FREDERICK, Md. - The Hood College men's basketball team nearly erased a 22-point deficit, pulling within three in the final minute, before DeSales escaped with a 78-74 win over the Blazers.
Inside the Box Score
How it Happened
- After the Blazers led 40-39 at halftime, the Bulldogs opened the second half with a 26-3 run over the opening 10 minutes. DeSales went 10-of-19 during the stretch with Elijah Eberly scoring nine points as Hood ended up down 65-43 with 9:45 remaining.
- Will Pataki broke the Blazers' drought with a steal and a fastbreak layup at 9:14. The play started a 29-10 run for Hood, that included steals and fastbreak layups by Jack Fricka on consecutive possession with under five minutes to play. The Blazers pulled within 75-72 with 45.1 seconds left on a 3-pointer from the corner from Smalls.
- Hood was called for a foul on the next possession and Eberly hit a pair of free throws with 24 seconds left to make it a 77-72 deficit for the Blazers. After Hood missed a 3-point attempt on its next possession, the Bulldogs ran the clock down to nine seconds before Ryan Boylan was fouled and hit the first to ice the game.
- In the first half, Hood took a 24-16 lead on a 3-point basket by Bryce Butler at 10:12.
- DeSales answered with a 14-6 run, claiming a 30-27 lead at 4:56 on a 3-pointer by Jordan Holmqvist.
- Evan Wang immediately responded for the Blazers with a 3-point field goal on the next possession to tie the game and start a 13-2 run. Wang scored seven points in the run, resulting in a 40-32 lead on another 3-pointer from Butler at 2:43.
Analysis
- Despite the cold snap to open the second half, DeSales only outshot Hood 46 percent to 44 percent in the game.
- The Blazers had their best 3-point attack of the season thus far, hitting 14-of-33 (42 percent), while the Bulldogs sank 14-of-36 attempts.
- With much of offense for both teams coming from outside the arc, the two sides combined to shoot just 18 free throws.
- DeSales held a 37-31 rebounding edge.
- Both teams took good care of the ball with Hood committing just 12 turnovers and the the Bulldogs only 14. The Blazers were more successful in turning miscues into points, holding a 20-11 advantage in points off turnovers.
For the Opponent
- Holmqvist hit 7-of-13 from 3-point range and finished with 23 points for DeSales.
- Eberly added 19 points and eight rebounds.
- Dat Lambert scored a dozen points and Mason Barnes netted 10 off the bench.
Notes
- Hood slipped to 1-2 on the season, while the Bulldogs were playing their season opener.
Up Next
The Blazers look to get back into the win column on Saturday, November 13 in the Battle of DC & Maryland at St. Mary's (Md.).
