The Reading Rebels ground out an overtime victory 132-127 against the Syracuse Stallions in a The Basketball League game at Alvernia’s Jack McCloskey Court.
A 10-point overtime performance from point guard Aquille Carr helped secure the Rebel’s 15th victory of the season and give them a 2-0 sweep of the Stallions in the season series.
Reading’s Emmanuel Egbuta converted 1-of-2 free throws to tie it at 114-114 before Anthony Lee played excellent defense on the other end to not allow the Stallions to get a game-winning shot at the end of regulation.
Syracuse’s Charles Marquardt scored a quick layup to begin the overtime period before Lee scored on back-to-back possessions to give the Rebels a 118-116 lead.
With 1:42 remaining, Carr started to take over. He hit three 3-pointers within a minute to give Reading a 129-121 lead.
“He’s a gamer,” Reading coach Joe Linderman said on Carr. “When you need a bucket he’s the guy to go to. He just wanted the ball. He said, ‘Coach you got to get me the ball in overtime and I’ll win this game for you.’ He did.”
However, the Stallions would not let up easily. After a technical was given to the Rebels, Marquardt converted the free throw before Christian Nobles knocked down two more free throws after being fouled on a shot.
After two missed free throws from Egbuta, the Stallions hit a 3-pointer to cut their deficit to 129-127 with 14.1 seconds left.
The Stallions had to foul to extend the game and the Rebels went 3-for-4 at the line on their next two possessions to ice it.
The Rebels (15-3) trailed by as many as nine points in the first quarter before cutting it to six points after a quarter, then scored the first six points of the second quarter to tie it.
Reading regained the lead at 41-39 with 6:20 remaining in the first half when Richard McCalop hit a 3-pointer.
The Rebels would continue to get comfortable on offense throughout the quarter and would lead by as many as eight points.
To end the half, Carr hit a step-back jumper to beat the buzzer and give the Rebels a 62-55 lead.
The Stallions (11-7) came out of halftime on a mission and outscored the Rebels 35-26 to take a 90-88 lead with 12 minutes to play.
“I told our guys if we’re going to win this game we have to play defense,” Linderman said. “We started to play better defense in the second quarter. Our third quarter has been our Achilles’ heel all year. We go up eight at halftime and then they jump on us three minutes into the third quarter and we’re down three points. We have to clean that up and come out with more energy to start that third quarter.”
There were 16 lead changes and 20 ties.
“We’re excited but we still got a target on our back but we’re still hunting,” Lee said about what the win means to the team. “We’re here for Reading and we’re going to do what we got to do.”
Carr shared similar thoughts after what was a big win for the young Rebels team.
“We’re out there like warriors just playing together,” Carr said. “Like I said there is adversity. This is a pro basketball league with a bunch of pro players on that Syracuse team. … We’re trying to do everything. We love the fans, they come out and give us an extra boost every game. We appreciate them and the city of Reading. We want to put our work in, we’re pro basketball players, it’s what we like to do.”
Carr finished with 32 points and 12 assists. Lee had 25 points and seven rebounds. Egbuta had 10 points and 18 rebounds for the Rebels.
For the Stallions, Marquardt had a game-high 39 points along with seven 3-pointers. Nobles finished with 20 points and 12 assists.
Reading will take on the Albany Patroons at Washington Avenue Armory in Albany, N.Y., on May 12.
Source: Berkshire mont