CALDWELL, N.J. – The Thomas Jefferson University men's basketball team (13-11, 9-5 CACC) suffered a heartbreaking 97-95 overtime loss at Caldwell (17-7, 13-2 CACC) on Saturday.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Cougars got out to a 12-4 lead in the early going. Caldwell's advantage was at six (19-13) when the Rams went on a 7-0 run to go in front 20-19 with 7:21 left in the half. Jefferson trailed again at 25-22 but came back with another seven unanswered points for a four-point cushion (29-25) at the 4:31 mark. Jason Shields scored five of the seven points. The Rams maintained the upper hand for the rest of the period and took a 43-36 lead into the intermission.
 
Jefferson tallied the first five points of the second half to push the difference to 12 (48-36). The margin was 10 (54-44) when the Cougars caught fire, posting an 11-1 surge to even the score at 55 with 12:06 remaining. The Rams responded with eight of the next 10 to go back in front, 63-57. However, Caldwell got hot again, following with a 13-2 stretch to take a 70-65 lead with 7:10 to go.
 
The Cougars led by six (79-73) with 1:46 to play. Erik Timko drilled a three, Jefferson got a defensive stop, and Ahmed Barba-Bey slammed home a dunk to cut the deficit to one (79-78) with 1:09 on the clock. Caldwell turned the ball over and Timko hit another shot from beyond the arc to put the Rams ahead 81-79 with 16 seconds left.
 
The Cougars' response was off the mark but Derrick Bueno followed up the shot and tipped it in to tie the score with nine ticks remaining. Antonin Kemkeng came back with a tip-in of his own to give Jefferson the edge again with 2.4 seconds to go. Caldwell heaved the inbounds pass down the length of the floor and it found Darnell Evans, who went in for an improbable layup to level the score and send the game into overtime.
 
The Cougars rode the momentum of their tying basket into the extra session, producing the first eight points of the period for a 91-83 advantage. It was 93-85 with 1:13 on the clock when the Rams rallied for seven of the next nine points to close the gap to three (95-92) with 14 seconds to play.
 
Jefferson fouled and Caldwell made a pair of foul shots to go ahead by five (97-92). The Rams came back down the floor and the Cougars inexplicably fouled Jason Shields on a three-point attempt at the five-second mark. Shields converted all three free throws to cut the deficit to two (97-95). Caldwell turned it over on the inbounds play and Jefferson had an opportunity for the last shot. However, Timko's three-point chance was blocked and the clock ran out before the Rams could follow it up.
 
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
Erik Timko: 24 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists
Antonin Kemkeng: 23 points on 10-of-16 shooting, 14 rebounds, 1 assist
Jason Shields: 15 points on 4-of-6 shooting (2-3 3PT), 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal
Ahmed Barba-Bey: 13 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal
Hakim Byrd: 10 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds
 
JEFFERSON AS A TEAM
FG: 34-of-75 (45.3%)
3PT: 11-of-27 (40.7%)
FT: 16-of-22 (72.7%)
 
NOTES
- Antonin Kemkeng posted a double-double for the eighth time this year.
- It was Jefferson's second overtime game of the season and they are now 1-1 with the extra session.
- The defeat ended a three-game win streak for the Rams against Caldwell.
 
CACC PLAYOFF PICTURE
Despite the loss, Jefferson maintained a two-game lead for first place in the South Division. However, the Rams failed to lock up a playoff spot and their magic number remains at one (excluding tiebreakers) with three games left in the regular season.
 
UP NEXT
Jefferson plays the first of three home games to end the regular season on Tuesday, February 14^th at 8 p.m. against Georgian Court.