T-Birds Edge CU, Stay Alive For Playoff Berth
BOX SCORE
PORTLAND, Ore. - A gutsy team effort and a game-high 24 points from Cornell Littlejohn helped propel the Cascade College men's basketball team to a thrilling 82-80 overtime victory over Concordia University on Friday night, keeping the Thunderbirds' hope alive for a playoff spot.
It appeared that Cascade was going to escape with the win in regulation when Adams rebounded a missed shot by Kao Saelee and scored with .03 seconds remaining, but an inadvertent whistle cancelled out Adam's heroics.
The clock was reset to 1.7 seconds and Cascade had one more attempt to score, but a missed jumper by Cornell Littlejohn opened the door to the additional period.
"Our guys responded with character in a really tough situation when the inadvertent whistle was blown," Head Coach Anthony Baugher stated. "To go from winning the game to having to play an extra period is difficult. Our guys played with a sense of urgency in overtime, they knew there was no tomorrow if we lost. I was proud of how they conducted themselves tonight, they deserved to win."
After surrendering the first three points of overtime, the T-Birds locked down defensively and closed out the game on a 11-6 run to secure the win. Erving Adams displayed his senior leadership as he was the difference down the stretch - scoring half of the team's points in the additional period.
Adams also scored the two free throws that sent the game into the extra frame with the score tied at 71.
Cascade (12-13, 5-12 CCC) was led by Littlejohn's 24 points on 9-for-18 shooting from the field. Josh Brown added 16 points and 6 rebounds. Saelee scored 10 points, and Mace chipped in 9 points to go along with his game-high 6 assists. Jason McCall also added 8 points and 6 rebounds all in the second half.
Desmond Meray paced Concordia with 18 points.
The Thunderbirds will return to the hardwood on Senior Night; Saturday, February 14th against Corban College, game time is 7:30pm. This will be the last home contest for the T-Birds.