Manatee Review

Desperately looking to snap their eight-game losing skid, Edward Waters showed much resolve in fighting back from a 22-point second half deficit to earn a 93-86 non-conference victory over Paine College on Tuesday evening at the Adams-Jenkins Community Sports & Music Complex.

Edward Waters (3-10, 2-7 SIAC) scored the first five points of the contest, but Paine (5-9) fired back to take control at 11-7 with 14:47 remaining in the first half. The Tigers took the lead back and grew it to as many as four at the 11:57 mark, but another Lions run would see Paine take a lead of as many as seven points with under eight minutes remaining. EWU cut the lead down to two points late in the half, but Paine took a 38-34 advantage into the locker room at the half.

Paine started the second half on fire, coming out on a 14-2 run to take a 52-36 lead with 14:47 remaining. The Lions lead grew to as many as 22 points with 12:41 remaining in the half, before Edward Waters responded. The Tigers methodically cut the lead down to 10 at 63-53 with 9:00 remaining, then down to single digits at 63-55 with 8:35 remaining. A Tavares Oliver three pointer with 4:41 remaining in regulation, cut the Lions lead to four at 69-65 with 4:41 left in the half. Later in the half, Cahlib Edwards' jumper. with 2:37 remaining, gave the Tigers a one point, 74-73 lead with 2:37 remaining. Paine later retook the lead at 79-77 with less than a minute remaining. After a missed jumper from EWU and a foul to stop the clock, Paine split a pair of free throws to take a three-point lead at 80-77 with :11 remaining. On the ensuing possession, team captain Cahlib Edwards banked in a three-pointer with 6.7 remaining to tie the contest at 80-80. Paine had an opportunity to win the contest with a three-pointer as time expired, but the shot rimmed out, sending the game to overtime.

In the extra frame, the Tigers started off hot, going on an 11-0 run, taking a 91-80 lead with 2:31 remaining.  Paine could only come as close as the seven point final margin and the Tigers were able to not only snap their losing streak, but exact revenge on the team that began the skid back on December 10th in Augusta.

For the Tigers, they relied heavily on their three-point shooting, connecting on 40% of their shots on 10-of-25 shooting from the bonus sphere, including going a perfect 3-for-3 in the overtime period. For the game, EWU shot 43% from the floor and held Paine to 37.8% shooting. Cahlib Edwards nearly notched his first career triple-double to lead the way for the Tigers with a game-high 26 points to go along with seven rebounds and nine assists. His backcourt mate in Tavares Oliver also posted another 20+ point night with 25 points, while Larry Kuimi finished with 15 and Byron Abrams wrapped his night with 14.

Edward Waters will hit the road on Saturday, returning to SIAC competition against Clark Atlanta with tipoff at L. S. Epps Gymnasium set for 3:00pm in Atlanta.

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Original source can be found here.