Third time’s a charm
It looked like it was going to be a long drive back to Arkansas for me and my wife. The Bears had given a good effort, but Georgia Southern was lining up to kick the game winner with just about 50 seconds left.
Throughout the game, two GSU alums had continually said, "we have the three worst kickers in football." And thank goodness they were right.
I don’t think the kick was blocked. It looked like a good snap and hold. But the kick was just about as ugly as a kick can be. It wasn’t just wide left or short. It was both.
GSU’s fans were shocked. UCA’s fans were shocked. The Bears were still alive – in overtime.
The Eagles got the ball first and the defense had probably its best series of the game. On third down and one, Jeremy Pittman made a tackle behind the line of scrimmage for a loss of two.
With no faith in the kicker anymore, they decided to go for it on fourth down. The call backfired as the defense forced a short throw. I’m not sure who was on the coverage – sorry I was screaming at the time – but he hit the receiver at the exact moment the ball got there and the receiver couldn’t handle it. I can’t really remember if he was even far enough for the first down, but it doesn’t matter.
The Bears powered the ball down to the 8 yard line to set up another field goal attempt. It was exactly what you were imagining if you were listening from home. Players on the sidelines were holding hands. Fans in the stands were crossing fingers.
FLASHBACK: James Paul came into the game 9-of-16 kicking field goals. Earlier in this game, he’d missed two, granted one was a 48 yarder.
From the left side of the field, James drilled the kick of 25 yards. Honestly, I have no idea how close it was to missing, but from my angle it looked perfect. Of course, anything between the uprights was going to be perfect in my eyes.
Suddenly, the 11+ hour drive home was going to be a good one.
The game gave GSU a 3-8 record for the season. The Bears on the other hand finish 8-3, not bad for a first year transition to beat a perennial powerhouse of I-AA football on its home field.
The local paper said "the teams are in transition." Well, the Bears transition has to be judged as a success.
We’re losing a group of 21 seniors that can’t have enough good things said about them. And next season may be more of a transition than this one, but who’s thinking about next season?
We’ve got a long drive tomorrow to think about the end of this one, and it’s going to be sweet.
I’ll see you guys when I wake up from my nap. Go Bears!
Bonnies need miracle shot to force OT, beat UCA
St. Bonaventure 69, Central Arkansas 64 (OT)
Leading by three points in the closing seconds of regulation, Central Arkansas’ victory at NCAA Division I St. Bonaventure (N.Y.) was all but secure. Then the nearly impossible happened.
St. Bonaventure’s Zarryon Fereti missed a 3-pointer with five seconds left, but the Bonnies kept possession when the ball went out of bounds off a UCA defender. Fereti didn’t miss his extra opportunity, this time nailing a 3-pointer to tie the game with 1.2 seconds remaining to send the game into overtime. The Bonnies outscored the Bears 8-3 in the overtime period to crush UCA’s hopes of an upset 1,100 miles away from home.
St. Bonaventure is a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference. The loss was UCA’s first after opening the season with a victory over Central Methodist (Mo.) Saturday.
UCA didn’t look much like an underdog in the game’s early minutes, running out to a 9-1 lead with 15:41 remaining in the first half. Frederick Campbell hit a 3-pointer and Durrell Nevels made a jumper during the first minute of the game to build a quick 5-1 lead, then LaMar Phillips and Fernando Johnson each made baskets over the next few minutes to establish the eight-point lead while UCA’s defense held the Bonnies without a field goal. The Bears’ lead twice grew to double digits in the first half – 26-16 with 7:22 remaining and 28-18 with 6:30 left – before they ultimately settled for a six-point lead at halftime, 30-24.
The Bears continued to hold the lead in the second half until the Bonnies tied the score at 37 with 13 minutes left in the game. Instead of getting discouraged, however, UCA fought to stay in the game. Five lead changes later, the Bears found themselves up by three with :13 showing after Nate Bowie made two nerve-racking free throws.
* Durrell Nevels led UCA with 16 points, making 8-of-14 from the field and collecting three blocked shots on the defensive end. Nevels is averaging 4.5 blocks per game so far this season, collecting six in the season opener.
* Despite a cold performance from 3-point range (0-for-7), Nate Bowie was the only other Bear to score in double figures, scoring 13 while making 4-of-14 field goals. He was 5-of-6 from the free throw line.
* It was St. Bonaventure’s 3-point shooting that aided their revival in the second half. The Bonnies made 7-of-11 treys in the second half (.636) after just making 1-of-9 in the first half. UCA was only .261 from 3-point range (6-of-23) after making more than 40 percent of their 3-point attempts in the season’s opener.
* Despite coming in off the bench, freshman Marcus Pillow played 30 minutes, earning more playing time than two of the starters. Pillow only attempted 3-points shots (he was 3-of-8 for nine points).
* The Bears were whistled for 24 personal fouls, twice the 12 received by the Bonnies. St. Bonaventure was only able to shoot .710 from the free throw line, however, making 22-of-31. UCA only attempted 10 free throws during the entire game, making six (.600).
*The announced crowd was 3,418 in St. Bonaventure’s Reilly Center (5,780 capacity). Jay Bilas, in a 2001 ESPN.com feature, ranked the Reilly Center as one of his "Top 5 Hostile Homes" in the nation.