Eagles Rally for Home Win over Warriors

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Trailing big early in the first half and again midway through the second half, Avila men's basketball (6-20, 5-16 KCAC) rallied twice to secure a 70-63 home upset of a resurgent Sterling squad (14-13, 10-11 KCAC) on Wednesday night in Mabee Fieldhouse.

Regardless of where these two teams stand in the KCAC standings, the recent series between Sterling and Avila has been highly entertaining, and this installment of the series was no different. The Warriors were already assured of a spot in the KCAC Tournament a season after finishing last in the league, and the victory almost guarantees that the Eagles won't occupy that position at the end of this season.

A new-look Avila starting lineup spotted Sterling a 10-0 lead three minutes into the game before some Avila regulars were permitted to re-enter the game. Once that happened, it didn't take long for the Eagles to get back into the game, spearheaded by another strong all-purpose game from Craig Jordan, who finally got the Eagles on the board with a three-point play three minutes in. Kavonte Kinney was hot early for the visitors and Andrew O'Neal hit a clutch three off the bench, stretching Sterling's lead to 19-10 with 12 minutes to play.

Facing a deficit again, Avila head coach Bill Sloan called a timeout, and it worked – the Eagles scored six straight out of the stoppage, including four from Jordan, to get right back in the mix at the halfway mark. Octavion Williams picked a great time to unleash his best game as an Eagle, delivering a pair of critical three-pointers to bring Avila within two; Tyree King hit a pair of free throws; and Jordan converted a third-chance opportunity to finally give the Eagles their first lead, 30-29, with 3:13 remaining.

After leading for almost the entire first half, Sterling's halftime lead was only 32-30. But the visitors once again started strong in the second half: Cedric Rollerson scored five straight and both Kinney and Derrian Reed hit threes to give the Warriors a 46-40 lead with 11:46 left in the game.

That's when the Eagles started to take over. Josh Kilpatrick grabbed an offensive rebound, setting up Jaylin Dinkins for a driving layup, Eric Smith Jr. completed an and-one; Donte' Simpson set up Kilpatrick for a deep ball; Smith scored from in tight; and Simpson set up Williams for a three in transition. Put it all together and you get a 13-0 Avila run in almost exactly three minutes, flipping a six-point deficit into a seven-point lead.

For the final nine minutes, the Eagles remained firmly in control. The Warriors rallied to within 62-60 with 3:30 left, but one more follow-up bucket from Jordan helped stem the tide, and Simpson hit all six of his free throws in the game's final 70 seconds to wrap up an exciting 70-63 home win for the Eagles.

Reed led all players with 21 points on 6-of-9 shooting. Elias Ngoga had a strong game with 12 points and nine rebounds. Jordan was strong again for the Eagles, leading the team in scoring for the third straight game with 15 points along with seven rebounds. Simpson scored 13 with nine rebounds, and Smith had 10 and eight; Williams shot 4-of-6 from downtown to score a career-high 12.

Up next, Avila men's basketball will close out the regular season on Saturday, February 18 against Tabor. Avila men's basketball will be hosting Senior Day before the game ahead of the tipoff at 5 PM; admission is $8 per person at the gate, and as always you can watch all the action live on the Avila Sports Network.