What a thriller! Eutectics win opener in OT

(Photo courtesy of Makenzie Ness)

ST. LOUIS, MO - It turned out to be quite a way to open up a new season. In a gripping opener at the UHSP Gymnasium, the University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy Eutectics pulled off an overtime victory against the Missouri Valley Vikings. It was a Viking club that beat UHSP by 33-points a season ago, but this one would prove to be quite different as UHSP pulled out a 70-68 overtime win on Tuesday. It is the first time in three years that UHSP has won their season opener.

Trailing by 13 points at halftime, the game looked challenging for the Eutectics as the scoreboard favored Missouri Valley most of the first half. The Vikings went scoreless in the game's first three minutes, but slowly recovered as the home club suffered some early poor shooting as UHSP was connecting at just 20% from the floor at the half. With just under a minute to go in the half, MVC took a game-high 16-point lead at 37-21 and held a 37-24 halftime lead.

However, the second half saw a phenomenal rally by the Eutectics, led by standout performances from Ahian Barnett, who scored a team-high 19 points, and Jas Suvalija, who added 17 points. After going 3-for-16 from beyond the three-point arc in the first half the three-ball started to fall in the second half for the Eutectics. Brock Davis made a three to cut the margin to ten and newcomer Yigit Ekinci drilled a three to make it a seven-point game. Just over five minutes into the half, Suvalija went back-to-back from downtown and all of a sudden it was a four-point game at 44-41. Dwight Newsome was aggressive going to the rim in the second half and knifed his way down the paint for a go-ahead lay-in midway through the period as the Purple and Gold took a 47-46 lead. It was tight the rest of the way in front of what was a boisterous crowd on opening night.

With 3:27 remaining, the visitors held a one-point lead when Barnett went to work. Barnett scored the final six points for UHSP in regulation and they were highlight worthy. Barnett exploded for a game-tying layup to make it 61-61 with 1:45 left. Then with :60 seconds left, Barnett got the ball in the deep left corner. He pulled up for a fade-away jumper as he also faded out of bounds and hit a clutch go-ahead bucket to send the crowd into another decibel level as the Eutectics grabbed a 63-61 advantage. J'luan Patterson would knock down a couple of free throws to tie things at 63-63. UHSP got the ball back with just over a full shot-clock remaining and again it was Barnett who was relied on to try and put UHSP back in front in the waning seconds. This time, Barnett's shot would miss the mark and it was Missouri Valley with a possession and a chance to win it. Cawhan Smith had a pull-up jumper from the top of the key with :02 seconds left and a chance to win it, but his shot was never on-line as the game went to overtime.

In the extra session, Missouri Valley jumped out to a four-point lead, but Suvalija tied it at 68-all with a triple. It was a couple of free throws by Barnett that gave UHSP a two-point lead. The Eutectics would survive a pair of missed threes in the final :31 seconds by the Vikings including a final ditch effort for a game-winner by Patterson with one second left.

Brock Davis was pivotal both offensively with 13 points and defensively with an impressive 12 rebounds. Another highlight was Yigit Ekinci who contributed 6 rebounds and 5 assists. J'luan Patterson led the Vikings with 15 points and 13 rebounds, one of four double-digit scorers for MVC.

The UHSP Eutectics (1-0) are now looking forward to their next challenge in an exhibition game against Lindenwood at 6:00pm on Thursday. After that, it is back into regular season play when they play host to Culver-Stockton (0-1) on Saturday at 3:00pm.