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 Herb Goliday made the game-winning layup with 5.5 ticks left. |
March 12, 2005
FINDLAY, Ohio - For the fourth straight NCAA Tournament game, it came down to the final shot as Herb Goliday's layup with 5.5 seconds left gave the No. 5 seed Wayne State men's basketball team (20-11) a 56-55 win over fourth-seeded Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (23-9) in the first round of the NCAA Great Lakes Regional Saturday night at Croy Gymnasium in Findlay, Ohio. The Warriors, who recorded their first 20-win season since 1998-99, advance to play the host No. 1 Oilers for the fourth time this season in the regional semifinal game Sunday night at 7:30 p.m.
The game was tight from the beginning as the score was tied four times in the first six minutes as senior guard Morris Hall (Detroit, Mich.) hit a three to tie the game at nine. After an SIUE turnover, Hall sank a pair of foul shots as he scored seven of the team's first 10 points.
Junior Ethan Banks (Warren, Ohio) hit a triple from the top of the key to break an 11-11 tie, but the Cougars answered with a 7-0 run for an 18-14 lead. The Warriors went on an eight-point run of their own keyed by defensive rebounds and with a Goliday steal and fast-break layup with 8:02 to play in the first half.
With the score tied at 22, Goliday found senior guard Darrell Evans (Detroit, Mich.) wide open in the corner for a three with 3:19 left in the first half. A three-point play by Edwardsville's Dan Heimos tied the game for the eighth time in the half, and neither team scored again in the final three minutes before the half.
Much like the start of the game, the second half saw the teams exchanging baskets with ties at 27 and 29. Wayne State finally gained some breathing room with a Hall runner and back-to-back three-pointers by the senior guard duo for a 37-32 lead.
Three of four free throws by Hall gave WSU an eight-point margin with 13:43 on the clock. Then a block by Goliday led to a dunk by junior Erik Parker (Oak Parker, Mich.) from another Evans assist.
SIUE came back within three, 44-41, at the 6:48 mark, but the Warriors scored four in a row and held the Cougars scoreless for 2:36. Evans then found Tariq Mills (Cincinnati, Ohio) open under the hoop for an easy layup and a 50-44 lead. Another three-point play by Edwardsville made it a three-point game with 3:37 to play, but Parker drained a tough shot over SIUE's 6'11" Heimos.
The Cougars made four straight free throws to make it a one-point game when Evans hit a jumper with 1:50 remaining. Another SIUE foul shot brought the Cougars within two with 1:34 left to set up the excitement in the closing seconds.
Edwardsville's Anthony Jones hit a three-pointer with 18 seconds to play to give the Cougars a 55-54 lead. After head coach David Greer called a timeout, SIUE figured on Hall getting the last shot. Hall drew all the coverage and passed off to Goliday who laid it in over Heimos. The Cougars couldn't manage a final shot. "Morris made a tremendous play and Herb made a very good shot over their big man. We've been in grind-out games and our experience in playing on the road and our tough schedule attribute to how we played tonight," Greer said.
Goliday, whose streak of 18 games in double digits was snapped, but got redemption after missing a last-second shot in the Sweet Sixteen last season. "It felt good because we won. We're really excited, but the win is over and now we are concentrating on Findlay," said Goliday. He also finished with a game-high 10 rebounds.
Hall led the Warriors with 15 points and Parker added 14. Evans' stat line consisted of 12 points, seven assists, four rebounds and just one turnover.
