Lindsey Branch, UMW Sports Information, Photo Credit Terri Haverfield
The Montana Western men's basketball team (8-7) fell in heartbreaking fashion tonight as the Carroll College Saints (8-7) beat the Bulldogs 75-73 on a buzzer beater.
How It Happened
Carroll opened up play by going on a 13-2 early scoring run behind Saints' guard Kendall Moore's five points.
Kayden Toldson broke the four-minute scoring drought for the Bulldogs with a layup and the two teams went toe to toe down the stretch.
Behind eight from Jalyn Stepney, Montana Western fought their way back into the matchup and back within single digits heading into the half down 37-28. Despite outshooting the Saints in the first half 41.4 to 39.5, the Saints put up nine more shots than that of the Bulldogs.
Abi Adedo quickly broke open scoring in the second half with a layup that fueled a big 9-0 scoring run that gave UMW their first lead of the game at 38-37.
Carroll answered as Moore went 4-4 from the free throw line to regain a lead at 41-38.
With 13:48 remaining in the game, Toldson hit a jumper with contact and drew a foul. Despite missing on the and one opportunity, Quincy Taylor grabbed an offensive board on the free throw. Stepney drained a three-pointer and followed it with a jumper for a 51-47 Bulldog lead.
Michael Haverfield put up his seventh point of the game as he put UMW out to a seven-point lead with 10:24 to play.
Following a timeout, Saints' center Zane Foster made a contested layup and capitalized on the foul from Haverfield to bring the UMW lead back to 60-56. The Saints continued to put the pressure on and utilized a 7-0 run to tie the game at 60 with 5:44 left in the game.
The two teams continued to battle down the stretch, trading leads five times through the final five minutes.
With just seven seconds remaining, a steal from Jacksen Burckley got the Bulldogs the ball back and Taylor hit a deep three-pointer to tie the game at 73. Despite the glimmer of hope, the Saints got the ball down the court quickly and a jumper from Moore at the buzzer closed the game out with the Saints on top at 75-73.
Notables
The Bulldogs are now 4-6 this season in games decided by 10 points or less.
In the first half alone, the two teams combined for 16 turnovers in what proved to be a slow start for both teams. They would combine for just eight in the second half.
Stepney led the Bulldogs on the night with 20 points. He also added five rebounds and three steals.
Taylor went for 12 points and went 2-3 from the arc.
Adedo led the Bulldogs in the paint with seven boards. He also put up six points and a block.
Up Next
Montana Western moves to 1-1 in conference play and will travel to the University of Providence on Saturday Jan. 13 for a 4:00 p.m. tip-off time.
