Men’s Skipjacks Lose Overtime Heartbreaker To Montgomery College

Chesapeake College men's basketball saw a 10 point halftime lead over Montgomery College disappear in the closing moments of the second half of their November 22^nd Maryland JUCO matchup. The Skipjacks would hang on for a bit longer and head into overtime but ultimately fell to the Raptors 89-85 after one period of extra time. The loss drops the Skipjacks to 5-2 overall and 0-1 in MD JUCO play while Montgomery's Raptors improve to 7-1 and 1-0 in MD JUCO.

Another physical contest at Skipjack Arena, both teams were neck and neck with the score tied at 19 midway through the first half until the Raptors went on a 9-3 run over the next six and a half minutes of play to go up 28-22 with 3:28 left in the half. The Skipjacks responded with a commanding 16-0 run to close out the half and claim a 38-28 lead heading into the break. 6'7"  freshman Kevin Hubbard sparked the run with a dunk over the Montgomery defense which gave the Skipjacks new life. Sophomore guard Damon Gomer then hit his next three shot attempts, two of which came from beyond the arc to contribute 8 of the Skipjacks final 14 points of the half and enter halftime up by 10. Gomer led Chesapeake in scoring at the break with 11 points while also adding a team high 6 rebounds, three of which came on the offensive side of the ball.

The Raptors came out quick to start the second half, scoring three quick baskets against Chesapeake which saw the Skipjacks lead fall to only 1 point with the score at 45-44 causing head coach Andrew Sachs to call a timeout just minutes into the half and regroup with his young squad. Sachs' adjustments worked wonders as Chesapeake responded with a 16-2 run over the next 4:16 of play which was culminated by a pair of free throws to go up 61-46 after a technical foul on Montgomery's head coach and claim their largest lead of the game with 10:47 remaining to play.

The Raptors closed the gap to trail by only 3 with 5:07 left and later tied the game at 71 with a successful free throw after converting the layup while being fouled. More back and forth scoring saw the score tied at 78 with 35 seconds to play after Hubbard connected on a pair of free throws. A Chesapeake foul with 3 seconds left appeared as if the Raptors would escape with the win but after two missed free throws and a missed last second shot attempt from Montgomery, the tightly contested matchup was headed for overtime. The Skipjacks took a 1 point lead with the score at 85-84 with 1:09 left after freshman Mahzi Thames delivered on a tough jump shot while being fouled. Thames would miss the ensuing free throw and the Raptors would go on a 5-0 run to end the game and steal a 89-85 victory from the Skipjacks. Chesapeake will look to bounce back when they face St. Mary's College of Maryland JV squad on Monday night at home. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 pm.