LOUISVILLE, Kentucky- The UC Clermont Cougars beat the Boyce Bulldogs by a score of 73-71 on Wednesday night. The Cougars got out to a commanding 41-26 halftime lead. The Bulldogs responded by out scoring the Cougars 45-32 in the second half, but fell just short in the end.
Kenyon Gardner made a free-throw to give the Cougars a comfortable 48-30 lead early in the second half. Clermont looked well on their way to pulling away, but the Bulldogs would keep fighting. Josh Sangalli hit a shot to cut the lead to 65-58 with just 6:30 left in the game.
Caleb Hawley made a free-throw and would make a jump shot just 20 seconds later to draw closer at 72-69 with 45 ticks remaining. The Bulldogs got the ball back but turned it over. Caden Zeinner headed to the line with 4 seconds left. He missed the first attempt but converted on the second to give the Cougars a 4 point lead and essentially ice the game. The Cougars escaped with a thrilling road victory.
Robbie Johnson knocked down five triples and led the team in scoring with 19 points. Landon Naylor had 18 points, 5 rebounds, and a team-high 4 assists. Kenyon Gardner had 13 points to go along with 5 rebounds. Jack Kronauge gave the Cougars 13 points and 3 boards off of the bench. Luke Kirklin led the team with 10 rebounds.
Josh Sangalli had a double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds. Caleb Hawley scored 12 points and secured 8 boards. Ben Cox knocked down four triples while giving the Bulldogs 16 points off of the bench.
The Bulldogs shot better from the field (47.4% to 40%) and from three (43.8% to 28%). They also out rebounded the Cougars 41-29. UC Clermont shot better from the free-throw line (71.4% to 55.6%) and only had 7 turnovers in contrast to 17 from Boyce. The Cougars had more points in the paint (32 to 18) and never trailed in the game. Their lead ballooned to as many as 18 at one point.
UC Clermont improves to 13-5 overall and will travel to play Kent State Tuscarawas on Saturday at 3 p.m. Boyce falls to 8-14 overall and will host Miami University-Middletown on Saturday at 2 p.m.
Written by Eli Altherr