Rome, GA--Graham Maxwell hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:57 left and then hit three free throws in the closing seconds as No. 22 Emmanuel battled from behind to capture a 50-46 victory here Friday night over Faulkner in the semifinals of the Southern States Athletic Conference Tournament at The Forum.
With the win, the Emmanuel Lions not only earned a berth in Saturday's final against
Southern Poly but also secured one of the two automatic bids to the NAIA national tournament in Kansas City, Mo. It looked for most of the night that the upstart Eagles would win their sixth straight and head to the national tournament for the first time in four years, but down the stretch Faulkner couldn't hang on.
Faulkner held Emmanuel without a field goal for almost an 18-minute stretch in the game --the last 13 minutes of the first half and the first five of the second--and built as much as a 10-point lead, coming on a Chris Palmore basket with 15:48 left in the game. A 12-2 Lion run, sparked by back-to-back 3-pointers by Charles Johnson, tied the game at 36 with 10:05 to play, and it was nip-and-tuck from there.
Faulkner's Decorey Jones made a pair of free throws with 3:21 to give Faulkner a 46-44 lead, but the Eagles wouldn't score again. After Maxwell's go-ahead 3, Palmore and Decorey Jones each missed shots that would have given the Eagles the lead back the final minute. Maxwell made one of two free throw attempts to push the lead to 48-46 with 22 seconds left, however Palmore's runner in the lane was off the mark with 8 seconds left. The Eagles had one final chance after a pair of missed Lion free throws, but the Eagles' Jake Mitchell turned it over with 1.8 seconds left, slamming the door. Maxwell's two free throws closed out the scoring.
"We certainly had our chances to win, we just didn't make the plays late in the game," Faulkner head coach Jim Sanderson said. "We didn't take care of the ball late, and we just couldn't get anything to go in the basket late. Emmanuel hit the big shot when they had to.
"I'm really proud of this team though. Two weeks ago a lot of teams would have hung it up, but these guys battled and battled and came within a minute earning a bid to the national tournament."
Faulkner (13-19) was paced by Palmore's 11 points and six rebounds. He played the game with his shooting hand heavily wrapped due to a ligament injury to his wrist. Faulkner made seven more field goals than Emmanuel, but the Lions connected on 17 free throws on 15 attempts, while the Eagles made six on just seven attempts.
Maxwell was the leading scorer for Emmanuel (25-7) with 12 points, with Michael
Stanley adding 11.
Emmanuel made its first four 3-point attempts and five of its first six shots in racing to a 16-4 lead with 13:40 left in the opening half. Faulkner then clamped down defensively, forcing numerous Lion turnovers and forced shots. As Emmanuel went cold from the field, Faulkner heated up and tied the game at 17 on a Birama Konate lay-in with 8:38
on the clock. After Michael Stanley made a pair of free throws to give the Lions
a 21-19 lead with5:31 left, the Eagles ended the half on a 9-1 run to take a 28-22 advantage to the locker room. Emmanuel didn't make a field goal in the last 13:40 of the half.
Posted on
Mon, March 7, 2011
by Hugh Morgan