Mateu Escamilla (13) attempts a free throw during the first half of St. Andrews’ win over Johnson on Thursday afternoon at Harris Court. Escamilla had 23 points in the team’s victory.
Andrew Smolar | The Laurinburg Exchange
Jamicia Davis (20) looks to dribble past two Royals defenders during the team’s matchup with Johnson.
Andrew Smolar | The Laurinburg Exchange
Ma’Nas Drummond (1) goes up with the ball against Tyler Moore (3). Drummond had 22 points on Thursday.
Andrew Smolar | The Laurinburg Exchange
Angelina Jordan (2) looks to move the ball to a teammate during the second half of the Knights’ loss to Johnson on Thursday afternoon in Laurinburg.
Andrew Smolar | The Laurinburg Exchange
Jaylin McDuffie (12) plays defense during the first half. McDuffie led the Knights in scoring with 28 points on an 8-16 (7-12 from three-point range) shooting night from the floor.
Andrew Smolar | The Laurinburg Exchange
LAURINBURG —The St. Andrews Knights men’s basketball team picked up a 112-102 home victory over conference rival Johnson on Thursday afternoon in a game that required two overtime periods to decide a winner. The Knights improve to 2-10 (1-8 against conference opponents) on the season with the victory while the Royals fall to 8-7 (5-4 in AAC games) with the loss. The St. Andrews victory snapped a four-game losing streak and gave them their first victory since Nov. 25.
The Knights started the game out fast, scoring the first six points of the contest within 90 seconds on a three-pointer from Jaylin McDuffie, layup from Mateu Escamilla and free throw from Ma’Nas Drummond. They would also be up 12-2 after 2:53 of action.
That advantage didn’t last forever as the Royals then went on a 22-6 surge that put them ahead 24-18 with 9:17 left until halftime. When all was said and done Johnson led by as many as 11 at one point in the half (42-31 with 1:13 left) and were up 42-34 at the break.
The Knights got on the board quickly to start the second half with Kwashek Breeden making a layup just six seconds into the final 20 minutes. St. Andrews was hot for the first chunk of the half as they managed to grab a 53-50 lead with 15:06 left in the game, a stretch that included seven unanswered points. They would build on the lead and be up by eight (74-66) with nine minutes remaining.
The Royals battled back and held a late advantage of 87-84 before Escamilla nailed a clutch three-pointer with just nine seconds left on the clock. Alik Lewis had a chance to win the game at the buzzer but missed a three-pointer to send the game into overtime.
The Knights didn’t lead in the first overtime at all. They had to battle back from a 97-91 deficit in the final 45 seconds to force a second overtime, which they managed to do thanks a quick three-pointer from Christopher Coleman, some timely made free throws and a layup from Escamilla with just one second left. The teams were knotted at 98 at the end of the first overtime period.
Unlike the first overtime, St. Andrews started the second overtime on the right foot and held the momentum throughout. McDuffie got the team’s first five points by himself while Escamilla made a free throw to help lead a 6-0 run that put the Knights up 104-98 with 3:08 remaining. St. Andrews also scored the last six points of the game over the final 1:49 with Lewis scoring four of those points by himself.
The Knights had an incredibly balanced scoring effort as they had three players score at least 22 points: McDuffie (28), Escamilla (23) and Drummond (22). Escamilla led the team in rebounds with 10 while Lewis dished out a team leading seven assists. Drummond, Breeden, Lewis and Escamilla all had four steals.
St. Andrews had big advantages in three-point percentage (40%-27.6%), free throw percentage (73.5%-63.3%), turnovers committed (10-24), points off turnovers (24-9) and fastbreak points (21-8). The game featured 10 ties and seven lead changes.
The Knights will have until Wednesday night off when they travel to face conference rival Truett-McConnell. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Women’s basketball routed by Johnson
The Knights were defeated by their conference rivals in an 87-46 final from Harris Court on Thursday afternoon. St. Andrews falls to 6-10 (3-7 against AAC teams) on the season with the loss while the Royals improve to 12-4 (8-3 against conference opponents) with the victory.
After Johnson got on the board first, a layup from Katie Moore tied the game at 2 with 8:21 remaining in the first period. That would be the high point of the contest for the Knights as the Royals proceeded to score 19 unanswered points over the next five minutes of game time and were up 28-7 after 10 minutes. They would win the other three quarters of the game as well as they outscored the Knights 17-15 in the second quarter, 20-11 in the third frame and 22-13 over the last 10 minutes.
Alexandria Barrino paced St. Andrews in scoring with nine points and added six rebounds, one assist, one steal and one block. Londaisha Smith grabbed nine rebounds to lead the team while Angelina Jordan dished out a team high three assists.
The Knights will have until Monday night to regroup when they welcome Winston Salem State to Laurinburg. Tipoff from Harris Court is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.