Patriots split games in I-20 Classic

The Patriots went 1-1 this weekend in the inaugural Fred Jacoby I-20 Tip-Off Classic against some tough out-of-state competition.

The tournament is being played in honor of the late Jacoby who is the former commissioner of the American Southwest Conference. He served as a commissioner at all three levels of NCAA competition and spent more than 35 years devoting his life to intercollegiate athletics.

On Friday night, the Patriots upset the No. 20 nationally ranked team in St. Benedict College (Minn.), 81-70, in overtime. On Saturday, though, the Patriots fell to the University of Wisconsin-Platteville by a score of 80-74.

In the St. Benedict game on Friday, the Patriots overcame an early deficit to win 81-70 in overtime. The Patriots started out slow, making one of its first seven shots, but then started running their transition game and battled back to regain the lead and eventually go into halftime with a 36-34 lead. Melissa Thomas and Marzetta Shepard led the way in the first half comeback for the Patriots when Shepard put in 10 points and Thomas scored eight.

Both teams shot just a shade under 40 percent in the first half.

In the second half, the Patriots maintained the lead until the 8:59 mark when the Blazers regained the lead at 49-48.

With 47 seconds left in the game, Thomas hit a three to put her team ahead 65-64 after falling on her head hard earlier in the game.

After a Blazers turnover, Shepard went to the free-throw line and missed both free throws and then Lindsay Eaton grabbed the rebound and called a timeout. On the ensuing inbound pass, Taylor got the pass and went to the line where she made one of two free-throw’s, putting the lead at 66-64.

With eight seconds left, Blazers’ Ariel Tauer put up a shot and missed it, then grabbed her own rebound and made the shot to tie game at 66-66 with five seconds left.

In overtime, the Patriots started off with a 6-0 run with the points coming in the paint, extending the lead to 72-66.

The Blazers responded with two buckets to make it 74-70 before the Patriots finally pulled away on a 7-0 run to end the game and win 81-70. Overall, in overtime, the Patriots outscored the Blazers 15-4.

Leading the way for the Patriots was Becky Taylor, who recorded the teams’ only double-double at 18 points and 12 rebounds. Following Taylor was Thomas who put in 17 points, Shepard with 16 and Marci Trogus with 16 as well. Eaton also added seven points and eight rebounds.

On Saturday, the Patriots came out running and scoring with both teams exchanging points en route to a 46-43 lead at the half.

Despite not having Shepard, their starting point guard, for the game, the Patriots shot 50 percent in the first half. Shepard missed the game due to a death in the family.

The second half was a lot different for the Patriots as they struggled and eventually the Pioneers wore them down.

Down 48-43, the Pioneers went on a 10-0 run to get the lead at 53-48.

The Patriots were then able to respond a get the game to within one point at 59-58 with 11:52 left to go. That is when the game turned.

Over the next six minutes, the Pioneers went on a 15-2 run to extend the game to their biggest lead at 74-60.

“Our defensive effort in the second half was better, especially during that run, and we concentrated on stopping the middle of the paint. That defensive effort was the key to our offensive outpour during that run” said Pioneers coach Tina Kuhle. “This was a huge win for us and it’s unfortunate for UT Tyler because they played their hearts out today.”

During the 15-2 run for the Pioneers, six different players scored.

Slowly, the Patriots tried to cut into the lead. With less than four minutes remaining, the Patriots had a steal and an opportunity to bring the game to within nine but the missed lay-up led to free throw’s for the Pioneers and a 79-67 lead.

The Patriots closed out the game with a 7-1 run but it was too-little-too-late to mount a comeback. Once again, Taylor recorded her third double-double of the season, this time scoring a team-high 22 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. Trogus also pulled in a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds.

“Becky is amazing. She plays so hard and sometimes does not even realize the kind of numbers she is putting up,” said Patriots coach Terri Deike. “I am so proud of her performance so far this season. She is one of those players that works hard and her performance shows that.”

With the loss, the Patriots fell to 2-1 while the Pioneers improved to 2-1.

After Saturday’s game, Taylor and Trogus were the two Patriots named to the All-Tournament Team. The women return to action Saturday when they travel to Seguin to take on Texas Lutheran University in the ASC opener. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m. with the men to follow.

Staff Writer Clay Ihlo contributed to this report.

By Jeremy Cotham Sports Editor