December 02, 2007 12:40 am
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By Jim Henry
jhenry@joplinglobe.com
With the score tied and only six seconds remaining, guard Corey McIntosh figured to be Augustana’s No. 1 option.
But McIntosh, who poured in 33 points, was used as a decoy, and Tom VerDouw’s rebound basket just before the buzzer lifted the Vikings past Missouri Southern 79-77 Saturday night at the Leggett & Platt Athletic Center.
The Lions, after owning a 60-53 lead midway through the second half, made just four field goals during the next nine minutes. Eleven points by McIntosh plus two jumpers from the left wing by Ian Thomas — his only baskets of the game — helped the Vikings take a 77-74 lead with 38 seconds left.
The Lions pulled even on Skyler Bowlin’s 3-pointer from the left wing with 25 seconds left.
Augustana called timeout with six seconds left and never attempted to get the ball to McIntosh. Instead the Vikings threw the ball to Thomas, who dribbled down the left side of the lane before passing outside to David Foster in the left corner. His contested shot was short, but the 6-foot-8 VerDouw, who sat much of the game in foul trouble, grabbed the rebound with no Lion around and scored the game-winner.
“We wanted to use Corey McIntosh as a decoy,’’ Vikings head coach Tom Billeter said. “We wanted to penetrate and pitch ... we did exactly what we wanted except we planed on making the shot. We didn’t figure on getting the rebound and score.’’
“We did everything right on that last possession except rebound,’’ Lions head coach Robert Corn said. “The thing that beats you most of the time is the rebound basket, not the first shot but the rebound shot.’’
McIntosh, 6-foot senior from West Covina, Calif., sank 13-of-25 field goals, 3-of-7 from beyond the arc and 4-of-5 free throws for his 33 points. Averaging 14.2 points for the season, he tallied 18 in the first half as the Vikings (6-1) led 43-40 at the break.
The Lions (5-2), however, outscored the Vikings 20-10 in the first 10 minutes of the second half. Vincent Ateba and Bowlin had five points each during the spurt.
Ateba, who was 9-of-10 from the floor, scored 21 points to lead the Lions. Tony Webb added 17, and Bowlin and Matt Monroe added 11 apiece.
Monroe came off the bench to provide a first-half spark after the Lions fell behind 15-7.
“We needed some energy because we really missed that with Octavius (Hawkins) being sick,’’ Corn said. “We really missed his energy, so it was important for somebody to come in and give us some life, and I thought Matt did a pretty good job of doing that.
“He got to the free throw line. He took things to the basket, and he made his free throws (7-of-8) once he got there.
“The biggest thing that hurt us was turnovers (21),’’ Corn said. “When we were up 7, I think we came down two straight times and turned it over, and it gave them a chance to get back in the ball game.
“And then McIntosh for them really did a lot of positive things. He’s an awfully good player. With about three minutes to go, we gambled a couple of times, No. 1, to get the ball out of his hands. But then No. 20 (Thomas) buried two straight jump shots — one a 2 and one a 3 — and those were big baskets.
“This was a conference atmosphere out on the floor,’’ Corn said. “You had to play with toughness. You had to make plays. We made some plays ... Skyler Bowlin’s 3 was a big-time basket for a freshman to step up and knock down. We just didn’t make the last play when we had to in order to get the rebound. We did what we wanted when we made him take a tough shot, but we didn’t finish it off and get the rebound.’’
The Lions have another home game Wednesday night against Bacone.
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