Bucs Rally Past Gadsden State in Overtime

TUSCALOOSA – Shelton State rallied from a 14-point second half deficit to defeat Gadsden State 76-73 in an overtime thriller on Thursday night at the Umphrey Center.

Gadsden State took a 54-40 lead on a pair of free throws by Shannon Jones with 8:42 left in the game. The Cardinals built the lead with the inside presence of Keshawn Watkins and Mekhi Fitts, who combined for 38 points against the Bucs. Watkins layup with 3:39 left in the game gave the Cardinals a 65-57 lead.

Shelton State outscored Gadsden State 26-12 in the final eight minutes to force overtime. Freshman guard Devin Bowers was responsible for six straight points for the Bucs in the comeback.  Sophomore forward Darius Brant's layup with 31 seconds left made it 66-63. Sophomore guard Gabriel White fired up the game-tying three points with 0.6 seconds left to force the overtime.

Shelton State (13-13, 5-7 ACCC) outscored Gadsden State 10-7 in the overtime period. The Bucs took a 71-67 lead on sophomore center Hasani Rivera's lay up with 3:14 left. After Gadsden cut the deficit to 71-69, Bowers hit a clutch 3-pointer to stretch the lead to 74-69.

Gadsden State (19-9,6-6 ACCC) scored the next four points on free throws by Jones and Christian Wills to trim the deficit to 74-73. Rivera then iced the game with a jumper as the shot clock expired giving the Bucs a 76-73 win.

Sophomore guard Kuron Coleman was the catalyst all night for the Bucs. He led all scorers with 27 points on 10-of-18 shooting. He also made five 3-pointers and pulled down six rebounds. Bowers finished with 15 points and Rivera added 13 points and 11 rebounds.

Shelton State is now 2-2 in overtime games this season.

Shelton State returns to action on Monday, Feb. 24 when the Bucs host the Southern Union Bison in the final regular season home game at 7:30 p.m.