Lions win by one in come-from-behind thriller
Southwestern Assemblies of God University (SAGU) men鈥檚 basketball Vanguard University
For head coach Donnie Bostwick , the win was the perfect early Christmas present, 鈥淧ure joy, baby.聽 It has been a while since I felt a group of young men fought so hard together for a victory.鈥
The Lions jumped out to the very early lead after a lay-up, followed up with a dunk by Kennton Williams in the first two minutes of play.聽 After that, the Lions dug themselves a bit of a hole.
With six minutes left in the first half, Vanguard held their biggest lead of the night, they were ahead 33-17.聽 From that point on, SAGU鈥檚 defense stepped up in a big way.聽聽 For the next four minutes SAGU held VU to one point and went on a 15 point run.聽 In that time, SAGU鈥檚 Isaak Rowe had two dunks.
With 0:26 left in the half, SAGU got a technical foul, allowing VU鈥檚 Jamaal Lee to sink four free throws.聽 Vanguard was ahead 41-38 at half.
The entire second half was very close.聽 The biggest lead of the half was with 11:45 left in the game and it went in Vanguard鈥檚 favor with a six point margin.
With 1:30 left in the game it was a tie ballgame at 76. Isaak Rowe hit two free throws to put SAGU up by two.聽 At 0:27, VU鈥檚 Zach Allmon tied the game with a basket in the paint.
SAGU had one final possession of the game.聽 They cleared the lane and Rowe drove in for the lay-up, drawing the foul in the process.聽 With 2.6 seconds left in the game, Rowe sank his first free throw and missed the second.聽 That one free throw was enough to seal the deal for SAGU.
鈥淚 have an incredible amount of respect for Vanguard鈥檚 staff and team.聽 It was two good teams competing to the buzzer.聽 We were blessed to win the game.聽 I鈥檓 very proud of my young Lions,鈥 says Bostwick.
SAGU was led in scoring by senior Keyunta Watkins with 19 points.聽 Sophomore Isaak Rowe scored 18 points, with four assists and two steals.聽 Rowe also went five-for-six for free throws. Dareny Sims had 11 points and five steals for the Lions.
Vanguard was led by Shacquille Dawkins with 16 points.
The Lions will now enjoy a lengthy Christmas break.聽 They will be back in action in 2017 when they resume Sooner Athletic Conference play against St. Gregory鈥檚 on January 5, 2017.
Southwestern Assemblies of God University is a private, Christian university located 30 minutes south of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex in Waxahachie, Texas. The university was established in 1927, and now offers more than 70 associate, bachelor鈥檚, master鈥檚 and doctoral degrees on campus or online. More information is available at www.sagu.edu or by calling 1-888-YES-SAGU.
Contact: Natalie Tristan, SAGU SID, [email protected]