Mustangs 99 points not enough to knock off Highlands in OT

Tough, tough loss for our guys  as we came as close as a pair of made free-throws, or a rebound at one point to win it in regulation, but for the second time in two outings against Scott, and now Highlands, it was not to be.

Early on, our Mustangs, led by Senior Mason Sepate’s 14 first quarter outburst led the Birds 24-11. Fouls and free-throws benefitted Highlands in the second period as they overcame 15 point deficits of 21-6, 30-15 and 35-20 by hitting 13 of 14 free throw attempts, allowing them to close the gap to 45-43 at halftime by scoring 32 points to our 21.   

At the half it was already a high-scoring event with Nathan Vinson scoring 21 that included 7 of 7 from the line. Seth Ryan had scored 11. Mason Sepate had 19 at intermission and Brandon Bezold 11 with three 3s.  

At that juncture, having taken what appeared to be our best shot, and leading by only two, it would not have been unrealistic to think that with momentum in a Highlands uniform, that they might continue on to a sizable victory.  However, with the same character that we showed Friday night against Scott, we embarked on an ask-and-answer third period that saw our guys and the Birds trade blows in a 27-27 tie, giving our team the same two point lead that we had at the half. In the fourth quarter there was a tie and five lead changes, from when Highlands took a 48-47 lead to where Brossart retook the lead at 56-55 until the Birds re-claimed the lead 70-69. That lead would be short lived as Brossart maintained the lead all of the way to the wire when the Birds knotted it up at 90s and forced overtime.  Asking our guys to go four more minutes was asking too much as our bench depth was severely tested as Logan Woosley, Keegan Gulley, and Luke Schumacher all fouled out.  In the game there were 78 free throws shot, with Highlands hitting 37 of 44 and our Mustangs 27 of 34, a 13 point Bird advantage. Nathan Vinson nailed 20 of 21 from the charity stripe.

On the night, Vinson scored 48, which could well be the most ever scored by a player in this building. Seth Ryan added 21, and William Herald 20 for the Birds. Sepate led our Mustangs with 30, Brandon Bezold put up 16 that included four 3s, Logan Woosley added 14, and Keegan Gulley 11, with a trio of 3-pointers.  Anthony Kruse was one rebound short of a triple double with 11 points, 12 assists and 9 rebounds. Highlands’ 106 points scored, is almost certainly the most ever put up by any teem that has played in our SyDome facility.

We should have no shortage of confidence taking our show on the road to Richmond, facing Hazard, who had two coaches in the crowd for this one.  That game will be played Thursday night at 6:30pm in McBrayer Arena at EKU.