HACKETTSTOWN, N.J. – Tonight's CSAC men's basketball contest was not for the weak of heart. In a game that featured six ties and 12 lead changes and with the teams never more than ten points apart, it took a layup by the Cyclones' Rashaan Spencer in the final few seconds of overtime to eke out a 93-91 win over the Ravens. With the result the Ravens fell to 3-4 overall (2-2 CSAC), while Centenary improved to 5-4 (3-1 CSAC).
The first half set the pace for the entire game, as neither team seemed able to get separation from the other, but a trey and a layup from Kyle Lafferty put the Ravens up 14-8 with 14:15 left in the first half. A big three from Khai Roberts 51 seconds later gave Rosemont a nine-point lead, 17-8 with 13:26 on the clock. Though the Cyclones fought back with six straight, the Ravens appeared to have righted their ship after an Itay Levy hit from downtown gave the Ravens their largest lead of the game, 24-14 with 9:17 to go in the first.
Centenary would outscore Rosemont 21-12 to sneak back to within a point, trailing Rosemont 36-35 with 1:46 left in the first stanza. The Ravens fended off the Cyclones until the close of the half, taking a 44-37 lead into the break.
With Rosemont ahead by six points, 46-40, Centenary would outscore the Ravens 9-3 to knot the score at 49-49 with over 17 minutes left in regulation. The Cyclones would sneak back in front after a couple of Rashaan Spencer free throws, leading 53-52 with less than 16 minutes to go. The teams would battle within four points of each other until a Centenary free throw by Paul Jones, converting a three-point play, put the home side ahead 65-58 with 6:39 on the clock. Three straight Jamier Hughes baskets got the Ravens back to within a point, trailing 65-64 with 5:07 left.
The two teams again were trading baskets, with Centenary ahead by three points until Charles Presley hit from downtown to tie the score at 71-71 with 3:40 on the clock in the second half. Though close, the Ravens continued to trail over the business part of the half. Down 82-80, a layup from Khai Roberts tied the score, 82-82, and a last-ditch three point attempt from Centenary was off the mark as the teams ended regulation tied up.
Rosemont had a couple of early chances to start the overtime, but a couple of three-point attempts wouldn't fall. Centenary also was tight to start the overtime, and the first score came from the Ravens, when Kyle Lafferty sank two from the charity stripe to give Rosemont an 84-82 lead. A three from Centenary's Jake Logue put the Cyclones on top, 85-84, but Jamier Hughes answered with a layup to give Rosemont the one-point edge with 3:33 left. The next score wouldn't come until the 2:11 mark, when Jake Logue scored for Centenary to enable them to grab back the one-point lead.
An untimely turnover by the Ravens led to a Rashaan Spencer layup to give Centenary an 89-86 lead with 1:06 left in the overtime, but Rosemont answered 15 seconds later when Kyle Laffertydrained a clutch three-pointer to once again tie the score, 89-89 with 51 seconds on the clock. A bucket by Centenary and two big free throws from Jamier Hughes once again tied the score, 91-91 with nine ticks left on the clock. It took about six seconds for the Cyclones to find Rashaan Spencer in the paint, and he hit the winning layup to give Centenary the win, 93-91 on the last play of the contest.
Rosemont had four players hit double-digits; two scoring in the 20's. Kyle Lafferty shot 10-for-17 overall and 5-for-8 from outside the arc to earn a season-high 28 points. Lafferty just missed his career-high of 29 points scored against Neumann on 1/20/2014 in his rookie season. Jamier Hughes scored 20 points. Itay Levy (11) and Khai Roberts (10) were the other Ravens in double-digits. Hughes led the Ravens with six boards, while Clayton Wolfe dished eight assists to lead the Ravens.
The Cyclones placed three players in the twenties led by Rashaan Spencer's 29 points and 13 rebounds for a big double-double. Jake Logue scored 21 and Paul Jones added 20 for the home team. Zachary Duymich shot 5-for-7 on the way to scoring 15. Jones led the Cyclones with eight assists while Duymich had seven assists.
The Cyclones eked out an advantage on the foul line, shooting 14-for-16 (87.5%) from the line, compared to Rosemont's 11-for-16 (68.8%). The Ravens hit on 46.1% of their shots, while Centenary shot 51.5% from the field.
The Ravens won't see another opponent for the next 10 days. Their next contest will be at home, where they are 2-0, to face the Arcadia Knights in a non-conference doubleheader on Saturday, 12/17. The men's game is slated for a 3pm start, following a 1pm women's game, also against Arcadia.