WESTMINSTER, Md. – The Ursinus College men's basketball team absorbed a tough loss this afternoon as McDaniel scored the last 13 points of the game to eke out a 65-64 victory in a Centennial Conference matchup with major playoff implications.
Senior guard Malik Draper poured in a season-high 20 points for Ursinus (10-11, 6-8), which led 64-52 with 4:30 remaining after sophomore forward Remi Janicot capped a 14-2 burst with a straightaway 3-pointer. But the Bears would not score again, allowing McDaniel (10-10, 7-7) to storm back in a stunning rally.
Senior Wes Brooks' lunging leaner with 14.1 seconds to play proved the game-winner for the Green Terror, who had to survive one last-ditch effort by Ursinus. Freshman guard Eric Williams had to heave up a 30-footer after the inbounds pass was tipped away, and Draper's put-back attempt came after the horn. It was the second time in the last four games that McDaniel came back from a double-digit deficit in the second half.
The Bears looked to be in total command after a fireworks display delivered a lead of a dozen points. McDaniel pulled even at 50-apiece with 9:33 to play, but Eric Williams' trey sparked a 14-2 run. Sophomore forward Joseph LoStracco put back his own miss and, after a bucket by Brooks, Draper drilled back-to-back triples to push the margin to nine. Janicot's 3-ball from the top of the key made it a 12-point bulge with 4:33 remaining.
But the wheels fell off after that. Brooks (21 points) started the closing push with a jumper, and Nick Perugino cut the lead to seven with a corner 3. Another 3-pointer by Josh McWilliams made it a four-point game, and McWilliams buried a left-wing triple while getting fouled to cut the deficit to 64-63 with 26 seconds left.
McWilliams misfired on the tying free throw, but the rebound bounced out of bounds off Ursinus, giving the Green Terror new life. They took advantage, as Brooks collected his own rebound and banked in the game-winner.
McDaniel got 19 points and seven rebounds from Tim Stewart and enjoyed a 30-23 rebounding advantage in a well-played contest in which both teams shot at least 50 percent from the field and beyond the arc. The Green Terror shot 50 percent even from the field (28 of 56) and 3-point line (5 of 10), while Ursinus was 24 of 47 (51.1 percent) from the floor and 8 of 15 (53.3 percent) from downtown.
Sophomore guard Brian Rafferty had ten points for Ursinus, while junior forward Patrick Mekongo and Janicot each added eight. Eric Williams chipped in seven off the bench, and LoStracco managed six points and six boards.
McDaniel's stunning victory was its sixth straight against the Bears in Westminster, and denied Ursinus its first season sweep of the series since 2010.
Both teams made four of their first five shots in a crisp first half that featured nine ties and seven lead changes. Knotted at 32 in the final two minutes of the frame, the Bears uncorked a 13-5 run spanning intermission to gain some separation. Draper scored at the first-half buzzer to make it 39-35 at the break, Rafferty opened the second stanza with a triple, and Draper made one of his own to put the Bears in front, 45-37, with 18:54 to go. They kept the Green Terror at arm's length until a jump hook by Stewart and a nifty scoop shot by Brooks leveled the scoreboard at 50.
Then came a big run by both schools, and Brooks' dramatic second-chance effort proved the last laugh in a wild finish.
Ursinus welcomes 16th-ranked Franklin & Marshall to Helfferich Hall for a Centennial Conference clash on Wednesday, February 10.