Lipscomb coach Scott Sanderson told his Bison in his postgame talk that the last play of the game went according to plan.
He tried his best not to laugh.
Everyone in the dressing room knew that freshman guard Damarius Smith was the last option the way the play was designed…including Damarius. But that didn’t stop him from firing a 3-pointer with three seconds left in overtime to give the Bison a 104-103 Atlantic Sun win over Stetson at Allen Arena Monday night.
“Stetson did a good job of taking away what we were trying to do on the play,” Sanderson said. “Damarius did a good of jumping up there and knocking it down. It was a big shot and we needed it. It was nothing but the bottom of the net.”
Damarius scored on two points in regulation. With 39 seconds left in overtime he missed a pair of free throws with the score tied at 99-99. Damarius admitted those two missed free throws were not on his mind when he went for the game-winner.
“When I was coming down the court I knew Stetson’s defenders were going to fight Jordan Burgason (the first choice for the shot) to the best of their abilities,” Damarius said. “I decided if they were going to double-team him and no one thought I was going to shoot that I was going to shoot it with confidence.
“I had missed two tough free throws. I tried to erase that and keep going to the next play. But I believed in myself. I believe my team believes in me. This is a game of confidence. Knowing you can hit the shot is what it is all about.”
It was the second overtime game in a row for the Bison and the third of the season. It was also the first win for the Bison in overtime this season. The game was tied 88-88 at the end of 40 minutes.
The Bison raised their record to 9-10 overall, 4-3 in the A-Sun. Stetson fell to 7-11 overall, 4-4 in the conference.
Burgason led the Bison in scoring with 24 points, scoring six of the 16 points for the Bison in overtime. The final play had been set to go to him, but he was happy to see Damarius step up.
“Stetson definitely read the play right and Damarius made a great decision,” Burgason said. “He pulled up and had an open look. He knocked it down. When he let I go I knew it was going to go in.”
Burgason has the green light to shoot as long as he can see the rim
“If he can see the rim chances are it is going in,” Sanderson said. “He knows how to get open. He is a phenomenal shooter.
“In the first half he shot early in the game and his shot got blocked. I don’t like that. But he is a good shooter making bad shots sometimes. Some guys have to have their feet set to make a shot. He is not that way.”
Also in double figures for the Bison was forward Jacob Arnett with a career-high 22 points. He also had career high for most field goals made with seven. He has scored in double figures in four of his last five games.
Freshman guard Zavion Williams continued his comeback from double knee surgery to score 20. Forward Justin Glenn posted his fifth double-double of the season with 12 points and 13 rebounds.
Stetson forward Adam Pegg led all scorers with 28 points. Guard Aaron Graham added 24 and guard Chris Perez tossed in 23. Pegg also finished with a double-double added a game-high 14 rebounds.
“Stetson made some really deep threes in the second half,” Sanderson said. “I thought they played very well.
“I thought we had some good shots late in the game. Jordan got loose a couple of times. We needed this game.”
The Bison are back in action Jan. 21 when they hit the road to face ETSU in Johnson City.
Story used with permission from LipscombSports.com