
Miners complete comeback, edge Pats 111-110 in overtime
December 20, 2007 - Continental Basketball Association 1 (CBA 1)
East Kentucky Miners News Release
PIKEVILLE, KY. - It's the holiday season and East Kentucky Miners fans had plenty to cheer about Wednesday night when the Albany Patroons visited the East Kentucky Expo Center for an American Conference game. After being outscored in each of the first two quarters, host East Kentucky finished strong. The two teams were deadlocked at the conclusion of each of the final two quarters before East Kentucky outscored Albany 12-11 and prevailed in the extra session.
East Kentucky evened its record to 8-8 with the win.
The Miners faced more than one double-digit deficit as late as the fourth quarter. East Kentucky's Josh Pace converted a three-point play with 39.6 seconds remaining in regulation to tie the game at 99-99. The two conference squads remained tied 99-99 as the game was sent into overtime.
Pace scored the first two points of the overtime frame. The Syracuse product went 2-for-2 from the charity stripe with 25.4 seconds remaining in overtime to set the final score.
Pace led East Kentucky with a game-high 35 points. The Georgia native also pulled down eight rebounds, dished off four assists and recorded two steals.
Jason McLeish, playing out of the starting point guard role for the Miners, added 21 points, nine assists and four steals.
Reo Logan added a double-double of 15 points and 13 rebounds for the Miners. Boo Jackson finished with 14 points and eight rebounds as East Kentucky claimed the win.
Mike Crain netted nine points in East Kentucky's conference triumph.
East Kentucky forced Albany into committing an uncharacteristic 32 turnovers. The Miners also blocked four shots.
"Our guys went to work tonight," commented East Kentucky Coach Kevin Keathley. "We had several players step up and play key roles in this key conference game. Albany is a terrific basketball team and we knew we were in for a battle after the two games we played on the road in New York."
Albany enjoyed an early advantage over the Miners, leading 27-23 at the end of the opening quarter. The Patroons packed a 53-48 lead into halftime.
East Kentucky earned its first quarter point in the third period, outscoring the Patroons 26-21. The Miners eventually took the quarter points 4.5-2.5 Seven different Albany players reached double figures in the scoring column. Amal McCaskill led Albany with a double-double effort of 16 points and 13 rebounds. Chad Timberlake also tossed in 16 points for the Albany team. Jamaal Miller was Albany's second-leading scorer, finishing with 14 points. Dajan Smith, Nat Burton and Lucious Jordan aided the Albany offensive attack with 12 points apiece. Will Bowers added 10 points for the Patroons. Albany dropped to 6-4 after suffering the setback.
East Kentucky will host Albany in a rematch Thursday night. The game is a makeup contest from Monday and will get underway at 7:05 p.m. Ticket's for the Thursday matchup remain available.
• Discuss this story on the Continental Basketball Association 1 message board...
Continental Basketball Association 1 Stories from December 20, 2007
- Bench helps Patroons win 103-100 over East Kentucky - Albany Patroons
- Miners complete comeback, edge Pats 111-110 in overtime - East Kentucky Miners
- Patroons lose overtime battle with Miners, 111-110 - Albany Patroons
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
