Gerald Williams converted a floater off the glass, with five seconds remaining, to give the La Sierra the lead and ultimately the victory over Pacific Union College, 63-62. The win pushed the Golden Eagles record to 2-0 in Cal Pac play (3-12 overall).
The entire game was a tightly played contest throughout. The first half consisted of nine lead changes and six ties, with neither team holding more than a four-point lead in the half. A Williams three-pointer at the halftime buzzer sent both teams into the locker room knotted up at 33-33.
The second half proved to be a carbon copy of the first half, with a total of 14 lead changes and 10 ties. Each team enjoyed their share of a five-point lead during the half, the largest for both teams during the course of the game. A free throw by Keenan Braden pushed the Golden Eagles lead to 44-39 with 13:19 to play. The Pioneers then outscored the Golden Eagles over the next seven minutes 17-7 to push out to a 56-51 lead of their own.
The Pioneers held a 62-58 advantage with 2:12 to play, when Andre Marquez scored two of his game-high 18 points on a driving lay-up and was subsequently fouled on the play. Marquez converted the free-throw trimming the lead to 62-61 with 1:55 left to play.
After each team exchanged a pair of missed field goals and turnovers, the Golden Eagles had possession with the shot clock turned off. With the game clock ticking under 10 seconds, Williams attacked the basket, floating the ball over the PUC defender, kissing it off the glass and into the basket for the 63-62 lead and ultimate victory.
With two seconds on the game clock, the Pioneers inbounded the ball at half-court, but Mike Hill's shot, from 30-plus feet, was right on line but glanced off the front rim.
Williams finished the contest with 14 points, four rebounds and two assists. The Golden Eagles had two players finish with double-figures in rebounds as Keenan Braden led the team with 14 rebounds and Kevin Batiste pitched in with 11 rebounds. To go along with his 18 points, Marquez also added three rebounds and three steals.
Marquez also reached a career milestone by scoring his 1,000th point in his collegiate career. He reached the milestone just four minutes into the game, by scoring the Golden Eagles first eight points of the night.
La Sierra won't have much time to enjoy this victory as they play the second game of a back-to-back tomorrow evening. The Golden Eagles will travel up I-5, to Redding, Calif., to face Simpson University in a Cal Pac match-up. The Red Hawks are 2-1 in conference play (4-16 overall).
