Bulldogs outlast Pioneers, 91-85, in double OT Wednesday to advance to first-ever NEC Semifinal

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Senior guard Joe O'Shea (Burlington, Vt.) buried a desperation 3-pointer from the top of the arc with 0.3 seconds left in regulation to tie the game at 63-63, but it would take two overtimes to finally decide the 2015 Northeast Conference Quarterfinal between third-seeded Bryant University and sixth-seeded Sacred Heart, as the Bulldogs outlasted the Pioneers, 91-85, Wednesday to advance to their first-ever NEC Semifinal.

The Pioneers (15-17) got on the board first in the first extra frame, but an and-one from sophomore forward Dan Garvin (Bethel, Conn.) would give the third-seeded Bulldogs (16-14) the 68-67 lead with 3:06 left to play. Garvin would keep the Pioneers from regaining the edge with a monster block on Evan Kelley – his third of the game – and while Sacred Heart tied the game at 70-70, the league's top free throw shooter in senior guard Dyami Starks (Duluth, Minn.) would complete a three-point play of his own with two minutes to go for the 73-70 edge.

The teams traded made freebies into the final 30 seconds of the frame with the Bulldogs maintaining a slight 75-74 edge, before junior point guard Shane McLaughlin (Old Tappan, N.J.) drove the lane for a layup that put Bryant out front by three with 25.5 to go. But Garvin's fifth foul would send Kelley to the line for a game-tying and-one, which the senior would hit to send the game to yet another overtime session.

In the second OT, Kostur would answer SHU's opening basket with his second triple of the day for an 80-79 lead. McLaughlin broke an 82-82 tie with two makes from the line and would grab the rebound on a Steve Glowiak miss to feed O'Shea for a basket and an 86-82 lead that would mark Bryant's largest of the game to that point.

The Pioneers would be forced to foul O'Shea with 35.5 ticks left on the clock, but while the senior captain would hit just one, it would give the Bulldogs enough of a cushion en route to the 91-85 double overtime victory.

With the win, the third-seeded Bulldogs advance to Saturday's NEC Semifinals against second-seeded Robert Morris, who won its quarterfinal matchup, 91-68, over seventh-seeded Wagner College. The Bulldogs will play the Colonials at the Sewall Center live on MSG and Fox College Sports at 12:00 p.m. The pair split their season series, with both sides winning on the road.

O'Shea led the game with 23 points in Wednesday's quarterfinal victory, while Starks added 22 to pace four Bulldogs in double figures. McLaughlin chipped in 18 more on 7-of-16 shooting while dishing out five assists and committing just a single turnover in 50 minutes of play. Redshirt-freshman Bosko Kostur (Melbourne, Australia) added 12 points with a game-high nine rebounds, while Garvin finished with nine points, nine boards and three blocks.

Cane Broome tied O'Shea's game high with 23 points, hitting 9-of-18 from the floor. Kelley added 15 points (5 assists) while De'Von Barnett added 14 on perfect 6-for-6 shooting from the field. A trio of Pioneers – Phil Gaetano (9 assists), Jordan Allen and Steve Glowiak – finished with 10 points.

The Bulldogs shot 40.8 percent in the contest, including 50 percent throughout overtime. Sacred Heart converted 44.8 percent with a 40 percent clip in extra time. Bryant won the battle on the boards, 45-38, including pulling in 20 offensive rebounds in the victory.

Sacred Heart took a nine-point lead on a Steve Glowiak triple – the Pioneers' fifth of the game – with 7:47 left in an opening half that saw the visitors lead the entire way. Jordan Allen would up that lead to double digits for the first time, 30-19, before O'Shea drained a three from the top of the arc with 6:27 to go.

O'Shea would add one of two from the line seconds later to cut Bryant's deficit to seven, but it was as close as the Bulldogs would get before the end of the frame, heading into the locker room at a 38-30 disadvantage.

Kostur drained a corner trey two minutes into the frame to cut Sacred Heart's lead down to five, 40-35, and five-straight points from Starks brought the Bulldogs back within a single possession by the 14-minute mark, 42-40.

After a trio of SHU points, Starks would take a Curtis Oakley (South Euclid, Ohio) pass and nail a three with 11:27 left in regulation, and McLaughlin would even the score, 45-45, for the first time since the opening three minutes with a long jumper with just over 10 minutes to play.

But the Bulldogs wouldn't take their first lead of the game until the 6:30 mark, when Oakley took a feed from McLaughlin in the corner and stuck it from distance as the shot clock expired for the 52-49 advantage, causing an eruption from the Bulldog faithful.

The Pioneers answered, but so did O'Shea with 5:05 to go. But Sacred Heart would not be outdone, tying the score once again with a Phil Gaetano three as the clock ticked under five to go, 55-55.

The Bulldogs took a three-point edge after an O'Shea tip-in as the clock hit two left to play, but Broome would drive the lane for a crafty lay-in to draw the visitors back within one, 60-59, with just 1:17 remaining.

A 10-second violation would put the ball back in the hands of the Pioneers, but Glowiak's three missed the mark, forcing Tevin Falzon to foul McLaughlin and foul out of the game with 50 ticks to go in regulation.

But Sacred Heart would get another chance to reclaim the lead when McLaughlin missed the front end of a one-and-one, and this time Kelley would make good, sending the Pioneers up, 61-60, with 32.7 seconds left.

Starks would put up a midrange jumper that would rim out, and while Kostur and Garvin both got fingers on it on separate tip-in attempts, it would fall into the hands of Glowiak with 12.8 seconds remaining.

The Bulldogs were forced to foul, but Glowiak would do his job from the charity stripe to give the visitors a 63-60 edge.

But when Starks let loose a three that ricocheted off the rim with just ticks to go, Garvin directed the rebound to O'Shea from the edge of the sideline, giving O'Shea just fractions of a second to get off the buzzer-beating, game-tying shot to force just the team's second overtime of the season.