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FRANKFORT, Ky. – In a game that will go down as an all-time Mid-South Conference Tournament classic, the top-seeded Lindsey Wilson College men's basketball team outlasted No. 2-seed Pikeville (Ky.) 77-73 in overtime on Sunday at the Frankfort Convention Center.
The tournament title is the first for the Blue Raiders (29-4) since 2005 and to do so it had to withstand an extraordinary performance from the conference's player of the year.
Pikeville's Jamar Briscoe hit six threes and shot 11 of 23 from the field to finish with a game-high 32 points, but it was a balanced attack by Lindsey Wilson that ultimately won it in the end.
Kalen Kimberland led the bunch with 25 points, hitting 12-of-16 shots from the free-throw line, while Milton Watts added 12 points and 10 rebounds, DeAntra Scott had 11 points and Chris Bridges finished with 10.
"Every play they ran was for Briscoe and we ran everything for Kalen," said Lindsey Wilson head coach Paul Peck. "Unbelievable performances. I can't think of a much better game in our league than this."
It all could have ended much differently with a made free throw in the final seconds of regulation.
Tied 64-64 with 10 seconds to play, Lindsey Wilson sent UPike's Elisha Justice to the line for one and the bonus. Justice missed his first shot and Kimberland came up short on a runner at the buzzer to send the game to overtime.
"I said it before the game, if the score got into the 90's, we didn't have a chance," said Peck. "But we kept it low with great defense and this is how it turned out."
In the extra period, it was all Lindsey Wilson at the start as it scored the first five points on an and-one dunk from Watts and two Kimberland free throws.
The Bears (26-6) clawed back within one at 72-71 with a three from Briscoe and two makes from the line by Justice, but Bridges and Kimberland combined for three free throws in the final minute to give Lindsey Wilson a 75-71 advantage.
Up four with 14 seconds to play, Kimberland's success from the line finally came undone as he missed a pair and allowed Chris Johnson's basket to make it a two-point game with eight seconds on the clock.
Daronte' Clark was fouled out of a timeout and the junior made both shots to give the Blue Raiders their final 77-73 cushion as Briscoe's final shot was blocked by Scott and rebounded by Kimberland to end the game.
Lindsey Wilson outrebounded the Bears 46-34 and outshot them from the field 45-41 percent. The Blue Raiders did shoot 22 more free throws in the game, while Pikeville had the advantage from long distance, making eight threes compared to four.
The largest lead of the game was eight for the Blue Raiders at 19-11 in the first half, but at halftime it was just a 31-28 Lindsey Wilson lead and it stayed close throughout the second frame.
After leading 5-4 four minutes in to the game, Pikeville didn't regain the lead until 35-33 with 17 minutes left in the game. Trevor Setty hit a shot to make it 50-45 seven minutes later, but it was Lindsey Wilson that had a 64-61 lead with a minute to go.
Johnson's three at the 58-second mark knotted it up and neither team scored another point until overtime.
Briscoe was joined in double figures by Justice with 11 points, while Greg Magee added eight and Setty finished with seven, shooting 0 for 3 from behind the arc.
Lindsey Wilson captures both the MSC Regular-Season and Tournament Championships for the first time since that 2004-05 campaign. Georgetown (Ky.) was the last team to win both titles in 2010-11. This is the Blue Raiders' third conference-tournament championship overall.
"To win both championships in a single season doesn't happen very often," said Peck. "This is something special."
Both Lindsey Wilson and Pikeville earn automatic bids to the NAIA National Championship on March 13-19 in Kansas City, Mo., at Municipal Auditorium. The 32-team field is scheduled to be announced on Wednesday at 7 p.m. CT.
"This win validates that we are a good team nationally," said Peck. "Now we have to go out and prove in Kansas City how strong this conference is."
