Spartans Pull Away Late From Rockford
Dec 18, 2018
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The University of Dubuque men’s basketball team improved to 6-3 on the season after the Spartans came away with a 87-72 win over Rockford in the first game of the Daytona Beach Shootout.
A back and forth opening four minutes of play led to an early 9-8 lead for the Spartans but Rockford quickly retook the lead and with a 7-0 run to grab a 15-9 lead of their own. For the next 14 minutes, the Regents held the lead and every time the Spartans tied it up it or got close, Rockford would respond with a basket of their own. The Spartans trailed by their largest margin of the half at 38-32 with 1:46 remaining in the half, however, UD would answer with a 7-0 run to close out the half and take a 39-38 lead into the locker room.
The Spartans carried the momentum over from the end of the first half, building their largest lead of the game at eight with 13:28 remaining. The Regents would come storming back, evening the score up at 62 all with 8:30 remaining after a 13-5 run over a five minute span. As they have so many times this season, the Spartans answered right back with a run over their own, scoring 13 of the next 16 points to go up 10, the first double digit lead by either team, giving the Spartans a commanding lead late and one that Rockford would not be able to come back from.
UD dominated Rockford on the glass all afternoon, out rebounding the Regents by a staggering 57-29 margin. The Spartans grabbed 17 offensive rebounds which led to a 17-5 advantage in second chance points. It was a team effort on the glass as eight different Spartans had at least three rebounds. The Spartans had trouble taking care of the ball in the first half, turning it over eight times, leading to a 12-0 points off turnovers advantage for Rockford in first half. After halftime, the Spartans allowed just seven points off turnovers, while scoring seven points of their own off Regent turnovers.
Four of UD’s five starters all reached double figures in the scoring column, led by Michael Williams with 20 points on 9-15 shooting. Marcus McDaniels scored 18, knocking down all seven of his free throws, while Peter Ragen and Avery Butler had 16 and 13, respectively. Butler notched yet another double-double as he hauled in a game-high 11 rebounds. Michael Williams nearly had a double-double as well for the Spartans as he grabbed nine boards to go along with his 20 points.
The Spartan men are right back in action tomorrow afternoon in Daytona Beach at 4:00 p.m. (CST) against Marian.
Live video ($2): http://www.sportsnettv.com/
Live Stats: http://www.sporttours.net/composite
