NEWBERRY – In one of the more wild finished you'll see this season, the Newberry Wolves (8-13, 4-10 SAC) pulled off an upset victory over the visiting Lenoir-Rhyne Bears (16-5, 9-4 SAC) by a final score of 103-101 thanks to the clutch free throw shooting of junior guard
Marshall Lange.
The Wolves had gone ahead by double-digits in the second half, culminating in a 14-point lead with just under eight minutes remaining in the game and all signs pointing to a decisive upset victory.
However, the Bears clearly had other ideas as they steadily began to chip away at the deficit.
Thanks to a strong effort in the paint from point guard John Jean and a sharpshooting effort from long range from Deontae Weaver, the Bears found themselves down 100-99 with 10 seconds remaining and an opportunity to take the lead.
Lenoir-Rhyne inbounded the ball and set up their play, with the ball eventually finding its way to the hands of Mason Hawks. Hawks cut through the middle of the lane and rose toward the basket, burying a layup that put the Bears ahead 101-100 with 3.6 seconds on the clock.
Desperate and in need of a miracle, the Wolves called a timeout to regroup and form a plan. The Wolves got the ball into
Luke Gibson, who pushed the ball to half court before finding Lange on the near the Wolves bench. With time running out, Lange got into shooting position to attempt the game-winning shot, but was fouled by Lenoir-Rhyne's Jean in the act of shooting with 0.1 seconds on the clock, earning the former three foul shots to secure the victory for the Wolves.
Lange, an 80.5 percent free throw shooter on the season, needed only to sink two of his three attempts in order to pull off the upset. Calm and collected, Lange stepped up to the charity stripe to take his first shot.
Nothing but net. The Wolves were tied.
Finally, after such a tumultuous closing sequence, Lange had in front of him an opportunity to close out the evening with a win. He stepped to the line once more to take his second shot.
The ball rattled home. The crowd erupted. The Wolves had taken the lead.
Despite the Bears' best efforts to steal a victory from the jaws of defeat, Lange and the Wolves were able to clamp down, sinking their teeth into the type of win that had eluded them so many times this season.
Lange sunk his third and final free throw, and with only 0.1 seconds on the clock, Lenoir-Rhyne's full-court inbound pass was ultimately futile. The buzzer rang through Eleazer Arena, and the Wolves came together to celebrate a well-deserved win over one of the SAC's top teams.
Thanks to his heroic free throws in the closing moments Lange led the Wolves and all scorers with 21 points on 7-16 shooting, as well as a perfect 5-5 from the charity stripe.
A pair of freshman had stellar outings for the Wolves, with
TJ Brown scoring 19 points on an incredibly efficient 6-7 from the floor and 6-7 from the free throw line. He also managed to pull down three rebounds and swipe a career-high four steals on the evening.
Marquis Collins, who finished with 18 points on 8-14 from the floor, found success driving to the basket throughout the game, converting on multiple buckets after being fouled. The Goose Creek native also brought in six rebounds.
Luke Gibson, who led the team in minutes, had a solid outing with 13 points and seven rebounds.
The Bears were able to outshoot the Wolves from a percentage standpoint, converting on a blazing 56.7 percent of their attempts, while the Wolves converted on an also impressive 52.1 percent; however, the Wolves managed to hit four more field goals than the Bears.
Newberry was also able to outrebound a much larger Lenoir-Rhyne team by a margin of 39-31.
The Wolves will have one day off to celebrate the win before they take on the Piedmont International Bruins on Friday, February 8 at 7:00 pm at Eleazer Arena. In their first matchup this season, the Wolves pummeled the Bruins 90-72 in Winston-Salem, N.C.
