#9 Owls Survive Second Half Slide vs. RCSJ Cumberland, Outlast Dukes 89-85 in OT

The Prince George's Community College men's basketball team kept everyone on the edge of their seats on Thursday evening, November 17^th after letting a 13-point first half lead slip away against Rowan College of South Jersey (RCSJ) Cumberland. The Owls, the 9^th ranked Division 3 program in the week two NJCAA rankings, were staring down their first loss of the season as they found themselves trailing 71-62 with 1:03 left when Elijah Crawford intercepted a Dukes pass and slammed it home to spark a 12-3 swing for Prince George's down the stretch to force overtime.

Crawford scored the first seven points for Prince George's over the final minute before Anthony Simmons hit a clutch three to bring the Owls within two (74-72) with only 9 ticks left on the clock. After a pair of missed free throws from RCSJ, Simmons charged down the court and forced contact at the bucket to give the Owls their final chance at the charity stripe with two seconds left. Simmons connected on both of his tries to force the first overtime of the season for Prince George's and head coach Terrell Harris.

The Owls and Dukes traded scoring in the five-minute overtime period but it was Prince George's who was able to force themselves to the line where they converted 10 of their 13 attempts from the stripe during the stretch. Crawford added a layup while Jahari Simon connected on his only basket of the game, a three-pointer from the corner to lift the Owls over RCSJ 83-82 with 2:20 remaining. The Owls secured the lead for the remainder of the contest while hitting all six of the free throw attempts to close out the dramatic 89-85 win for Prince George's.

Coach Harris stated that he never lost confidence in his team's capability to comeback late despite losing a double-digit lead at halftime, sharing, "We made mistakes and weren't getting back on defense early. We allowed them to be too comfortable on offense so they were able to make plays and hit shots."

Recognizing there wasn't much time to turn the tide Harris said, "We had to turn up the pressure to force them to make mistakes and then we had to capitalize on those mistakes. We knew it would come down to free throws late which is why it's such a big emphasis for us at practice to take your time and knock down your free throws."

Both teams shot well from the line by the final buzzer, but it was Prince George's who was able to put the game out of reach with their free throw shooters in the closing minutes of overtime with their final six points coming from the stripe.

Crawford finished as the Owls leading scorer in a 22-point, 10 rebound double-double performance. Anthony Perry also recorded a double-double with 17 points and 11 boards while Simmons finished with 15 points off the bench. The trio of leading scorers for Prince George's combined to finish 20 of 22 from the free throw line on the night.

The Owls will have one day of rest before heading to Butler, PA to take on Butler County in Prince George's first regional matchup of the season. The men's game tips-off at 3 pm. Viewers can watch along with the live stream link here.