Knights rally in OT to knock off Point

WEST POINT, Ga. — The St. Andrews University men’s basketball team rallied back from a second half deficit to knock off conference foe Point University (Ga.) 91-83 in overtime Wednesday.

Point got off to a good start in the first half making 10 three-pointers, shooting 39 percent to lead 39-32 at the break. St. Andrews struggled from three-point range making just two, but excelled in the second half and OT going 5-for-8 from long range.

The second half featured a lights out performance from the Knights and stronger defensive play. St. Andrews shot 56 percent in the half and overtime. Point rallied from a 19-point second half deficit going on a 41-22 run.

As the tables turned, the Knights trailed 77-73 with 30 seconds left before adding two late buckets orcing Point into turnovers to send the game into overtime.

The Knights dominated the overtime period going on a 14-6 run to secure the eight-point win.

Freshman forward Jean Calvin Ahoume led the Knights with 23 points on an impressive 10-of-11 shooting.

Senior guard Ben Twigger made five threes to record a career high of 15 points with eight rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block. Senior guard Jourdan Sanders also tallied a career-best 13 points on 3-of-5 shooting with two assists and two rebounds.

Junior point guard Christian Lathan recorded a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds. Lathan also had seven assists — just missing a triple-double — a block and three steals.

Junior forward Jeremias Easterling finished in double-figures with 10 points and four rebounds. Forward Luis Rossi hit a big three late in the game while also pulling down seven rebounds with two assists.

The Knights improve to 2-9 on the season and 2-8 in the conference with the win while Point falls to 5-14 overall and 1-9 in conference.

St. Andrews will return home on Saturday, Jan. 13 to host Milligan College (TN) in their first meeting of the season at 2 p.m.

Rough first half dooms Lady Knights

WEST POINT, Ga. — The St. Andrews University women’s basketball team dropped their conference road game 73-49 to No. 24 Point University (Ga.) on Wednesday.

Point got out to a massive 23-5 first-quarter lead on the Lady Knights. St. Andrews didn’t fare any better in the second quarter, getting outscored by double-digits again, 26-7, to find themselves trailing 49-12 at halftime. Point shot 47 percent in the first half, while the Lady Knights managed just 14 percent from the field.

The Lady Knights made sure the third quarter was a low-scoring affair, but were still outscored by Point, 13-10. St. Andrews dominated the fourth quarter 27-11 to trim their deficit to 24 but the hole was too deep to climb out.

St. Andrews finished the game shooting just 29 percent overall and just 26 percent from three-point range. The difference was Point’s impressive three-point shooting at 41 percent as they knocked down 16 threes while they held the Lady Knights to just five threes overall.

Sophomore guard Samantha Ring led the Lady Knights with 16 points — 12 of which came from beyond the arc as Ring hit four three-pointers — and two steals along with three assists and two rebounds.

Freshman forward Morgan Perkins added 11 points along with three rebounds, and a steal. Fellow freshman forward Aquera Johnson finished with seven points, and a team and career-high 15 rebounds with an assist and a block.

Sophomore point guard Courtney Rowe finished with a team-high of five assists, along with five points and seven rebounds. Senior forward Ellen Dukes and freshman guard Nijha Shannon combined for eight points and seven rebounds.

St. Andrews falls to 5-10 overall and 3-9 in the AAC while No. 24 Point improves to 13-4 overall and a conference-best 10-2.

The Lady Knights return home on Saturday to host Milligan College (Tenn.) in their first meeting this season. Tip off is set for 12 p.m.

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By Troy Baranik

SAU Sports Information Director