Lamont Furnace, Pa. – It took three overtimes in the United States Collegiate Athletic Association Quarterfinal Round, but the #3 seed Villa Maria Vikings outlasted the PSUGA Men’s Basketball Team picking up a 106-101 victory. Each team had chances to win it early but couldn’t capitalize in the end.
The two teams headed into the third overtime period all tied up at 96-96. PSUGA scored the first four points of the period on jumpers by Jordan Payne (McKeesport, Pa./McKeesport) and Curtis Newby (Sharon, Pa./Sharon HS). Villa Maria would respond with four points of their own to tie things at 100 with 2:12 to play.
PSUGA’s Jeremy McMunn (Pittsburgh, Pa./Woodland Hills) then went one for two from the Free Throw Line to give the Lions a 101-100 advantage, but Villa Maria would score the final six points of the contest to help them grab the 106-101 victory and a trip to the USCAA Semifinal Round.
Each team had a chance to close out the game in overtime but neither team was able to get the edge. PSUGA led by three points with 30 seconds left in the first overtime, but allowed Villa Maria to hit a buzzer beater to tie things up and send the game into a second overtime. Then, Villa Maria would let the lead slip away leading by three with 1:13 to go before PSUGA answered with a three-pointer by Payne to send it to the third overtime.
Villa Maria controlled the game early on scoring 12 of the first 14 points before George Prota (Elizabeth, Pa./Elizabeth Forward) caught fire scoring six points and bringing the score to 12-6. The teams would trade blows the entire half, but Villa Maria would have the 34-29 advantage as the teams broke for the locker room. PSUGA would then come out and lead for almost the entire second half scoring 49 points before the game was sent into overtime.
Payne led the team with 31 points in the contest and is now the all-time leading scorer in PSUGA history. He broke the previous record set by Petrie Addison of 1,290. Payne is in just his Junior season and has been a big part of the success that his team has seen over the last three seasons.
Newby collected his 15th double-double of the season finishing with 18 points and 15 rebounds and Prota had a big day scoring a season high 16 points to go along with seven rebounds. Kenny Rouse (Duquesne, Pa./West Mifflin) and McMunn would round out the top scorers putting up 13 and 12 points respectively.
With the loss, PSUGA will now move to the consolation bracket where they will play on Friday at 10 a.m. against the loser of the #2 Central Penn and #7 Warren Wilson game. It will be played in the Maltho Center on the campus of Penn State Fayette or you can watch it live on the USCAA website.
