Eddy's clutch shooting leads to Pride win in triple overtime thriller
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - Just seven days removed from falling short in an overtime game, the Clarke University men's basketball team played three extra periods to earn a 98-94 win over Mount Mercy University on the road on Wednesday night.
Similar to CU's loss a week ago to Culver-Stockton, a three-pointer late in regulation was needed to extend the game into overtime as this time it was Anthony Eddy sinking a contested three with just over a second remaining in the second half to tie the game at 76-76.
With a few more seconds remaining in overtime, just over 20 seconds to be more specific, Eddy would knock down his eighth three of the game, tying a school record for the third time in his three-year Clarke career, to tie the game at 83-83 this time and send it into a second overtime.
The second overtime's big shot from the Pride came off of the finger tips of Nick Bryant as the sophomore hit a three to give CU a two-point advantage with just under two minutes remaining where this time the Mustangs would answer with an Anthony Horton Jr. layup to tie the game at 87-87 with neither side being able to get a bucket in the final minute of OT2, sending it to triple overtime.
In what would end up being the final five minutes of the 55-minute contest, Clarke would jump out to a four-point lead behind Biggie Luster free throws and back-to-back Daquon Lewis layup before extending their lead to 95-90 to be able to take a few MMU punches to get back into the game but not enough with limited time remaining to the four-point, triple overtime, CU victory.
Eddy led the Pride with 28 points on his school record tying eight triples as he went 10-for-18 from the field overall with Luster adding 19, Chris Burnell scoring 15, Carson Lindauer adding a 12-point, 11-rebound double-double off the bench, and Lewis scoring 10 points.
The game's leading scorer was Mount Mercy's Ryan Bartley as he sored 35 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for his own double-double as the entire starting five for MMU scored in double figures with Horton Jr. adding 17, Jakari Bradley scoring 13, Rusmir Hamzic finishing at 11 points and eight rebounds, and Aidan Yamilkoski rounding out the double digit scoring with a 10-point game.
Clarke men's basketball will return to the Kehl Center for three-straight home games starting this Saturday when they host Park University for a 2:00 p.m. CT scheduled tip.