Senior guard Sam McDuffie scored a career-high 34 points on 12-for-17 shooting from the field (2-for-3 from three-point range, 8-for-12 from the free-throw line) and also recorded six rebounds, three assists, two steals and one block. McDuffie is now just 18 points away from the 1,000-point milestone for his career. With his six rebounds, he also surpassed Adrian Miles (2006-09) for 2nd on the school’s all-time leading rebounders’ list.
Also, senior forward Terrence Parkes scored a career-high 29 points to go with 14 rebounds for his 11th career double-double. Parkes shot 11-for-19 from the field, including 3-for-7 from three-point range and 4-for-7 from the foul line.
The Lightning (0-1) took a 41-26 advantage into halftime as a result of a 44.8 percent to 20.7 percent shooting percentage differential. The Ravens (1-0) then shot a scintillating 60 percent (21-for-35) from the field in the second half as they outscored Goldey-Beacom 59-44 to force overtime. Franklin Pierce would outscore GBC 12-8 in the five-minute overtime session and sneak away with a 97-93 victory.
The 97 points allowed was the most points scored by a Lightning opposing team since Jan. 13, 2005 when GBC allowed 99 points in a loss to Holy Family. This game also marked the first time that both GBC and its opponent scored over 90 points since Jan. 31, 2004 when the Lightning outlasted Bloomfield 106-101.
After dominating the second half, Franklin Pierce held a four-point lead (80-76) after a layup by Eric Jean-Guillaume (24 points, three assists, five steals) with 1:38 left in regulation. Two consecutive layups by McDuffie, the second of which coming on a steal and assist from graduate student forward Rich Flemming, sent the game to a tie at 80 apiece.
After two free-throws by FPU’s Kinard Dozier (26 points, five rebounds, five assists), McDuffie went right back to work, driving for a third consecutive layup and the foul as the Lightning faithful erupted in the Jones Center once the senior guard put the Lightning back in front, 83-82 with 44 seconds left to play.
Just when it seemed GBC had made a defensive stop, Abu Adedamola came up with an offensive rebound off a missed Jean-Guillaume layup and put in his own layup off the glass to put the Ravens back in front, 84-83 with 28 seconds left.
The Lightning turned the ball over the next trip down, forcing senior guard Ido Yehuda to quickly foul Franklin Pierce’s Andre Blackwood.
After sinking the first, Blackwood missed the second. Parkes gathered the rebound and sent a quick outlet pass to McDuffie. Surging past Raven defenders, McDuffie took the ball straight to the basket and made his fifth consecutive layup to send the game to an 85-85 tie with six seconds showing on the scoreboard.
In that final six seconds, both teams would squander opportunities to win the game in regulation. First, FPU threw the ball away at their own end, leaving GBC with an opportunity to inbound the ball on the offensive end and take a shot with three seconds left.
McDuffie tried to send the inbounds pass to senior point guard Azeez Ellegood (6 points, 5 assists), but Ellegood’s feet got tangled up beneath him and he stumbled while trying to receive the pass and consequently the ball went off his hands and out of bounds with one second left. Dozier hoisted a shot from beyond half-court but it did not go, and the game went to overtime.
In the overtime session, the two teams traded baskets early. Jean Guillaume opened the scoring with a jumper, and McDuffie scored yet again when he put in a layup off his own offensive rebound to send the game to its 13th and final tie of the afternoon.
But Franklin Pierce would open up a five-point lead on a three-pointer by Nigel Van Oostrum (11 points, 3-for-3 from three-point range) and a breathtaking reverse layup by Jean-Guillame, and the Ravens would never relinquish the lead again.
The Lightning shot themselves in the foot with 3-of-6 shooting from the foul line in three trips to the stripe as they only managed to cut the deficit to two despite holding the Ravens scoreless for over two minutes.
With his team ahead 92-90, Dozier calmly sank both his free-throws to extend the Ravens’ lead back to four with 45 seconds left to play. Dozier, who made 14-of-16 from the line for the game, also made 1-of-2 with 22 seconds left after a Flemming layup had brought the Lightning back within two.
GBC’s free-throw shooting woes continued with the fourth consecutive 1-of-2 trip at the line, allowing Dozier to ice the game with two free-throws at the 10-second mark. The Ravens then held on for a 97-93 win.
Next up for GBC is a rematch of last year's thrilling 89-80 overtime game against Shippensburg University of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference. Tipoff is slated for 8 p.m. on Mon. night at the Joseph West Jones Center.
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