JOHNSON CITY, NY - Unfortunately, the men's basketball team's season ended in somewhat fitting fashion early Wednesday night.
Leading - perhaps at several points even dominating - the majority of the contest, the #3-seeded Crimson Eagles struggled down the stretch and wound up on the undesired side of an 87-74 loss to #2-seeded Davis College in the opening round of NCCAA Regionals.
Wednesday's fallout not only effectively ends PBU's season, but also serves as somewhat of a synopsis of their year as a whole. During a season in which PBU seemed to receive bad break after bad break - including what seemed to be countless oh-so-close losses, late game meltdowns, and perhaps the most significant obstacle of all, injuries - the Crimson Eagles' nagging Achilles Heel of closing out close games struck once again in New York Wednesday night.
Up by as many as nine early in the second stanza, PBU would watch their lead quickly vanish as the Falcons would drop in 57 second half points. The Crimson Eagles' efficient 47.2 percent shooting from the field for the game couldn't combat a staggering discrepancy from the charity stripe that saw Davis connect on 19 of 22 free throws compared to PBU's one for three effort from the line for the game.
PBU began the outset of Wednesday's contest up 13-7 after going six for nine from the floor in the opening 4:15. Davis would close the gap to within one after a traditional three-point play from freshman forward Tyree Hankerson with 11:06 left in the first 20 minutes.
Willing to bend but not break, the Crimson Eagles erased those efforts by extending their edge back to seven capped by one of two Dan Esbenshade triples on the night with 4:10 to play. Davis managed to cut the gap to five as the beginning period expired with PBU leading 35-30 at the intermission.
The first two minutes of the second half would see PBU open up a nine point lead over the hosts and remain in control for the following eight minutes. But three consecutive turnovers on three straight possessions would permanently change the landscape of the game and cue a 17 to two Davis run over the ensuing five minutes to give the hosts a 67-58 edge with 6:24 left to play.
PBU would stay reasonably close in the waning minutes, but every Crimson Eagle push would be greeted with a Falcons' answer. Back-to-back buckets from Eric Dimitri and Willie Miller with about three minutes left would momentarily turn the tide, but an 86.4 percent effort from the free throw line including seven for eight in the final two minutes helped Davis stay afloat down the stretch.
Although PBU held an incredible 22-0 advantage in bench points production, Davis had four starters score 18-plus points in the Falcons' 15th win of the year. And despite the Crimson Eagles turning the ball over just 13 times for the game - marking their third lowest output of the season - Davis College "one-upped" the visitors in giveaways, turning the ball over just seven times for the game.
NCCAA All-American Tom Arthur spearheaded the offensive attack for PBU, tying a season high with 31 points on 15 of 24 shooting to go with 15 boards and a season high three assists - giving the junior forward his ninth double-double of the year. Rookie Dan Esbenshade chipped in a career high 12 points on five of 11 shooting from the field to go with two blocks defensively, and sophomore Willie Miller contributed 10 points, five rebounds, and a game-high five assists.
With the win, Davis College will advance to the NCCAA II East Region Semi-Finals where they'll face #1 seeded Valley Forge Christian College, an 87-51 winner over Lancaster Bible. The victor of Friday's contest will receive an automatic bid to the NCCAA National Tournament.
The Crimson Eagles conclude their season with an overall record of 3-21.
