It wasn’t pretty but in the end, it was what the UTPB men’s basketball team wanted.
After coughing up a double-digit lead in the second half, the Falcons were able to regroup to defeat Ecclesia College, 93-86, in overtime Friday at the Falcon Dome.
Jalen King had a game-high 25 points to lead UTPB, with Azariah Seay finishing with 24, DaJuan Jones 17, Keyon Craddock 15 and Daniel Moody 10.
It was the home opener for the Falcons (3-2), who will face Jarvis Christian at 4 p.m. Saturday to close out the Walk-On’s Sports Bistreaux Thanksgiving Classic.
“I thought we did a better job of disrupting them in overtime,” UTPB head coach Kyle Tolin said. “We didn’t do a very good job of moving the ball; we didn’t play very well to be honest with you.
“We struggled to find a way to move the ball and get something going.”
The Falcons did dominate on the glass, finishing with 57 rebounds, including 26 offensive rebounds.
Aaryn Anderson scored 24 points to lead the Royals, who trailed by 13 points at halftime (44-31) but tied the game at 57 with a free throw with 8:25 remaining to play in the second half.
Ecclesia took its first lead of the game on its next possession (59-57) and put pressure on the Falcons to respond the rest of second half.
UTPB was up to the challenge as the teams traded baskets, the Falcons taking a 76-74 lead on a fast-break layup by Seay.
The Royals regained the lead on a 3-pointer from 28 feet by Tanorrio Ransburgh the next trip down the floor.
King tied the game with a free throw with 8.3 seconds remaining and when a desperation jumper by Ecclesia’s Jesus Abel Jimenez bounced off the front of the rim, the teams headed to overtime.
Ecclesia took a quick four-point lead to open the extra period, with King making a pair of free throws to cut the deficit in half.
After misses from the free throw line by the Royals, Craddock buried a 3-pointer from the left wing to lift the Falcons into the lead (82-81).
Jimenez erased that with a 3-pointer of his own, which seemed to light a fire under the Falcons, who went on a 9-0 run to take control of the game.
Jones capped the scoring with a pair of free throws with 30 seconds to play.
Both Jones and Craddock scored six points in overtime.
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UTPB 93, Ecclesia College 86 (OT)
ECCLESIA
Wisdon Kowouto 3-4 0-0 6, Aaryn Anderson 10-11 3-3 24, Elochukwu Nwodo 2-8 3-4 7, Terrell Green 2-5 0-1 4, Brandon Jackson 3-7 1-2 9, Tanorrio Ransburgh 3-4 2-5 11, David Lynch 0- 0-0 0, Justin Reaves 3-14 7-7 14, Jesus Abel Jimenez 3-5 1-2 8, Tyrell Edwards 0-1 1-4 1, Elijah Sanford-Wilson 0-1 0-0 0, Darius Jacobs 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 30-65 18-28 86.
UTPB (3-2)
Nathaniel Powell 0-3 00 0, Jalen King 10-17 5-9 25, DaJuan Jones 4-15 7-8 17, Azariah Seay 9-21 2-2 24, Rodney Carson Jr. 0-6 0-0 0, Daniel Moody 4-9 0-0 10, Keyon Craddock 6-14 0-0 15, Dmari Wiltz 0-0 0-0 0, Alvarez Powell 1-3 0-0 2, Max Warren 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 34-88 11-35 93.
Halftime — UTPB 44, Ecclesia College 31. End of Regulation — 77-77. 3-Point goals — Ecclesia College 8-19 (Kowouto 0-1, Anderson 1-1, Green 0-1, Jackson 2-4, Ransburgh 3-3, Lynch 0-1, Reaves 1-6, Jimenez 1-2), UTPB 11-35 (Jones 2-8, Seay 4-13, Carson Jr. 0-2, Moody 2-6, Craddock 3-6). Total fouls — Ecclesia College 20, UTPB 20. Fouled out — Ecclesia College (Kowouto). Technical fouls — Ecclesia College (Anderson), UTPB (Wiltz 2). Rebounds — Ecclesia College 41 (Kowouto 6, Ransburgh 6), UTPB 57 (King 10). Assists — Ecclesia College 7 (Jackson 3), UTPB 23 (Jones 10).
