Benedictine (17-5, 7-2 NIIC) won in a down-to-the-wire contest for the second time in three days; the Eagles needed three defensive stops in the final 15 seconds to defeat then-NIIC co-leader Clarke College by a 65-64 score on Feb. 7. Rockford (14-7, 5-4 NIIC), meanwhile, dropped its second game in three contests.
Neither team led by more than four points in the first eight minutes of the game, but Dwight Mitchell pushed his team's lead to seven (21-14) with a jumper and a pair of free throws on consecutive possessions around the 10-minute mark. The Eagles stayed ahead by at least a bucket for the next five minutes, and led by a 36-26 count with under four minutes to go in the first half after Matt Harrison had five points and Zach Ramey four in a 9-4 run.
The Eagles managed only a pair of Jimmy Franklin free throws in the final 2:52 of the half, however, and Rockford got to within a 40-34 count at the half on a Maurice Lewers tip-in in the final seconds. Harrison had 13 points in the first half for Benedictine, but was hit with a technical foul in the final minutes of the half, which accounted for his fourth personal foul, forcing him to sit early in the final 20 minutes.
Rockford scored 12 of the first 15 points of the second half, and took a 44-43 lead on a Seneca Evans trey just inside the 17-minute mark. Benedictine trailed 50-48 before going on a 7-0 run, which included a conventional three-point play from Marcus Jackson, a Mitchell steal and lay-up, and two free throws from Adam Hansen. A Harrison 3-pointer off a broken play left the Eagles with a 62-56 lead with less than seven minutes to go in regulation.
Mike Jamerson got Rockford to within one (64-63) with a trey at the 5:39 mark, but Mike Shimkus knocked down a long jumper and Harrison scored on the next possession to push the Eagles back ahead by a 68-63 count. E.J. Avery had a pair of baskets to get Rockford to within 70-69 with a minute remaining. After Jackson split two free throws with 37 seconds left, the Regents forced overtime on a turnaround jumper from Joel Carter. Ramey's potential game-winning shot from the top of the key just before the buzzer was short.
Harrison started the extra session with a long jumper from straight on, but Jamerson answered at the other end with a trey. After Benedictine had forged ahead with a pair of scores, Rockford's Maurice Smith knocked down a trey to forge the eighth tie of the game at 77-77. Harrison split two free throws with a minute remaining to give Benedictine a 78-77 lead, and after a failed Rockford offensive possession, Ramey hit a pair of freebies after being fouled on a reach-in. Rockford missed three shots on its next trip, including a potential game-tying trey from Smith, and Harrison made one-of-two free throws to seal the win with four seconds remaining.
Harrison netted a game-high 24 points, reaching the 20-point mark for the second straight game, and added seven rebounds despite playing with four fouls for the final 28 minutes of the game. He had plenty of company in double figures; he was joined by Ramey, who just missed a double-double with 16 points and nine assists, as well as Brice Amelianovich, who has 12 points and four blocks, and Jackson (10). Mitchell played a key role on the defensive end with a pair of steals, and scored a career-high eight points.
Avery had 16 points and 11 boards off the bench to pace Rockford, while Lewers matched him with 16 points. Jamerson and Smith each added 10 points.
Benedictine closes a four-game, eight-day stretch when it plays at Eureka College on Wednesday, Feb. 9.