MBB
87
Toccoa Falls College TFC 8-9
89
Winner Pensacola Christian College PCC 11-7
Toccoa Falls College TFC
8-9
87
Final
89
Pensacola Christian College PCC
11-7
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 OT 1 F
Toccoa Falls College TFC 34 42 11 87
Pensacola Christian College PCC 37 39 13 89

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Braden Mottor

Eagles Rally Late, Steal 89-87 Overtime Thriller vs Toccoa Falls

Game Recap
After a narrow last-minute victory over LB Wallace on Thursday night, the Eagles returned to the floor Saturday evening to face Toccoa Falls College. Entering the matchup having dropped their last three meetings with Toccoa, the Eagles were looking for their 11th win of the season and a fourth straight victory. In a 45-minute battle where the largest lead was just 10 points, the two South Region opponents were locked in throughout regulation and needed five more minutes to decide a winner. Trailing by 10 points with under three minutes remaining, the Eagles stormed back and stole an overtime victory, 89-87, with a bucket in the closing seconds.
 
The opening minutes saw both teams trading baskets, but the Eagles found an early rhythm from beyond the arc. Three-pointers from Blaise Conlon and Liam Gerdts, along with another from Raul Bertinato, fueled the early scoring. Following a Kaiden Pack layup, the Eagles held an 11-6 lead through the first six minutes. Bertinato's triple marked the Eagles' fourth three-pointer in less than seven minutes of action.
 
Despite going scoreless for a brief stretch, the Eagles' defense kept them in control. Gerdts broke the drought with a layup assisted by Pack, followed shortly by a Pack three-pointer. A backdoor cut finished by Azucena off a Paul Stickles assist gave the Eagles their largest lead of the night at 22-13. Holding Toccoa without a field goal for nearly five minutes, the Eagles leaned heavily on their defense throughout the opening half. A late push by Toccoa cut into the lead, but the Eagles entered halftime ahead 37-34.
 
Toccoa opened the second half with back-to-back baskets to take their first lead since the opening minutes. An offensive rebound by Conlon and a second-chance bucket from Bertinato quickly regained the advantage for the Eagles. The Eagles held the lead for much of the first six minutes of the half before Toccoa put together a decisive stretch. Over a five-and-a-half-minute span, Toccoa outscored the Eagles 20-9, shooting 7-for-10 from the field. Despite the drought, Stickles knocked down two three-pointers to keep the Eagles within striking distance.
 
With just under three minutes remaining in regulation, the Eagles dug deep and found momentum, closing the game on a gritty 10-0 run. The Eagles went 2-for-2 from the field and 5-for-6 from the free-throw line while holding Toccoa scoreless. A clutch free throw by Pack tied the game at 76-76 with 40 seconds remaining. Both teams came up empty on their final possessions, and after a missed three-pointer at the buzzer, the game headed to overtime.
 
After an early Eagles bucket, Toccoa landed the first big punch in overtime with back-to-back three-pointers to build a four-point lead less than two minutes into the OT period. The Eagles answered with consecutive baskets from Gerdts and Pack, aided by missed free throws from Toccoa, trimming the deficit to one. After another trip to the line restored a three-point lead for Toccoa, the Eagles again relied on their defense. Pack scored in transition off a Stickles assist, and following an offensive foul drawn by Stickles, the Eagles seized their moment. 
 
After an offensive rebound by Bertinato, the ball found Stickles in the corner, where he buried his third three-pointer of the night with 45 seconds remaining. Toccoa responded with a tough mid-range jumper to tie the game at 87-87. Choosing not to use a timeout, the Eagles put the ball in the hands of Pack. Off a ball screen from Gerdts, Pack drove into the lane and connected on a 10-foot floater, giving the Eagles the lead with 4.7 seconds remaining. The Eagles forced a missed three-pointer at the buzzer to secure the 89-87 overtime win.
 
Pack led all scorers with 33 points while adding 5 rebounds in 44 minutes of action. Gerdts posted a double-double with 16 points, 10 rebounds, 6  assists, and 4 blocks, also playing 44 minutes. Raul Bertinato chipped in 13 points and 5 rebounds, shooting an efficient 6-for-10 from the field. The story of the night was Paul Stickles, who recorded a career-high 15 points on a perfect 3-for-3 from three-point range and 6-for-6 from the free-throw line.
 
What's Next
Riding a four-game win streak and back-to-back South Region victories, the Eagles hit the road for a matchup with Trinity College of Jacksonville, followed by a trip to Graceville, Florida to face Baptist University of Florida. Tipoff against Trinity is set for Tuesday at 7:00 PM.
 
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