Junior guard Tom Norton (Bloomington, Ill., Bloomington Catholic) scored a career-high 34 points behind eight three-pointers, but the Truman men’s basketball team came up on the wrong side of a 94-87 double overtime thriller against 14th-ranked Northwest Missouri on Wednesday night in Pershing Arena.
The Bulldogs (7-18, 4-13 MIAA) still sit tied for eighth in the MIAA with three games to go following Emporia State’s loss Wednesday night at Pittsburg State.
Truman will play host to Missouri Western (7-16, 2-15 MIAA) on Saturday afternoon at 3:00 pm, with the Griffs sitting two games back of the Bulldogs, Hornets and Lincoln Blue Tigers with the season winding down.
Norton’s 34 points came just two nights and one game after Isaac Gardner’s 30-point outing against Hannibal-LaGrange that marked the first 30-point Truman single-game effort since 2003.
However, on Wednesday night, it was Norton that had the long-distance magic working, going 8-for-12 from three-point range and 10-for-13 from the charity stripe for his new career-high.
He added four assists and three rebounds without turning the ball over in 40 minutes after missing Monday’s game.
Truman led for much of the first half against the No. 14 and MIAA-leading Bearcats (20-3, 14-3 MIAA), trailing for just 35 seconds and carrying a 29-27 lead into the intermission.
After some see-sawing at the start of the second half, Truman again built a cushion, leading by as many as eight at 45-37 before the Bearcats tied the game once again at 52-all with 7:23 to play.
The Bulldogs pushed the margin back to seven with 1:54 to go on a Seth Jackson dunk before Northwest began to creep back into the ballgame between a combination of missed Truman free throws and quick possessions on the opposite end.
Truman led by one, 69-68, with nine seconds remaining when Northwest sent Norton to the line.
Norton hit just one of two, and the Bearcats’ DeShaun Cooper drew a touch foul driving to the basket with three seconds to play – evening the game at 70-70 with a pair of free throws.
A half-court heave by the Bulldogs was short, sending the teams to overtime.
Northwest never trailed in the first extra session, leading by as many as six before a Gardner triple with 47 seconds left and a Norton 40-footer with 2.7 seconds on the clock sandwiched an empty Bearcat possession to book two tickets to double overtime at a 79-79 tie.
It started as a similar story in the second OT, with Northwest scoring on its first possession and never trailing, but a second Bulldog comeback was halted by strong Bearcat foul shooting for the 94-87 final tally.
Truman was able to capitalize on Northwest’s 16 turnovers by scoring 28 points but found itself outscored 18-2 on second-chance points.
Truman last played a double overtime game on Dec. 16, 1995 – a 110-104 loss at Quincy (Ill.).
The Bulldogs are now 14-21 in overtime all time as a program and 2-1 this season (wins at MWSU and vs. ESU).
Saturday’s doubleheader (1:00/3:00) with Missouri Western is designated as “Think Pink” Saturday in Pershing, as the Truman Athletics Department will be selling commemorative t-shirts to raise money for the Adair County Relay for Life and the Kay Yow breast cancer foundation. Fans wearing pink are admitted free.
Courtesy Truman State University
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