Pride go to overtime again but fall 90-79 to Park
DUBUQUE, Iowa - Finding a way to play their third overtime game and fifth total overtime in their last four games, the Clarke University men's basketball team couldn't pull out their second-straight victory playing more than 40 minutes in a 90-79 loss to Park University on Saturday afternoon.
It was an offensive struggle in the overtime period for the Pride as they only managed one Chris Burnell three pointer over the five minutes, going 1-for-10 (10%) and 1-for-7 (14.3%) from three point range compared to a 3-for-4 (75%) from the field and 1-for-1 from three shooting for Park including attempting 10 free throws where they made seven.
Anthony Eddy was responsible for tying the game late and sending the game into overtime for the second-straight game as he scored a transition layup with just over a minute remaining in regulation as both the Pirates and Clarke unable to sink a potential go-ahead shot first Christian Bradford of Park missing a layup then Jake Layman for CU missing a baseline jumper at the buzzer.
Eddy and Layman led the way offensively for the Pride as Eddy had a game-high 25 point on 8-of-16 (50%) shooting from the field and 6-of-13 (46.1%) from three following his third school-record tying eight threes in a game performance on Wednesday while Layman scored all 18 of his points on Saturday in the first half.
Park's AJ Watson tied Eddy with his own 25-point performance on 9-of-17 (52.9%) shooting from the field while adding seven rebounds and three steals as Gagi Gvalia (16), DeMarcus Hudson (12), and Bradford (11) all finishing in double figures as well.
Both teams had a strong offensive first half as Clarke led by as many as 16 in the first half at 28-12 within the first eight minutes but separate 13-4 and 11-4 runs from the Pirates closed the gap and allowed the game to only be separated by four points at 51-47 after the opening 20 minutes.
Clarke will stay at home for their final two home games of the season starting next Wednesday when they welcome Grand View University to the Kehl Center for a 7:30 p.m. CT tip against the Vikings.