After 15 Lead Changes, Cardinals Prevail in OT

After 15 Lead Changes, Cardinals Prevail in OT

Gophers Still Winless Despite 22 Points from Boswell

December 6, 2008

TOWSON, Md. – After the lead changed hands no fewer than 15 times during regulation, Goucher wasn't about to throw in the towel tonight when R.J. Dixon nailed a three-point field goal to put Catholic ahead by four points with 1:01 remaining in overtime.

The Gophers came right back, slicing their deficit in half when Darrin Boswell II (Nottingham, Md./Joppatowne) hit a shot that was ruled a two-point attempt because a portion of his front foot was touching the three-point stripe.

Then they got the ball back when they pressured the Cardinals into making a bad pass, but when they failed to capitalize on the turnover, head coach Leonard Trevino's Gophers were forced to foul. They put Dixon on the line for a one-and-one with :11 left to play in the five-minute extra session.

Dixon missed the front end, but the Gophers couldn't snare the rebound and had to foul again. This time, with :08 showing on the clock, the sophomore guard converted both of his attempts, giving the Cardinals a little breathing room. After scoring only seven points during regulation, Dixon added seven more in overtime to help Catholic register an 80-74 victory in the first Landmark Conference game of the season for both teams.

"We really needed to get that rebound (after Dixon's missed free-throw attempt)," lamented Goucher head coach Leonard Trevino after the game.

Both teams shot well in the first half: Goucher was 13-for-25 from the field (.520) and Catholic was 14-for-25 (.560). Neither team opened up more than a six-point lead and the period ended with the Cardinals (6-2, 1-0 Landmark) ahead 35-31.

A crowd-pleasing dunk by Amir Hakim (Baltimore, Md./Baltimore City College) that was set up by Donte Brandon (Washington, D.C./Westlake) put the Gophers (0-5, 0-1 Landmark) in front, 44-43, a little over four minutes into the second half. It would be the first of 12 lead changes that would take place in the period.

At one point, one team wrested the lead from the other on four consecutive possessions. It started with a three-point basket by Brian Baker that put Catholic ahead 59-57 with 7:27 remaining in regulation. Goucher regained a one-point advantage on its next trip thanks to a three-pointer by Pat Bailey (Rockville, Md./Magruder). The subsequent possessions produced another basket by Baker that put the Cardinals back on top, 61-60, and then one by Ryan Comstock (Frederick, Md./Middletown) that allowed the Gophers to again pull ahead by a point.

Although he finished with game-high totals of 27 points and 13 rebounds, Catholic's Jason Banzhaf missed a short jumper right before the buzzer that would have allowed his team to prevail in regulation.

The leading scorers for Goucher were Boswell, who matched a career-high with his 22-point effort, and Hakim, who supplied the Gophers with 15 points and a game-high nine rebounds.

This was the fourth time in the 43-game series between the two schools that the Gophers and Cardinals have needed overtime to decide a winner.