CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. – Josh Watson scored a career-high 19 points and Demario Williams buried a game-clinching 3-pointer as Martin Methodist rallied for a 67-64 overtime win against No. 18 Campbellsville University at the Lou Cunningham Classic in Campbellsville, Ky. Friday night.
Trailing by nine points with just under 10 minutes left in regulation, the RedHawks (6-5) rallied down the stretch to force overtime tied 58-58.
In overtime, the RedHawks fell behind 62-58 less than a minute into the period before closing on a 9-2 run fueled by shots from Watson, Williams and Justin Blake. After Blake's triple trimmed the RedHawks deficit to 62-61 with 4:16 to play, Watson put them ahead with a long-distance bomb at the 3:45 mark. After the Tigers tied the game at 64-64 with 1:15 to play, Williams stepped up and drained the game-winning triple with 34 seconds remaining.
After forcing a missed Campbellsville shot with 11 seconds to play, the RedHawks managed to run off nearly 10 seconds of clock before being fouled.
A full-court Tiger heave with less than a second remaining fell well short, giving the RedHawks their fifth win in their last six games.
"Our guys showed great resiliency here tonight," RedHawks head coach Scott Combs said. "They bounced back from several big runs against a very good Campbellsville squad. I was proud of the effort from our guys tonight."
Playing just his second game in a RedHawks uniform, Watson easily turned in the best performance of his career, scoring 15 of his 19 points via the 3-pointer on a 7-of-17 shooting night. The junior finished 5-of-11 from beyond the arc.
The RedHawks also received a career-best effort from forward Antonio Coleman, who scored 14 points and tracked down a team-high seven rebounds.
Blake and Williams scored 12 and 11 points each in the victory for the RedHawks, who improved to 2-0 in games against teams currently ranked in the NAIA Top 25.
"We had several fantastic efforts from guys tonight," Combs said. "Josh and Antonio had terrific games. I was especially proud of Demario Williams tonight. Our senior leader stepped up and made a big shot when we needed one most."
Justin Ennis finished with a game-high 23 points to lead the Tigers (7-3) in scoring. Reserve Jordan Myers added 13 points in the loss.
The RedHawks return to action for their second game at the Lou Cunningham Classic Saturday afternoon when they take on No. 8 Lindsey Wilson (Ky.). Tipoff in Saturday's game is scheduled for 2 p.m. (CST).
