2OT Not Enough As Men's Basketball Drops Day One of the Classic

In this back-and-forth battle, the Bearcats would get the scoring started first with a jump shot by Alex Burzawa outside the paint. Cory Gardner would rack up five points on the Bearcats next two possessions to take the one-point lead. The Gyrenes showed how efficient they are from the field as they hit five shots from behind the arc in the first nine-minutes, taking a seven-point advantage. Taeron Hogg would eventually get fouled as the Gyrenes put the 82% free-throw shooter at the line where he would sink both shots to get the Bearcats within two. AMU's largest lead of the night (seven points) would quickly dwindle against this feisty Bearcats team as a three ball from Anthony Lopez would give BU back the lead, 36-35. Before half, the Bearcats led the Gyrenes by eight points for their largest lead of the contest as they hit the locker rooms with a 56-53 lead.

AMU wasn't going to make the second half easy on the Bearcats as they started their surge towards the lead. This pressure forced the BU offense into some tough and bad shots. Back-to-back three pointers from The Gyrenes would quickly turn this game around as Coach Gaylor is forced to take a timeout only up by one with eight minutes remaining in regulation. As each team traded shots, a Bearcat defensive rebound and a Gyrenes off-ball foul would give BU possession with 16 seconds left. The Bearcats would get the ball in quickly and across the timeline as Louis Penn III would make a layup to put the Bearcats up by three. 

AMU inbounded the ball looking for a miracle as the Gyrene ball carrier would jump stop behind the arc and get fouled sending him to the line for a chance to tie the game. Unfortunately for the Bearcats, White would sink all three free throws to send this game into its first overtime.

The Bearcats would break the century mark first in this high scoring affair as Darryl Jordan would continue to tack on to his double-digit performance with a layup under the basket. With the two-point lead from a Gardner three-pointer, the Gyrenes would tie things up for the second time on a layup. Both teams couldn't get the bucket to fall as we head for a second overtime. Taeron Hogg would make the Bearcats only basket in 2OT as BU finished 0-6 from the field to give the Gyrenes the win, 109-105.

Darryl Jordan led the Bearcats in scoring with his first 28-point, 10 rebound double-double of the year. Taeron Hogg followed closely behind with 26 points and seven rebounds. John Saenz, one of the Bearcats' best defenders, ended with 12 points, seven rebounds, and a career high seven steals.

The Bearcats push forward to day two of the classic as they take on Keiser at 6:30 pm CT on Saturday.