|
MISENHEIMER – Not so long ago, Pfeiffer’s men’s basketball team would have been sorely disappointed with any game in which it scored a mere 95 points.
Saturday night, however, the Falcons were jumping for joy and smiling with relief after a heart-thumping 95-89 win over Johnson C. Smith’s Golden Bulls at Merner Gym.
To be honest, Pfeiffer coach Dave Davis would have been glad to win this nonconference game 2-0, because the Falcons (3-2) came into it after being ambushed on the road at Barton and stunned at home by St. Andrews in their first two Carolinas-Virginia Athletic Conference games.
“Every magazine and every newspaper wrote very nice and wonderful things about how great we were going to be this season, before we’d even played a game,” said Davis. “Unfortunately, our players believed what they read.”
The Falcons’ glowing press clippings were reinforced by breezy season-opening road wins over Livingstone and Strayer.
“By then we had gotten away from all the things that had made us special,” said Davis. “We werer an average team.”
Then came the harsh CVACwake-up callsfrom Barton and St. Andrews.
Fortunately, by the time Johnson C. Smith’s once-beaten Bulls rolled into Merner, Pfeiffer was no longer overconfident and had once again started busting its collective rear ends in practice.
“For the first time, we entered a game with a little bit of fear and a lot of healthy respect for an opponent,” said Davis. “That was a good thing, because Smith is by far the best team we’ve played. They are 20 points better than anyone else we’ve seen.”
Somehow, Pfeiffer won the game against a bunch of Bulls who were just as quick and much bigger. And the Falcons won it with star point guard Terrence Baxter and super swingman Shakil Brew in dire foul trouble the whole second half.
The first half was back and forth, with Pfeiffer jumping ahead 16-9 after six minutes, then going down 28-21 after a furious 19-5 run by the Bulls (6-2).
The Bulls played lots of zone to cut down Baxter’s penetration, but that left Jay Moody and Emory Smith open and the pair combined for nine first-half 3-pointers as Pfeiffer forged a 51-48 lead at intermission.
The Bulls shot an amazing 69 percent in the first half — getting layups and dunks whenever they beat Pfeiffer’s traps. But they also turned the ball over 22 times in the half. Three of those 22 were charges taken by the all-out Baxter.
The second half became a gut-check for the Falcons after Baxter picked up his third foul in the opening minute trying to box out a player a foot taller on a rebound. His fourth foul came at 15:39 with the Falcons on top 59-54. Moments later, the home team was reeling. The game was tied 31 seconds after Baxter retreated to the bench.
But that’s when amazing things happened for the Falcons. For one thing, Brew took over at the point.
“Up until then, Shakil had played maybe the worst game of his life,” chuckled Davis. “But he’s the kind of guy that will make all the plays for you when it really matters.”
And the guy that Brew kept finding to carry the Falcons during that critical Baxter-less period was a surprise too — 6-foot “power” forward Eric Jackson. Jackson wears a blue collar to every game — hustling, rebounding, playing defense and blending in with his flashier teammates.
But suddenly, he was the main man, splashing three 3-pointers to right a Pfeiffer ship that was starting to take on water.
“That was just hard work in practice paying off,” said Jackson. “I do whatever it takes to get us a win. Tonight, it was making a few shots.”
After Jackson’s binge, the Falcons led by 12 with 6:54 remaining. Then a minute later, Baxter was back on the floor. But it still wasn’t over. With 58 seconds left, Pfeiffer’s lead was back down to 91-89 and the Bulls had possession.
But that’s when Dwayne Bell, Pfeiffer’s defensive specialist took over. Bell, who rotates with scoring star Nem Sovic (20 points), swiped the ball in the post with 44 seconds left.
Baxter then got his only field goal of the game on a drive on which Lemane Shingler was called for goaltending to make it 93-89.
On the Bulls’ next possession, Bell slapped the ball away again. That steal led to a pair of free throws by Smith to seal the victory.
“I told Coach my offense wasn’t working, but I could still help the team on defense,” said Bell, who scored only four points. “I was just in the right place at the right time and did what I could to help the team.”
“We all did what we had to,” said Jackson. “All those things that had been missing — defense, rebounding, emotion — were back in the mix. Tonight, we got back to playing Pfeiffer basketball.”
n
NOTES:An elated Davis was excited that his team outrebounded the beefy Bulls 40-34. It was a team effort, with no Falcons getting more than five caroms. ... “If we can beat this team, we can beat any team in the nation,” said Davis. ... Baxter had 10 assists, although he missed 10 minutes of action. ... Antoine Sims led the Bulls with 22 points. ... Pfeiffer expects Joe Holmes, the Nebraska transfer who has been hobbled by injury for two seasons, back very soon. ... Smith joined Sovic with 20 points. ... Pfeiffer made 15 of 31 3-point tries. ... Moody got all of his 15 points in the first half.
J.C. SMITH (89) — Forman 4, Joyner 3, Benjamin 4, Sims 22, Avery 2, Wade 17, Petty 16, Shingler 11, Young 10.
PFEIFFER (95) — Sovic 20, Baxter 4, Rich 5, Brew 11, Smith 20, Johnson, Jackson 16, Bell 4, Cole, Moody 15, Wallace.
J.C. Smith 48 41 — 89
Pfeiffer 51 44 — 95
|
Today's News