Another furious second half comeback from Edward Waters came up short in overtime in the Tigers' 103-98 loss to Kentucky State in an SIAC men's basketball contest at the Clive M. Beck Center Monday evening.
Edward Waters (1-2, 1-2 SIAC) came out of the gates swinging in the first half. After trailing by three at the 11:56 mark, the Tigers went on a 19-5 run over the next six minutes of the half to take a 45-30 lead. The Purple & Orange went ice cold over the final 5:26 of the half, being outscored 20-0 to trail 50-45 going into the locker room.
The Thorobreds (2-2, 1-1 SIAC) padded their lead, taking a 78-64 lead at the 8:02 mark of the second half. Edward Waters was able to cut the lead back down to single digits at the 6:18 mark, thanks to a dunk from Larry Kuimi, making it a 78-69 ballgame. The Tigers came even closer with two minutes remaining in regulation, cutting the lead to five at 84-79. The lead grew back to five for Kentucky State with :22 seconds remaining in regulation, but three clutch free throws from Tavares Oliver cut the deficit down to two with :17 seconds remaining. A key steal by Larry Kuimi and a layup with :13 seconds left tied the contest at 87-87, sending the game to overtime.
In the extra session, Kentucky State dictated the pace, going on a 10-3 run over the first three minutes take a 97-90 lead. Edward Waters was only able to get as close as three points of the lead, but was unable to get over the hump and dropped their second straight conference matchup.
KSU barely outshot Edward Waters 45.8% to 40.3% with both teams finishing at 33.3% from three-point range. Oliver turned in his second straight 30+ point performance, finishing with 30 points on 8-of-19 shooting to lead the way for EWU. Felix Hayes wasn't too far behind with 21 points and nine boards, while Larry Kuimi turned in a 14 point, seven board performance. Cahlib Edwards rounded out the Tiger double-figure performers with 13 points, and six rebounds.
Edward Waters will finally return home on Saturday, December 3rd for their home opener against Miles College at 3:00pm at the Adams-Jenkins Community Sports & Music Complex.
Original source can be found here.
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