NEWBERRY — The Newberry College men’s basketball team battled hard in a back and forth affair in Eleazer Arena last week against SAC foe Lenoir-Rhyne. The bank was open for QuanDaveon McCollum (Clio) who made a miraculous game-winner with just 0.6 seconds remaining to earn the Wolves a 62-60 triumph over the Bears.
Andrew Robinson (Lexington) drove down the lane and kicked it back out to a waiting McCollum who used the glass to get his shot to go in, sending the Wolves faithful into a frenzy. After two straight timeouts by the bewildered Bears, the ensuing inbound pass could not be corralled, ensuring a second consecutive victory for Newberry (10-7, 3-4 SAC).
The tone of the first half, though, was one of defense: the Bears (8-8, 3-5 SAC) led 22-19 at the break, and each team made only seven shots. That theme changed quickly in the second 20 minutes, as the score reached 39-35 by the first media timeout with about 14 minutes remaining, the Bears holding the advantage. Their lead grew to six points – the biggest lead for either team in the game – at 52-46 with eight minutes to play.
The Wolves responded with six unanswered points to even the score, capped off by a Drake Downs (Simpsonville) layup. After another back and forth spurt, a Robinson 3-pointer made it 58-57 Wolves, and two free throws grew that lead to three with 33 seconds left.
A Bears 3-pointer evened the score in the blink of an eye, but it meant the Wolves would have the last say – and they put the aforementioned exclamation point on the close battle.
Robinson led the way with 19 points; McCollum added 16; Downs also reached double figures with 11; and Caleb Byrd (Mauldin) scored eight. Malik Joseph (Eleuthera, Bahamas) was the team’s leading rebounder with seven.
Courtesy of Newberry College Athletics