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Crawford's Buzzer Beater Forces Overtime, Purple Knights Fall to Assumption, 85-81

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Created on Thursday, 26 January 2012 05:40

Written by George Commo

Knights fall to 7-11 overall and 6-8 in the Northeast-10

Courtesy St. Michael's Sports Information

WORCESTER, Mass. - Freshman Corey Crawford (Dover, Del./The Phelps School) banked in an off-balance three-pointer from the top of the key at the buzzer to force overtime on Wednesday before the Saint Michael's College men's basketball team fell to Assumption College, 85-81, in Laska Gymnasium.

The Purple Knights fell to 7-11 overall and 6-8 in the Northeast-10 Conference, suffering their seventh setback by six points or fewer. Crawford made a buzzer-beating three-pointer from the top of the key for the second time in three weeks, as he beat the horn at the end of the third overtime on Jan. 11 at Southern Connecticut State University in a contest won by the Purple and Gold in four extra sessions. The Greyhounds are 8-10 and 6-8.

Senior Tyler Schilling (Excelsior, Minn./Minnetonka) totaled a season-high 18 points for the visitors on 7-of-9 shooting, while sophomore Mike Holton Jr. (Portland, Ore./The Winchendon School) netted 16, going 3-of-4 from three-point range. Crawford finished with 14 points and five assists off the bench, also turning in a 3-of-4 three-point effort. Senior Tom Ward (Brighton, East Sussex, England/Saint Francis [N.Y.]) knocked down three threes for nine points, freshman James Cambronne (De Bary, Fla./The Winchendon School) had nine points and three blocks, and junior Derek Knutty (Rocklin, Calif./Whitney) added eight rebounds and three steals.

Each team shot well from distance, with Saint Michael's 12-of-21 and the hosts 10-for-19. Junior Ryan Rozsnaki (Montreal, Quebec/Landstown) turned in a triple-double for Assumption, with 13 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. Juniors Tim Beinert (Bellerose Village, N.Y./Holy Cross) and Ronson Quick (Marlton, N.J./Cherokee) scored 17 points apiece.

Saint Michael's held a 66-58 advantage with 4:20 remaining before the Greyhounds scored the next nine points, but Schilling hit two freebies with 58 seconds left to give his team the lead back. Rozsnaki made a go-ahead jumper with 12.7 ticks left, and Beinert added two free throws, but Crawford's three sent the teams to overtime. Assumption scored the first five points of the extra session, and the Purple Knights never came closer than four.

Assumption scored the game's first eight points, with junior Travis Warech's (Pine Brook, N.J./Montville) three-pointer breaking the shutout at 17:24 of the opening half, but the hosts eventually pushed ahead by a 15-3 count, and later 23-10 at the 11-minute mark. The Purple Knights surged into the lead by scoring 34 of the next 42 points during a run that bridged halftime, holding the Greyhounds to eight points on 3-of-17 shooting during that ensuing 12:15 stretch.

Schilling had 10 points during the big run, and Cambronne added nine, as a pair of free throws by Schilling provided Saint Michael's with a 44-31 advantage with 18:15 remaining in the game. Assumption slowly chipped away, with Beinert's jumper producing a 55-53 margin at 7:56, but Holton twice reestablished an eight-point lead by knocking down a three-pointer, including making the score 66-58 at 4:20 to set up the finish.

The Purple Knights host Le Moyne College on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.