COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – For the second time in three games the Ravens found themselves involved in a game that went into extra time. Unlike their win in OT in their last overtime encounter, the Ravens were caught today by the Ursinus College Bears in overtime, dropping a 58-56 decision. It was the second straight win of the season for the Bears (2-7) as the Ravens dropped to 3-7 overall.
In a game where the teams had difficulty extending distance between themselves, the Ravens got off to a good start in the half, never trailing in the period. Three field goals by Dom Scafidi and a basket by Clayton Wolfe gave the Ravens an 8-2 lead four minutes into the game. Midway through the first a jumper by Khadim Diaw gave Rosemont a 7-point lead, 17-10, their largest up to that point. The Ravens took a 21-13 lead with 5:09 left in the half on a jumper by Mekhi Clemons. That would be their largest lead for the afternoon. Leading 25-17 with 2:17 left in the period the Bears scored the final four points of the half to end the scoring with Rosemont ahead by 25-21.
The Ravens re-upped their lead to seven points several times. With 11:28 left in regulation Thomas bagged a three-pointer to maintain a 7-point lead, 38-31. Still leading 42-35 with 8 ½ minutes remaining the Bears started a comeback. Trailing 45-39 with 5:17 left, a three-pointer from Ursinus' Matt Knowles, following up by a bucket from Joseph LoStracco cut the lead to one point with the Ravens in front 45-44 with 4:03 left.
After the teams traded baskets, the Bears' Malik Draper made a layup to give Ursinus their first lead of the game, 48-47 with 2:42 left in the game. After a Ravens missed jumper, the home side's Matthew Alden dunked the ball to give Ursinus a 50-47 lead with 2:05 remaining in regulation. After both teams turned the ball over, Wolfe got a pass from Marcus Thomas and made a clutch game-tying trey with 1:25 left. Neither team could score as the clock wound down in regulation with the game tied 50-50.
The Ravens looked to be in good shape to start the overtime period as Dom Scafidi made two layups in the first 1:50 to give the Ravens a 54-50 lead. Matt Knowles sank a big three-pointer with 2:49 left to get Ursinus to within 54-53, and after a Rosemont miss Brian Rafferty put the Bears ahead with a layup to make the score 55-54 with 2:16 left. Rosemont's Clemons would sink a jumper 32 seconds later to give the Ravens the one-point lead, 56-55 with still 1:44 remaining.
Over the next minute there were three turnovers and a missed Rosemont shot as the clock ticked down. With 10 seconds on the clock Knowles struck again from beyond the arc to give Ursinus the 58-56 lead. Rosemont was able to get off a shot to try to tie the game, but it was unsuccessful as Knowles grabbed the defensive board and the clock ran out to end the overtime period.
Scafidi scored 22 points to lead the Ravens. Clemons (10) and Wolfe (10) also hit double-digits for the Ravens. Scafidi also led the Ravens off the glass with nine rebounds.
The Bears also placed three players in double-digits led by Malik Draper (16), Matt Knowles (12) and Joseph LoStracco (10).
This game ends the 2014 portion of the Raven's season. They will resume play on Saturday, 1/3/2015 when they host the Cabrini Cavaliers in a CSAC game slated for a 2:00pm start.
