Box Score
Guilford College rallied from 12 points down late in the second half to stage a 64-59 comeback win in overtime over University of Texas at Dallas to win a sectional final contest of the 2009 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship Saturday evening at the DeCarlo Varsity Center in University heights, Ohio.
With the win, Guilford (25-5) advances to its first national semifinal in program history, while UT-Dallas has its season end at 26-5.
Playing a neutral site game with a "Final Four" appearance in the balance, UT-Dallas assumed command of the game right from the startm scoring 16 of the first 24 points of the game. The Comets would lead by as many as nine points in the first half before taking a 26-20 lead into the break.
UT-Dallas would continue to increase the lead, four times leading by as many as 12 points. When Jordan Eppink drained a jumper with 5:27 left in regulation, he put the Comets on top 50-38.
The Guilford team would chip away steadily at UT-Dallas, first using a 9-0 run to reduce the deficit to three points. T.C. Anderson made two free throws with 1:50 left to put Guilford within striking distance at 50-47.
Brandon Greene would give UT-Dallas some breathing room on the next possession by nailing a three-pointer, but Clay Henson would answer with a three of his own at the 1:01 mark.
After a missed free throw by UT-Dallas, Tyler Sanborn would put back a missed lay-up with 11 ticks left on the clock to slice the margin to one points at 53-52.
Comets guard Scott Rodgers was immediately fouled on the in bounds play, and promptly made two free throws to push the advantage back to three-points at 55-52 with 10.4 seconds showing on the clock.
Guilford had one last chance, and put the ball in the hands of its leading scorer for the season Henson, who first tried to draw contact and then launched a three ball that swished through the net with 0.8 of a second remaining, tying the score at 55-55 and forcing overtime.
The Quakers grabbed their first lead of the game on the opening possession of the extra period ona Rhett Bonner three-pointer and never looked back, outscoring UT-Dallas in the final five minutes, 9-4.
Guilford (25-5) was paced by 18 points from Sanborn, who was 7-13 from the field. He also had a game-high 13 rebounds. Henson and Bonner added 14 points for the Quakers, who survived a 3-17 shooting night from outside the arc -- making all three long range shots in a 87-second span encompassing the final 61 seconds of regulation and the first 26 seconds of overtime.
The Quakers also won the rebounding battle, 44-30.
UT-Dallas (25-5) was led by 16 points from Jimmy Witten and 10 from Rodgers. The Comets attempted just eight free throws, but were just 3-7 in the second half.
Sanborn was the tournament MVP, and was joined on the team by teammate Donner, Witten of UT-Dallas,
Tyler Kirsch (Gates Mills, OH, Hawken) of John Carroll and Nate Stahl of Capital