THE BASICS
Score: #RV Madonna University 107, #2 Indiana Wesleyan University 105 (2 OT)
Records: Madonna (10-5), Indiana Wesleyan (9-3)
Location: MU Activities Center - Livonia, Mich.
Turning Point: Burton 3-pointer to send the game to double overtime
LIVONIA, Mich. - Seven ties, 16 lead changes and it all came down to a pair of free throws with 1.9 seconds to play.
Dwight Burton, fouled at the 3-point line, made a pair and capped a thrilling 107-105 double-overtime victory for the Madonna University men's basketball team over second-ranked Indiana Wesleyan University.
It was an incredible, back-and-forth contest that ended at the charity stripe, where Madonna finished 12-of-19 (63.2%) while the Wildcats were 16-of-20 (80%) at the line. None were bigger than Burton's two as the senior finished with 31 points, six assists, and four rebounds. Joshua Reynolds added 27 points, seven boards, and four assists while Henry Speight collected a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Juwan Hampton made a splash in his team debut as he added an important 16 points and five rebounds off the bench.
The Blue and Gold trailed early, 13-10, but used a 13-2 run over 4:44 of game time to take their largest lead of the game, eight points, 21-15, at the 11:07 mark. Reynolds had five points and Burton added four in the run. The Wildcats answered with a run of their own, 17-9, to tie the score at 32. Madonna scored nine of the final 13 points in the half to take a 41-36 lead into the break.
Kyle Mangas, who scored a game-high 40 points, scored the first six points of the second half to give the Marion, Indiana program the 42-41 lead. Four points from Speight put MU back in front and so it went until a Mangas 3-point play broke a tie at 54 at the 14:42 mark. IWU used a 12-3 run over the next 5:17 to take a game-high 11-point, 57-66, lead. A Speight jumper ended the run and sparked one for the home team as MU scored 11 of the next 13 to tie the game at 70 with 6:47 remaining in regulation. Madonna capped the run with two consecutive 3-pointers and made five over five possessions as the teams traded the lead. A Mark Mettie layup made it 81-78 with 3:34 left, but Spencer Piercefield hit a three to tie the game. Burton responded with a trey and Caleb Drumm converted a fastbreak opportunity for the five-point, 86-81, lead with 1:47 to play. Madonna missed it's next two shots and the Wildcats got a Mangas three on an offensive rebound with 14 seconds left in regulation to knot the game at 86. Burton had a chance to win the game at the buzzer, but his floater hit the back iron.
In the first overtime, IWU scored eight of the first 12 points take a 94-90 lead. Reynolds hit a 3-pointer to cut the margin to one, but Mangas responded with a jumper to take a 96-93 lead with 50 seconds to play. Burton, with 28 seconds on the clock, drained a 30-footer to tie the game and a missed three and tip-in fell short for the Wildcats at the buzzer.
It was all Madonna in the second overtime as Reynolds scored the first three points and Hampton netted four to put MU in front 103-96. Indiana Wesleyan scored the next six to cut the lead to one, but Burton pushed it back to three with a jumper. IWU was able to corral two offensive rebounds in the final 30 seconds and Mangas hit another 3-pointer to knot the game at 105. Out of a timeout with nine seconds to play, Burton was fouled on a 3-point attempt with 2 seconds to play and hit 2-of-3 free throws to seal the upset win.
CRUSADER VISION
MILESTONE WATCH
- Madonna is 13 wins shy of 300 in the program's history
UP NEXT
- The Crusaders hit the road as they travel to Chicago, Illinois for the third straight season to take part in the Roosevelt University New Year's Classic. MU will face the University of Saint Francis (Ill.) on Monday, Dec. 30 at 3 p.m. EST and the host Lakers on Tuesday, Dec. 31 at 5 p.m.
- Live coverage links will be available at mucrusaders.com.
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