Monmouth, WI -- The Beloit College Men's Basketball team doesn't mind putting in a little extra time on the court. Especially if the result is like Saturday's 74-67 double overtime win at Monmouth College.
The Buccaneers went on a 7-0 run that took up the better part of the second extra period to pull away and secure a key win in the race for the Midwest Conference postseason.
Early on the Bucs couldn't get going. MC jumped out to a 10-2 lead after five minutes and got it up to a nine-point spread several times before Beloit pulled back within six with 6:00 left in the half. But Monmouth closed strong and headed to the lockerroom with a 32-23 lead.
With halftime adjustments made the Buccaneers kept chipping away in the second half, finally getting their first lead of the game at 49-48 with 4:14 remaining on a pair of free throws by Chris Bremner. Bremner hit a jumper with 2:15 left to give Beloit a 55-53 lead but Monmouth hit two free throws with 1:23 left to tie it up again. Neither team could score in the remaining minute-plus, forcing overtime.
The first OT was tight throughout. The Fighting Scots took a 63-61 lead at 1:31 but Ahmad Shamsid-Deen hit a jumper at 1:11 to tie it at 63-all. Again, that finished the scoring and overtime #2 was ahead. The Bucs broke away from a 64-64 tie at the 4:16 mark with an extended 7-0 run to take a 71-64 lead with just under a minute remaining, sealing the win.
Tyler Butke paced the Buccaneers with a double-double on 23 points and a career-high 13 rebounds. James Lazarcik had 12 points with eight rebounds and Bremner added 11 points. Shamsid-Deen had nine points and five assists.
Beloit looks to keep things going on Wednesday night when they host Ripon College in Flood Arena. Game time is at 7:00 p.m.
