MIAMI SHORES, Fla. (Dec. 21)- A three-pointer with six seconds to go from Dev Ostrowski, promptly followed by a Jaden Gales blocked shot at the buzzer, lifted the Saint Vincent men's basketball team to a 79-78 victory against Simpson College at the Cruzin' Classic, improving the Bearcats' record to a perfect 12-0.
 
The Bearcats trailed by four points twice with under 30 seconds to go in the game, at 76-72 and then 78-74 with just 13 seconds left. Saint Vincent went on to score the final five points of the game to score the win.
 
With eight seconds to go, Tayler McNeal scored on a jumper in the paint to cut the Simpson lead to 78-76. On the ensuing inbounds with Simpson trying to get the ball in, Jaden Gales forced a jump ball with the possession arrow in favor of SVC, handing them the ball right back.
 
Saint Vincent got the ball to the top of the key and Ostrowski knocked in what would be the game-winning three-pointer to give the Bearcats a 79-78 lead with six seconds left. Simpson got the ball in and drove the length of the court, but their layup attempt was blocked at the buzzer by Gales to give the Bearcats the win.
 
The game-winning basket for Saint Vincent is their second in as many days, as they defeated Benedictine University yesterday on a game-winner by McNeal in overtime.
 
Osyon Jones led the Bearcats with a double-double, scoring a game-high against 23-points, while grabbing 10 rebounds to lead the Bearcats against the Storm. Mike Iuzzolino added 17 in the win on 6-11 shooting, including 5-8 from the arc.
 
Gales scored 15 points and grabbed six rebounds, while Ostrowski was in double figures as well with 14 points and seven rebounds. McNeal added eight points for SVC and Corey Harden scored two points coming off of the bench as well.
 
It was all Saint Vincent early on in the first half. The Bearcats opened up to an 11-4 lead with Iuzzolino scoring six of those points, all six coming from the three-point line. SVC continued on the attack, going on a 14-6 run over the next several minutes, pushing their lead to 15 points at 25-10 after a basket from Jones.
 
Simpson answered the Bearcats with a big run over the remaining six minutes of the first half. The Storm closed the half out on a 19-9 run to cut the Saint Vincent lead to just five at 34-29 at the halftime break. McNeal scored the final field goal of the half with 1:05 remaining to give Saint Vincent some momentum back heading into the locker room.
 
The Bearcats limited Simpson to shoot just 12-31 from the field in the half and 1-7 from beyond the three-point line. Both the Storm and the Bearcats had six turnovers in the half as well. Rebounds were 23-22 in favor of Simpson.
 
Once again, the Bearcats were in control to begin the second half. SVC outscored Simpson 14-9 over the first three minutes and change to open their lead back up to ten at 48-38. The Storm answered their run again as well, going on a 12-1 run to take their first lead of the game at 50-49.
 
Simpson continued with the momentum, increasing their lead to six at 57-51 over halfway through the half. Saint Vincent scored the next eight points, three coming from Gales, two from Jones, and a three-pointer from Iuzzolino giving the Bearcats the lead back at 59-57.
 
Over the next several minutes, the game would go back-and-forth, finding themselves tied once again at 72-72 with under a minute to go in the game.
 
Simpson scored the next four to make it 76-72 and that's when the late game heroics occurred for the Bearcats for the second straight night. SVC went on a 7-2 run over the remaining 25 seconds to score their 12^th straight win to open the season.
 
As a team, Saint Vincent shot 30-73 (41 percent) from the field, while Simpson also shot 41 percent, going 21-61. The Bearcats forced 13 turnovers from the Storm, while SVC turned it over 11 times themselves.
 
Saint Vincent shot 10-18 from the foul line, compared to Simpson who shot 23-28, an 82 percent clip.
 
The Bearcats will return home from Miami, taking their perfect record into the new year as they enjoy the next several days off for Christmas break. They return to PAC play on Wednesday, Jan. 3, playing host to Allegheny in the Robert S. Carey Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.