CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - The Wilson College men's basketball team hosted the Giants of Keystone College earlier this evening in the Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) Semifinals. In a thrilling game that went to the wire, the Phoenix (17-7, 12-2 CSAC) defeated the Giants (9-16, 6-8 CSAC) by a final score of 86-77 in overtime. With this win, Wilson will advance to the CSAC Championship Final this Saturday, February 26.
How It Happened: Keystone started the game on a 12-5 run before the Phoenix gained the composure and knotted the game up at 14 with just under seven and a half minutes in the opening half. During the run for Wilson, junior
Antonio Bussey (Aiken, SC, Claflin Univ.) tallied two dunks, while senior
Anthony Desruisseau (Burtonsville, MD., Springbrook HS) added a layup and junior
Darryl Garib (Dallas, TX., Forest Park) added a foul shot. Despite the Giants knocking down a handful of threes, Wilson hung tough and tied the game up at 24 with under two minutes remaining in the first half. The Phoenix closed out the half on an 8-4 run that brought the score to 32-28, heading into halftime.
Opening up the second half, senior
Adrian Thomas (Germantown, MD., Northwest HS) and junior
Daeshaun Johnson (Waldorf, MD, St. Charles HS) got the scoring started with a pair of jumpers. Wilson continued to stay strong, but the Keystone kept pace, eventually evening the game up at 40 and then taking the lead off an and-one layup from the Giants. This sparked a 10-4 run from the Phoenix that flipped the score and pushed Wilson in front, 50-45 with eleven and a half minutes on the clock. After both teams traded jumpers, Keystone tied the game up at 52 apiece on another three-pointer. The Giants then took the lead on a 12 -2 run that put the score at 64-56. The Phoenix stepped up in a big way, making several defensive stops and scoring several buckets that brought Wilson within one point, 70-69, with under one minute left in the second half. After two made foul shots from Keystone, Wilson sat down three with just 19 seconds remaining. Then after a missed shot,
Thomas grabbed the offensive rebound and dished the ball to
Garib, who drilled down the game-tying three-pointer at the buzzer. Both teams went into overtime tied at 72.
In overtime, after trading foul shots, both teams sat tied at 73. Then, after trading jumpers, Keystone took a two-point lead off two made free throws, 77-75. After
Garib swished another three, Wilson never looked back as they walked away with the victory, 86-77, advancing to the CSAC Championship Final.
Inside the Box Score: This is the first time in program history that men's basketball has advanced to a conference championship game.
Thomas led the team in points (23) and rebounds (9), finishing just one rebound shy of a double-double.
Bussey chipped in 18 points while junior
Warrick Godwin Jr. (Largo, MD, College of So. MD) rounded out double-digit scorers with ten. Junior
Jordan Miles (Waldorf, MD., Westlake) and
Johnson both notched eight points in the victory.
Up Next: The men's basketball team will host the Highlanders of Cairn University (16-10, 9-5 CSAC) in the CSAC Championship Final on Saturday, February 26, at 1 p.m.
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