Eagles Lose to Berea on Last Second Three
WILMORE, Ky. – Aaron Ponder’s three with 1.1 seconds left gave Berea a 69-66 win over Asbury on Tuesday night in the Luce Center. The Eagles battled back after trailing for most of the first half to lead by one at the half, 33-32. The game was tied seven times, five of which occurred in the second half.
Ponder’s three was the second big three by the Berea backcourt in the final 1:10. Seth Beckham nailed a three with 1:10 left to turn a two-point Asbury lead into a one-point Berea lead, a lead that Asbury never could take back. Lee’Vaughn Morris tied the game at 66 with 17 seconds left with a pull-up three on the left side but after a timeout Ponder delivered on the wing in front of Berea’s bench.
Asbury shot 55-percent in the second half and 45-percent for the game and forced Berea into only a 31-percent clip from the floor but the Mountaineers dominated the glass and Asbury committed costly turnovers down the stretch. Berea pulled in 48 rebounds including 21 offensive rebounds as Asbury grabbed just 35.
Morris led the Eagles with 12 points as Justin Jones added 11 and Austin Flannery also reached double digits with 10. Leading scorer Adam Delph failed to reach double digits for the first time this season, finishing with nine points. Beckham led all scorers with 19 points and Ponder added 16.
Asbury and Berea will meet again on February 5 down at Berea.
Berea maintains a perfect record in the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference at 4-0. Indiana Southeast is the only other perfect team at 6-0 and is Asbury’s next opponent on Saturday at 8 pm. Asbury falls back into a four-way tie for third at 2-2. Indiana East and Cincinnati Christian are also 2-2 and Point Park is also .500 at 5-5.
