Lions Fall to Midwestern State, 70-67 in Overtime
Nolan Richardson IV hit a 3 pointer with less than two seconds to go and hit three free throws with 11 seconds to go to lead host Midwestern State to a 70-67 overtime win over Texas A&M University-Commerce on Wednesday night.
A&M-Commerce raced out to a 67-61 advantage in the overtime until a 3 pointer by Craig Hambre and the six-straight points by Richardson spoiled the come-from-behind effort for the Lions.
Midwestern State (4-4) closed out the first half on a 16-4 run to take a 32-20 lead as Richardson scored 15 of his 34 points in the first 20 minutes. With a game-high 34 points from Richardson, he was joined in double figures by Craig Green, who added 10.
Texas A&M-Commerce (3-4) came out of the locker room with a 14-4 run to cut the deficit to two, 36-34, with 14:43 left in regulation. The Lions continued to battle and eventually took the lead when freshman Brad Hambrick hit a 3 pointer with 4:12 for 51-50 lead.
Three ties later, Richardson put the host Mustangs in front on a 3-point play by a 59-56 margin; however, the Lions had an answer when Cardell Hunter made three free throws with two seconds remaining in regulation to send the contest into overtime.
In the overtime, the Lions scored the first seven points of the extra period to take a 66-59 advantage with 2:50 to go. However, Richardson took charge of the game and led the Mustangs to the win.
Three players for Texas A&M-Commerce scored in double
figures including Hunter, who scored a team-high 18 in the loss.
Ronnie Morgan added 16 points and DeUndrae Spraggins had his second
double double with 13 points and 12 rebounds.
The Lions will be idle until returning to the court on December
29th against Missouri S&T in the first day of the
St. Edward's Holiday Classic in Austin.
