LEWISTON, N.Y. (AP) — Terrell Ard Jr. rebounded a missed free throw between two defenders and found Carmelo Pacheco for a catch-and-shoot 3-pointer in the final seconds to lift Mount St. Mary’s to an 84-83 win over Niagara on Friday night.
Xavier Lipscomb went to the free throw line with the Mountaineers trailing by three, 83-80, and hit the first of two shots to cut the deficit to two with 5.2 seconds remaining in the game. He intentionally missed the second attempt, which caromed off the rim and Ard corralled it, turned and hit Pacheco in rhythm on the wing and he drilled the game-winner with 1.2 seconds left on the clock.
The sequence came after Niagara purposely fouled Lipscomb because it held a three-point lead in the final seconds. Some coaches prefer fouling in the final seconds when leading by three points rather than allowing the opponent to attempt a game-tying jump shot. The move backfired for the Purple Eagles, as Mount St. Mary’s was able to score four points in the final six seconds of the game to win in regulation.
Pacheco’s Game Winner (Adam’s Version) …
🎙️ | @PohlAdam #GoMount pic.twitter.com/qR9PQHq0j4
— Mount Men’s Basketball (@MountHoops) February 15, 2025
“Since we had our first all-staff meeting with our new staff, we talked about special situations like that so that in the heat of the moment we wouldn’t have to come up with what to do,” coach Donny Lind said. “That was one we talked about. Xavier, he shot a perfect miss, and [Terrell] was there, and he found the guy who was open. The rest is history.”
Dallas Hobbs had 21 points and shot 7 of 13 from the field, including 2-for-3 from 3-point range, and went 5-for-6 from the line for the Mountaineers (14-10, 7-6 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference). Ard added 13 points while shooting 6 of 8 from the field to go with seven rebounds. Jedy Cordilia shot 5 of 9 from the field and finished with 13 points, while adding seven rebounds.
Olumide Adelodun finished with 26 points, six rebounds and three steals for the Purple Eagles (10-15, 5-9). Jhaylon Martinez added 11 points and eight rebounds for Niagara. Jaeden Marshall had 11 points.
Mount St. Mary’s next game is Sunday against Canisius on the road, and Niagara visits Siena on Friday.
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar. Baltimore Sun staff contributed to this report.
Originally Published:
