Mt. Pleasant, Iowa –Chris Oates (Streamwood, Ill.) came up big for Judson University (3-2) as he scored the final five points in the last 1:51 to give the Eagles a 78-76 win over Iowa Wesleyan College. With just 00:04 left in the game, Oates nailed two free throws to secure the win for Judson.
Judson had five players score in double figures with DeWayne Robinson (Memphis, Tenn.) leading the way. For the fourth straight game he led Judson with 20 or more points claiming 24 points. Justen Boyd (Batavia, Ill.) had 16 followed by Oates with 13, Ilija Bojanic (Podgorica, Montenegro) with 11, and Steffan Williams (Memphis, Tenn.) at 10. Oates recorded his first double-double of the year with 11 rebounds. IWC’s Brett Humpal led all scorers with 25 points.
IWC’s Brad Levertson gave the Tigers a 74-71 lead with 2:41 left only to see Judson outscore them, 7-2, in the final minutes of the game. JU’s Robinson cut the lead to one, 74-73, with 2:25 left and then Oates put the Eagles ahead, 76-74, on a three-pointer at the 1:31 mark. Levertson tied the game for the 10th time with 1:10 left in the game at 76 as the game then came down to the wire. In the final minute, IWC ran the clock down to 27 seconds as Max Stambough missed the shot for the win and JU came away with the rebound. JU ran down the clock and Oates was fouled with 00:04 left in the game. He stepped to the line and nailed both free throws for the win. IWC did attempt a final three-pointer but it banked off the rim.
Taking a 16-9 lead in the first five minutes of the game, IWC pushed their lead to nine, 23-14, with 10:21 left in the half. JU responded with a 9-0 run to tie the game at 23 as Bojanic had five of his 11 points in that run at the 7:03 mark. Both teams exchanged the lead in the next two minutes with the fifth tie of the game at 27 coming with 4:52 remaining. Judson once again put together another run in 1:41 for a 34-27 lead as Robinson scored five of the seven points. IWC did not fold finishing the final 3:11 on a 13-5 run and a 40-39 lead at the half.
The second half featured several runs by both teams. Continuing their offensive run, IWC rushed out to a seven-point lead, 51-44, in the first three minutes of the second half. Not giving up, JU controlled the next seven minutes with a 17-4 scoring swing to claim a six-point lead, 61-55. Robinson added eight of the 17 points in the run. Another momentum change happened at this time as IWC outscored JU 13-3 in the next five minutes for a four-point lead, 68-64, with 5:47 remaining.
At this moment, Oates took over the game for Judson finishing with seven of the next 14 points. Williams swooshed a three-pointer to cut the lead to one, 68-67, but IWC hit two free throws to put their lead back at three, 70-67. JU scored the next four points with a jumper by Robinson and two free throws from Oates to make it 71-70 (3:49). IWC answered with four straight points to regain their lead, 74-71. Robinson again cut the lead to one, 74-73, at the 2:25 mark and then Oates made his only three-pointer of the game with 1:31 left for the two-point lead, 76-74. IWC tied the game at 76 with 1:10 remaining but could not convert on their final two possessions as Judson went on to win, 78-76 on Oates two free throws.
JU finished shooting 44% from the floor, 26% from three-point land, and 66% from the free-throw line. IWC shot 50% from the floor, 33% from the three-point line, and 75% from the stripe. JU out rebounded IWC, 39-30, and forced 17 turnovers.
Judson now has won their last three games and will face a tough St. Xavier team on Tuesday, November 28th, at 8:00 p.m. in Chicago.
| Lewis University at | 2:00pm |
| Judson | CST |
| Scrimmage | |
