Men's Basketball Comes Back from Largest Deficit of the Season

OAKLAND CITY, IN – The Brescia University men's basketball team picked up a clutch win over the Mighty Oaks of Oakland City, 81-76. The Bearcats extend their overall record to 5-10 and 3-7 in RSC play.

Back-to-back three pointers by Camden Pfeister and Cory Gardner would give a two-point advantage for the Bearcats. The Mighty Oaks would take their first lead of the game with an offensive board and putback. Oakland City kept the Bearcats scoreless for the next five minutes as the Mighty Oaks take a 10-point lead. The Bearcats struggled on both sides of the ball in the first half as BU looked at a 31-16 deficit with eight minutes to go until half. BU slowly, but surely, started to work their way back into contention as they headed to the locker rooms down by 10. Cory Gardner led the team with 15 points at the intermission, almost half of the Bearcats' points.

At the beginning of the second half, the momentum shifted in the Bearcats' favor as back-to-back layup got BU within six of the lead with 15 minutes remaining. Taeron Hogg would make two consecutive jump shots to cut the deficit even further. The Bearcats kept the Mighty Oaks scoreless for the next two minutes as they were forced to take a timeout. As both teams battled for the ball, the Mighty Oaks broke their silence, pushing out to another double-digit lead with six minutes left. Out of nowhere, the Bearcats surged out on a 13-1 run in just under two minutes to get them within one of the lead. OCU had no answer for the Bearcat offense as Pfeister scored the next 11 points for BU as they took the lead and won 81-76.

Cory Gardner led the Bearcat team with 31 points and seven assists as he shot just under 64% from the field. Camden Pfeister scored 18 of his 23 points in the second half on the miracle run of the last ten minutes of play. Gonzalo Luque and Taeron Hogg each added 10 points and combined for 16 rebounds. The Bearcats also forced the Oaks into 20 turnovers where 24 of their points were scored from. Fifteen points is the largest deficit comeback win for the men's basketball this season.

The Bearcats return to their home court this Tuesday to face St. Mary of the Woods with a tip-off time of 7:30pm CT.