Junior guard Tony White hit a runner to tie the game at 66-66 in the waning moments of the second period, forcing the game into overtime. The Blue Devils (5-6) outscored the Tomcats 15-7 in the overtime to secure the eight-point win.
Junior guard Brad Bowman led the Tomcats with 18 points and seven rebounds. Sophomore forward Joe Herrmann finished with 16 points and a game-high 12 rebounds, while White added 15 points on five-of-eight shooting, including four-of-four from three-point range.
Taha Alassari had a game-high 30 points for Fredonia State. Allasari, who finished 14-of-20 from the free throw line, attempted one more free throw than the entire Tomcat team. Chris Donahue totaled 21 points and seven rebounds, knocking down five-of-11 from three-point range.
Thiel (2-11), trailing by 10 (22-12) with just under 10 minutes to play in the first period, used a 9-0 run to pull to within one (22-21) with 6:34 to play before the half. Fredonia State closed out the half on a 19-9 run to go into the break with a 41-30 lead.
Down 12 (51-39) with 13:45 left in the game, the Tomcats outscored the Blue Devils 17-4 over the next 8:04 to go up by one (56-55) with 5:31 to play. After trailing by as many as four late, White was able to send the game into overtime with his jumper with eight seconds to play.
Herrmann gave Thiel an early 68-66 lead before Alassari hit seven-of-nine free throws down the stretch to ice the eight-point victory for the Blue Devils.
Fredonia State shot 46.3 percent (25-54) from the field and 61.5 percent (24-39) from the free throw line while finishing with a 42-37 advantage in rebounding. Thiel shot 39.4 percent (26-66) from the floor and finished just 13-of-19 (68.4 %) from the free throw line.
Thiel returns to action on Saturday, Jan. 14 when they host Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) newcomer Thomas More College. The men's game will follow the women's contest and is scheduled to tip off at 3 p.m.
Newspaper Box Score Thiel College vs Fredonia 1-7-06 8 pm at Steele Hall, Fredonia, N.Y. At Steele Hall, Fredonia, N.Y. FREDONIA 81, THIEL COLLEGE 73 THIEL COLLEGE (2-11) Brad Bowman 7-16 3-6 18; Joe Herrmann 5-16 6-7 16; Tony White 5-8 1-2 15; James Beedle 3-9 3-4 11; Damien Williams 2-4 0-0 5; Andre Jones 2-3 0-0 4; Geno Bianco 1-2 0-0 2; Stephen Laird 1-6 0-0 2; Gary Gates 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 26-66 13-19 73. FREDONIA (5-6) ALASSARI, Taha 8-18 14-20 30; DONAHUE, Chris 5-11 6-7 21; GORDON, Kyle 4-5 0-3 8; REICHLMAYR, Kevin 3-4 2-5 8; WATKINS, Devin 2-7 1-2 6; KELLY, Mike 1-2 0-0 3; ANDERSON, Tim 1-5 1-2 3; SMITH, Adam 1-1 0-0 2; MACK, David 0-0 0-0 0; MOORE, Matt 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 25-54 24-39 81. Thiel College................. 30 36 7 - 73 Fredonia...................... 41 25 15 - 81 3-point goals-Thiel College 8-25 (Tony White 4-4; James Beedle 2-7; Brad Bowman 1-4; Damien Williams 1-3; Stephen Laird 0-1; Geno Bianco 0-1; Joe Herrmann 0-5), Fredonia 7-24 (DONAHUE, Chris 5-11; KELLY, Mike 1-1; WATKINS, Devin 1-4; ANDERSON, Tim 0-3; ALASSARI, Taha 0-5). Fouled out--Thiel College-None, Fredonia-None. Rebounds-Thiel College 37 (Joe Herrmann 12), Fredonia 42 (REICHLMAYR, Kevin 9). Assists-Thiel College 13 (James Beedle 4), Fredonia 13 (ANDERSON, Tim 6). Total fouls-Thiel College 22, Fredonia 15. A-369