In thrilling fashion, the Rams (10-6, 7-3 MEC) came through with an impressive road victory Monday afternoon in South Euclid, Ohio, on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, over Notre Dame College (Ohio) 78-77.
Both teams fought especially hard in the first half of action. Step for step, neither team could gain separation from the other, which proved to be the case for the entire game. Shepherd led at the half 34-33.
With a bucket by Ja’Sean Lewis, the Falcons led 53-41 with 13:55 left. They appeared to gain space from the Rams on the scoreboard.
Shepherd would not go away though. Thanks to great foul shooting and execution, the Rams tied the game on a free throw by sophomore forward Winston Burgess with 2:08 to play.
Later, leading 76-74, the Rams allowed a three-pointer by Oliver Megins that gave the Falcons a 77-76 lead with 00:17 left to play.
This was a little too much time for junior guard Steffen Davis of the Rams. After a missed three-pointer by his teammate, junior guard Skyler Roman, Davis grabbed an offensive rebound and put the ball in for a layup with 00:01 to play. Davis got fouled in the process, setting up a free throw opportunity.
Davis missed the free throw and Will Vorhees of the Falcons grabbed the offensive rebound, but was unable to launch his desperation shot in time, as the clock expired.
Turnovers were without a doubt a prime reason as to why the Rams came away with the road victory. Forcing 14 Falcons’ turnovers that led to 23 easy points greatly aided the Rams in their efforts. Also, the Rams turned it over just three times, giving the Falcons just two points off turnovers.
With their three-point shooting, the Rams were able to make the baskets they made really count. They made 11-of-28 from distance, as the Falcons shot just 7-of-22 from this range.
The hero of the game, Steffen Davis, scored 15 critical points, surpassing the 1,000 point plateau for his career (1,010 currently). Senior guard Naim Muhammad was also a potent weapon offensively, slicing the Falcons for 19 points and six assists. With Muhammad making 8-of-10 free throws, the Rams had a reliable option when it counted most.
Junior guard Skyler Roman of the Rams aided in the win with his 12 points, as did sophomore forward Winston Burgess, who finished with 10 important points to help balance the scoring.
Kyauta Taylor of the Falcons was a tremendous challenge for the Rams to handle. He established his presence all game long with his 24 points.
Rebounding was another important key in the game. Despite winning the battle for the game (34-28), Notre Dame could not get a rebound when it mattered most, as Davis’ rebound and putback sealed their fate.
Thus, the Falcons will leave the game wondering what could have been after these mistakes that proved too difficult to overcome.
The Rams will hit the court next when they host second-ranked Fairmont State University Thursday evening at 7:30 p.m. in the Butcher Center, in what promises to be a great match up.
Anthony Bracken is the Sports Editor of The Picket. He can be reached at abrack02@rams.shepherd.edu