SAN ANTONIO, Texas – Sam Lacy's fast-paced drive to the basket and off-balanced layup with just 3.7 seconds remaining in the game would prove to be the game-wining basket as the Southwestern University men's basketball team downed highly touted Geneva (Pa.) College 70-69 on Tuesday afternoon.
Lacy took an outlet pass from a teammate after Geneva's Lyle Tipton drained a 3-pointer with just 10 seconds to go in the game giving the Golden Hurricane (8-2) a 69-68 lead. Lacy then weaved his way through the porous defense and went from the right corner of the free throw line to the left block attempting an off balanced layup that somehow found its way through giving the Pirates (4-7) a much-needed victory.
Tipton, who came into the game as one of the most prolific scorers in the Division III ranks with an average of 27.875 points per page, had a clear attempt at the backet on an out-of-bounds play following a timeout with 0.7 seconds remaining, but the shot would not fall. Tipton eventually finished the contest with 28 points and eight rebounds.
Whether it was Geneva experiencing jetlag from the trip in Pennsylvania down to Texas, the defensive pressure the Pirates put on the Golden Tornadoes or a combination of both, Southwestern blitzed its way out to a 21-5 lead thanks to an 11-0 streak with 11:02 left in the first half including limiting Geneva to one made field goal during the stretch.
Zac Black may not have started the game for Southwestern, but he made his presence felt early collecting seven of the team's first 21 points of the game.
Tipton and Isaac Massie were not going to let the rest of the Golden Tornadoes take a beating for the rest of the game like the first nine minutes and proceeded to carry their team back into the thick of things with an astounding 19-2 run that saw the duo score 17 of the 19 including Massie's 10.
Brock Luechtefeld had previously hit the layup that put the Pirates up 21-5. That layup would be the last made field goal for Southwestern until Luechtefeld converted another layup with 2:40 left in the first half.
After dropping the lead at 24-23, Southwestern would go on a run of its own thanks to six points from Luechtefeld including the previously mentioned layup with 2:40 to go as well as a make from Preston Hannah.
The second half was more like a game of tag with nothing but lighting quick participants as neither team could remain the "it" team for too long before falling behind once again as the largest lead for either was a 52-47 Geneva lead with 9:16 left in the game.
The casual fan of small college basketball would have thoroughly enjoyed watching this one as neither team wanted to lose and kept battling to the end.
The final sequence that saw Lacy make the game-winning layup was really set up nearly three minutes prior when Josh Jones buried a three to put Southwestern up 65-61.
A minute later, Trevor Tipton brought Geneva back to within a point before both teams traded layups, Luechtefeld made a free throw and Lyle Tipton put Geneva up 69-68 with 0:10 to go.
Credit Lacy for stepping up and welcoming all the pressure on his shoulders to which could have been considered light work once the ball rolled through the net for a Pirates victory.
With a playing rotation of just six players, Geneva's bench was held to a mere three points while Southwestern tallied 23 points off the bench.
Luechtefeld led the Pirate with 18 points, six rebounds, three assists and a block while three others turned in double-digit scoring performances including Jacob Hester with 14, Black with 11 and Toussaint with 10.
UP NEXT
The Pirates finish out play in the 2022 Leslie Robinson Christmas Classic at Trinity University tomorrow against the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point at 5 p.m. CST.