Box Score
ALLENDALE, Mich. – A three-pointer at the buzzer from sophomore Michael Simon (Hilliard, Ohio) capped a wild rally for Ohio Dominican's men's basketball team as the Panthers scored a 62-59 win at Grand Valley in GLIAC play Saturday night.
ODU (5-2, 1-1 GLIAC) trailed 59-54 with 2:18 but scored the final eight points of the game to earn its first win over Grand Valley (5-4, 1-1 GLIAC) in program history.
Two free throws by junior Ronnie Williams (Columbus, Ohio) at the 2:05 mark cut the score to 59-56, and junior Adam Cytlak (Van Buren, Ohio) knocked down a triple on ODU's next possession to even the score with 1:31 to play.
GVSU missed a pair of shots on its next possession, and the Panthers misfired on a three with 42 ticks left to give the Lakers the ball back. GVSU missed two more shot attempts, and the Panthers took a timeout with 13.5 seconds left.
The Panthers worked the ball around the perimeter, and Williams floated a pass to Simon in the right corner with less than three seconds left, and Simon's quick trigger found the bottom of the net as time expired.
ODU won despite shooting just 36.4 percent from the floor (20-of-55) and surrendering an 11 point second half lead.
The Panthers fell behind 11-4 in the opening minutes of the game, but scored the next 11 points, capped on a pair of threes by freshman Sam Hickey (Toledo, Ohio), to take its first lead of the game. The Panthers stretch the first half lead to as many as nine (27-18) with 4:48 to play on a Williams triple, and the Panthers took a 33-25 cushion into half.
ODU took its biggest lead at 41-30 three minutes into the second half on a jumper by freshman Hasan Varence (Columbus, Ohio), but the Lakers went on a 22-6 run to go on top 52-46 with 6:24 left.
Williams led the Panthers with 14 points and four assists, while Varence finished with 11 points and nine rebounds. Cytlak and Hickey each scored nine points, and Cytlak came away with three steals. Junior Shemar Waugh (Columbus, Ohio) added seven points and four steals.
Ohio Dominican returns home to host Northern Michigan at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in Alumni Hall.
Contact: Scott Miles
miless@ohiodominican.edu
