By: Justin Wollard, Media Relations Director
BOLIVAR, Mo. -- The #5 SBU Bearcats held on for a thrilling 86-84 victory over the Washburn Ichabods, to win their 20th game of the season and 28th consecutive game at the Meyer Sports Center.
Two clutch three-pointers by D'Ante Harris led the Bearcats (20-3, 13-3 MIAA) to victory. Harris' first big shot came with 2:59 remaining to put SBU up 81-79. His second trey put the Bearcats up by five with 1:05 to go. Nick Kovacevich also hit two big free throws with 13.5 seconds to put SBU up by three at 86-83.
WU's DeAndre Eggins was fouled with 5.5 seconds left and made the first free throw and missed the second one intentionally. Washburn (13-11, 9-8 MIAA) got the ball back after the scramble with 2.5 seconds remaining, but a last second three-point attempt from Eggins was no good and a follow-up dunk by the Ichabods' Lekeythan Malone was after the buzzer.
"It was a good win, especially the way that we won," said head Jeff Guiot. "We had just enough plays to win the game. The players had to step up and get the job done and fortunately for us, it was done."
SBU led by as much as 12 points in the first half before going to the break up 49-38. A steal by freshman Ryan Dougherty gave SBU their largest second half margin at 57-44 with just over three minutes gone. Washburn would chip away at the lead and eventually take the lead at 75-73 on a trey by Paul Byers with 4:50 remaining. The Ichabods would hold a slight lead over the next two minutes before D'Ante Harris would hit his two crucial shots from long distance.
Kovacevich led the Bearcats with 17 points as SBU put five players in double figures. D'Ante Harris had 14, Johnnie Harris had 12, Matt Rogers had 11 and Wendell Mardis added 10. Rogers also led the Bearcats with eight rebounds and six blocks. The 'Cats shot 51% and went 21-for-26 from the foul line, including all 16 free throws in the first half.
SBU makes the trip to Hays, Kansas, on Wednesday to take on Fort Hays State in a 7:30 p.m. tipoff. SBU defeated Fort Hays 84-64 on January 10 in Bolivar.
Final Stats
