WILBERFORCE, Ohio | Myles Thomas and
Joshua Culver came up with two of the biggest shots of their career, leading the Tuskegee University men's basketball program to a 63-62 overtime victory over Central State University in Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) action Monday night.
Down by three, the Golden Tigers needed a quick basket as the clock wound down in regulation and turned to the freshman Thomas. He caught the pass out high with two defenders around him, put the ball on the floor and got two defenders in the air, he then took the ball a few feet in and drained a three with just eight seconds to play to tie the game up. After a defensive stop, the Golden Tigers and Central State went to overtime.
In the overtime period, the two teams traded the lead multiple times and it came down to the final possession of the night for Tuskegee. Junior point guard
Travis Flagg drove the lane as the clock wound down to 12 seconds and lofted a lay-up over the taller defenders, allowing Culver to get free for the tip-in and send Tuskegee (4-12, 2-4 SIAC) to their fourth consecutive victory.
Thomas finished with a team-high 16 points, with four three-pointers, while also grabbing four rebounds in the win. Flagg finished with 13 points and just two turnovers against the Central State pressure, while Culver finished with eight points and six rebounds.
Tuskegee finished the night shooting 40.4 (19-of-47) percent from the floor, which included shooting 31.8 (7-of-22) percent from beyond the arc. The Golden Tigers also finished the night 82 (18-of-25) percent from the free-throw line, while forcing 11 turnovers.
Dwight Richard led Central State (6-10, 3-5 SIAC) with 17 points off the bench and nine rebounds. Markese McGuire added 15 points for Central State, who finished the night shooting 32.3 (21-of-65) percent from the floor and 33.3 (5-of-15) percent from beyond the arc. They also finished the night shooting 57.7 (15-of-26) percent from the free-throw line.
Tuskegee returns to action next weekend against Lane College and LeMoyne-Owen College in conference action on the road, beginning Saturday.
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