Illinois College edges Beloit in 2OT
Matt Norville sank a pair of free throws with 5.6 seconds left in the second overtime to lift Illinois College past Beloit College Saturday in Midwest Conference basketball.
Following the in-bounds play, Beloit’s Danny Towns was able to get free for a short jumper but his shot rolled off the rim as the buzzer sounded. The victory improved Illinois College’s record to 5-7 overall and 3-2 in league action while Beloit slipped to 3-8, 1-4.
Illinois College’s Dylan Dudley put the hosts up 66-63 with 1:05 left in regulation when he hit a 3-point field goal. But Beloit’s Josh Hinz sent the game into the first extra session when he connected on a trey with 13 seconds left.
In the first overtime, a free throw by the Buccaneers’ Dejuan Shorter with eight second left put the visitors up 79-76. But Dudley banked in a 3-pointer with 2.8 seconds remaining to force a second overtime. Norville’s jumper with 1:32 left in the second overtime cut Beloit’s lead to 86-85 after a pair of Beloit free throws by Jon Allen staked the Bucs to a 3-point lead.
Beloit opened a 40-29 lead at the intermission and enjoyed their biggest lead at 51-37 early in the second half. Dudley, who finished with a game-high 29 points, helped rally the Blueboys who finally caught Beloit at 58 when Josh Kleiboeker hit a short jumper at the 6:52 mark. Kleiboeker finished with 28 points.
Hinz and Allen each scored 19 points to lead Beloit. The Bucs also got 12 points apiece from Towns and Tyson Chapman while Shorter added 10. Kyle Miller has 11 points for the Blueboys, who shot .478 from the field, compared to .416 for Beloit.
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