MARIETTA, Ga. – In a scene similar to their matchup last season in the Eagles' Nest, Life University (12-5, 1-1 MSC) stunned No. 1 Georgetown (16-1, 1-1 MSC) 82-77 on Thursday night.
"We knew going into this game that it was a big one," Head Coach
Keith Adkins said. "Having lost two in a row and three of our last four games, we really needed something good to happen. So, it was a big win for us, in a lot of ways. I thought, for the first time in a while, we were where we needed to be from a competitive standpoint on the defensive end. Now we need to see if we can bring that on a consistent basis."
Four Running Eagles posted double-digit points in the upset. Senior
Undra Mitchem paced the squad with a career high 26 points as well as nine rebounds and three assists. Both seniors
Zach Landis and
Michael Miller logged 16 points. Landis added 16 rebounds for a double-double with two assists and three steals, while Miller added three rebounds, two assists and a steal. Senior
Ivan Benkovic contributed 12 points, five rebounds and two assists.
The first half was a hard-fought, back and forth affair with seven lead changes and six ties. In the first five minutes alone, there were six lead changes and three ties. Life U came out on top of that stretch with a 12-10 lead, and fought to hold the lead for most of the half. The Tigers battled and were able to regain the lead 35-34 with just over four minutes left in the half, but the Running Eagles took it back to close out the half with a 42-39 lead.
Life U carried that momentum from the final 30 seconds of the first half into the final period and did not relinquish the lead for the rest of the game. They opened the half on a 9-3 run to take a 51-42 lead, but didn't take their first double digit lead until later in the period when they went up 62-52. The Running Eagles took their largest lead of the game at 70-58 with just over five minutes remaining. GC fought back and managed to trim the lead to just a single point with almost two minutes left, but couldn't complete the comeback as Life U took an 82-77 victory.
The Running Eagles are back in action on Saturday, Jan. 13 as they play host to No. 15 Campbellsville.
