ROCHESTER, NY – A.J. Horde scored a career-high 47 points, while Justin Schnieder and Miguel Lopez hit buzzer-beating shots down the stretch as the RIT men's basketball team (7-5, 3-0 Liberty League) outlasted Union (4-8, 2-3 Liberty League) 104-101 in a double overtime classic at Clark Gym on Tuesday night.
William Hython had a monster game for Union, scoring 34 points on 14-for-24 shooting, adding 18 rebounds. Both were career highs. He led four Dutchmen in double figures.
Greg King added a career best 19 points, while Deshon Burress added 17, and
Matt Liquori scored a career high 16 points.
Horde shot 11-for-17 from beyond the arc, smashing a school record for most 3-pointers attempted and made in a game. He finished 14-for-27 from the field in the game overall, going 5-for-9 with 16 points in the extra periods. Horde was also 8-for-10 from the foul line. Miguel Lopez hit a remarkable buzzer-beating layup in regulation to force overtime. He added seven rebounds. Sheldon Clay added 13 points, while Anthony Lewis added 10 off the bench. The Tigers shot a scorching 52.1 percent from the field, while holding the Dutchmen to 37 percent. Union won the battle of the boards, 53-48, while turning the ball over just 13 times to RIT's 18.
Union jumped out to an early 19-9 lead in the first quarter, but RIT rallied at the end of the half. In a span of 2:25, Horde hit four big 3-pointers, including two in eight seconds, as the Tigers turned a 37-30 deficit into a 42-37 lead. After the third of Horde's long range shots gave RIT only its second lead of the game at 39-37, Wyatt Smith found Horde, who launched another 3-pointer from the wing, beating the halftime buzzer.
The second half proved to have more drama, as the Dutchmen once again were staked a 77-72 lead, with 3:05 to play in regulation. The Tigers answered, as Lopez went through the lane for the layup, to cut the deficit to three. After a Schneider free throw put the deficit to two, and missed free throws by Union on the other end, RIT once again had a chance to take the lead, with 16 seconds remaining. Horde dribbled the ball away from a double team, moving to the top of the three-point line, launching a 30-foot 3-pointer that fell just short. But Lopez snared the rebound and, without looking, reversed to the other side of the rim, laying it up as the buzzer sounded, sending the crowd at Clark Gym into a frenzy.
In overtime, the Dutchmen came out firing, trying a second time to put the game away. With the Tigers trailing 87-85, Horde tried again to win the game on a 3-pointer, but fell short. For a second time, Lopez snared the rebound and found Horde, who fed it to Schneider for the easy layup, tying the game at 87 with two seconds to go, sending the game to the second overtime. Schneider finished with seven points, seven rebounds, and three blocks in 21 minutes of play.
In the second five-minute period, the Tigers would not be denied. After a King 3-pointer gave the Dutchmen a 101-98 lead, Horde responded with a big long range trifecta from the wing, tying the contest with 46 seconds left. After a defensive stop, Horde dribbled up the court by the RIT bench, crossed to the left, and pulled up a deep 3-pointer that hit nothing but net, giving the Tigers a lead they wouldn't relinquish, with three seconds left. Burgess took a shot from the top of the 3-point line to try and force a third overtime, one that went just short, as Lewis snared the rebound to end the marathon contest.
