But we regrouped in the second half. This group has been a great second half team. I am just proud of them because these eight players that are playing are giving us everything we can ask for as a coach."

 
McNeese State senior forward Patrick Richard

On moving onto the next round...

"We knew that coming into the game, a lot of people might have written us off since we lost four in a row after winning eight straight. But coach always preaches about faith and we just kept faith. At halftime, we were in the locker room and we said that we didn't want to go home. Everyone had to step up in a lot of different areas. It isn't about just one person but about everybody stepping up."

 
McNeese State junior guard Dontae Cannon

On going 10-for-10 from the free throw line...

"I just knew that I needed to go to the line and make shots and knock down free throws to keep the lead at three or four points. I just had to go up there and knock them down."

 
 
UTSA head coach Brooks Thompson

Opening statement...

"I feel for our three seniors: Stephen Franklin, Alex Vouyoukas and Sei Paye. I feel for them for finishing this year and their career. They have meant a lot to our program. They have won 38 games in the last two years and done some great things for our team and program. Obviously, everyone knows that we are all disappointed about tonight. I think everyone in our locker room is disappointed in our entire season. Even though we won 18 games and 10 games in the conference, we still feel like it is a disappointment. But on the flip side, to be disappointed with 18 wins means that we feel like our program is very stable and heading in a more positive direction."

On team free throw shooting...
"We led the league in free throw percentage this year. We haven't struggled like this from the free throw line all season, and we are a great three throw shooting team. Free throws were a huge part of this loss tonight."