By Darren Sands
Michael Radziejewski scored 21 points and shot four of seven from behind the arc to help boost the Pride in a 95-88 triple overtime victory over James Madison University last night at Hofstra Arena.
With the win the Pride improves to 15-7 (7-6 Colonial Athletic Association) and remains in sixth place in the conference. Sophomore Loren Stokes scored a career-high 30 points, while grabbing eight rebounds with three steals. With the win, the Pride is just three games away from the 1,000th win in the program’s history.
JMU did not make No. 997 easy, however. The Dukes came out firing and went on a 9-2 run to open the game. Wendell Gibson went out early with foul trouble, but Antoine Agudio’s three-pointer with 14:17 remaining closed the gap to 11-9. JMU (4-17, 2-11 CAA) shot 41 percent (14 of 34) from the field in the first half, and led by as much as 12, sinking three of six from behind the arc. The Pride went on a 7-0 run to close the half behind a three-point field goal from Radziejewski to cut the JMU lead down to six.
The second half, though, belonged to Stokes. JMU had no answer for Stokes, who struggled from the free-throw line, making only 12 of his career-high 22 attempts. Stokes dazzled with strong moves to the basket, scoring 22 of his 30 points in the second half of the game before fouling out on a questionable player control foul going to the hoop with 1:23 left to go in the second overtime.
Coach Tom Pecora inserted Adrian Uter in place of Wendell Gibson in the second half and Uter made his presence felt. In just 23 minutes Uter blocked six shots and grabbed six rebounds in a solid defensive effort. Antoine Agudio’s three-pointer with 13:31 remaining in regulation gave the Pride its first lead since 2-0. Uter’s play seemed to be just what the Pride needed.
“Wendell [Gibson] was a little out of sync out there,” Pecora said. “So we went with Uter and he was very active. We needed some athleticism on the baseline.”
There were eight lead-changes before the Pride got a huge break from JMU’s Cavell Johnson. Mount Vernon’s Jomo Belfor tied the score at 62 with just 23 seconds remaining, but the Pride turned the ball over after holding for a last-second shot. Johnson, who could have used the Dukes’ last time out, grabbed the loose ball and heaved a desperation shot just inside half-court with 2.5 seconds left. The miss sent the game into the first overtime, where the Pride had a chance to win late.
But Antoine Agudio front-rimmed a 20-footer as time expired. In the second overtime, JMU guard Chris Clarke traveled with 4.9 seconds left, giving the Pride yet another opportunity to win with a last-second shot. Agudio (12 points) missed another running jumper to send the game into triple overtime. Both shots were good looks, but the red-shirt freshman couldn’t knock them down.
Gibson came up big in the third overtime after sitting in place of Uter (five points). He made good on two trips to the foul line to give the Pride an 88-84 lead with 3:04 remaining. Michael Radziejewski sealed the game with a slam-dunk off of a fast break. The Pride finally got that senior leadership.
Already shorthanded by the loss of its best player Daniel Freeman, who is out for the year with a foot injury, JMU featured John Goodman, Chris Clarke, and Ulrich Kossekpa in significant minutes down the stretch-a trio that averaged a combined four points entering Wednesday’s game. The Pride simply outlasted its opponent with depth-a telling sign that the upperclassmen are stepping up.
“I thought we were on the cusp of breaking the game open a few times there,” Pecora said. “Our depth was there and when we look back, we may realize how big a win this really was.”
NOTES AND QUOTES
Rivera Injured
Sophomore guard Carlos Rivera will undergo an MRI Thursday to determine the extent of a right knee injury suffered in the second half of Wednesday night’s game against JMU. Rivera, who wore a brace after the game, said that team doctors warned him that the injury might be a partial tear of his ACL. This would be an injury to the same knee that ended Rivera’s season last year in a game against Delaware.
A First
Wednesday’s game marked the first triple overtime game in the program’s history. It is also the first triple overtime game Tom Pecora has coached. When asked to comment on Saturday’s match-up with UNC-Wilmington, an exhausted Pecora was forced to play catch up.
“At midnight I’ll think about UNC-Wilmington,” Pecora quipped after the game. “For right now I just want to enjoy this one.”