ADRIAN, Mich. – The Adrian College men's basketball team had one of the biggest challenges of the season and they answered the call to improve to 8-0 with a 71-68 victory over visiting Northwestern Ohio on Monday, Dec. 17. The Bulldogs, currently ranked 12th in NCAA Division III this week, faced a very athletic Racer squad that did a fine job after a 15-day layoff due to the end of the semester. The 8-0 start for the Bulldogs is the best since the 1954-55 team went 13-0. It is the third-best start in school history as the 1930-31 team also went 9-0.
"After two weeks off we were a little rusty, but we found a way to win a tough battle and that shows the type of team we have," said head coach Mark White.
The first half was back and forth as Northwestern Ohio raced out to a 5-0 lead. The Bulldogs broke into the scoring column 2:44 into the game on a jumper by senior Sean Gallant. Adrian went on a 9-0 run to take a 9-5 lead after a pair of free throws by freshman Darryl Flemister. Adrian increased their lead to 21-14 at the 9:09 mark after a circus layup by junior Drew Torey. The Racers called a timeout and Adrian would have their largest lead of the game.
Northwestern Ohio used a 13-2 run over the next three-plus minutes to grab a 27-23 lead. Blake Bush hit a triple to start the run and Derrick Tate scored seven straight points during the stretch. The teams played within one possession for the rest of the half as Adrian led 38-37 at the break. The Bulldogs shot 51.6 percent in the first half setting a new season-high while the Racers shot 43.3 percent from the floor. Tate led all scorers with 15 points in the opening 20 minutes.
The Bulldogs gave up the lead just once in the first 4:30 of the second half. The big moment came when senior Cody Barnes picked up his fourth foul with 11:25 left in the game. The team's second leading scorer entering the game had to sit on the bench for nearly five minutes. Adrian did not relinquish the lead during that stretch but the Racers would eventually take the lead at 58-57 after a pair of free throws by Josh Scott. The Racers point guard was in foul trouble all night and scored six points with four assists in just 21 minutes.
The Bulldogs and Racers battled down the wire before the unbeaten Bulldogs began to gain an edge late in the contest. The Racers cut the lead down to one three times under six minutes to play before Adrian increased their lead to 68-63 with 2:07 left. Barnes hit a tough layup before sophomore Adam Meier hit the offensive glass for a tip-in to give Adrian a five-point cushion. Northwestern Ohio scored five straight points to tie the game at 68-68. Jon Slagle made his only three-pointer of the night and Scott followed with a bucket in the paint.
Flemister went to the foul line with 37 seconds left and split a pair of free throws giving Adrian a 69-68 lead. Northwestern Ohio used two timeouts and then Gallant made the defensive play of the game stepping in to take a charge against Scott with 11 seconds to go. Sophomore Eric Lewis was fouled on the in-bounds and calmly made both shots at the charity stripe to give Adrian a 71-68 lead. The Racers came to half-court and called their final timeout. Blake Bush had a chance to send the game into overtime but his three-pointer rattled in and out from about 21 feet on the right wing.
"You've got to give a lot of credit to Northwestern Ohio. They were a good team. They've got some great players who made some big plays," said White.
Barnes scored 10 of his 18 points in the second half and he was three points shy of his career high. He connected on 6-of-11 from the floor including 4-of-5 in the second half. Senior Brandon Romain playing in his first game for Adrian scored 14 points off the bench. Romain saw 18 minutes of action and also grabbed three rebounds. Meier finished with 12 points and a game-high nine rebounds. He also stayed on the court with four fouls late in the game playing a total of 26 minutes. The Bulldogs shot 50 percent (26-of-52) from the floor overall and were 17-of-24 (70.8 percent) from the free throw line.
"I wasn't happy with our defense today. We are team-oriented. We don't have star players. Our star is usually our defense. We've got to get back to our defensive ways," commented White.