MARIETTA, Ga. — The Life University men's basketball fell in a tough matchup against Stillman Saturday afternoon, falling to the Tigers 78-76 after a competitive 40 minutes that featured eight lead changes and four ties.
To start the contest, the Running Eagles fell behind as Stillman converted on the first possession of the game after recording an early offensive rebound. After that, Joshua Ward opened the scoring for Life U, draining a three pointer and old-fashioned three point play to score Life's first six points of the contest, 6-4.
The Tigers then strung together an 8-0 run to garner a 12-6 lead, but the silence was broken as Joshua Phillips converted a tough basket in the paint. The slow offense continued for Life U as missed jumpers and Stillman offensive rebounds led to put-backs and transition baskets with the Tigers maintaining a lead for much of the opening half. The Running Eagles refused to go down without a fight though as big-man Nathan Presnell took charge of the contest recording eleven points and nine rebounds in the first half alone. Headed to halftime, the Running Eagles trailed by one, 40-39.
In the second half, Presnell continued his dominance with an offensive board and lay-in to claim an initial early second-half lead. Presnell then converted another layup in congestion shortly after but got caught with two back-to-back fouls ultimately leading to foul-trouble and forcing the 6-9 standout to sit for much of the second half.
The second half remained close as both teams made the most of the swings in momentum before Stillman eventually captured a late six point lead. With less than two minutes to go, the Running Eagles found offensive output, but Stillman always matched to keep the contest a two possession game down to the wire.
A final second tip-in from Dara Olonade closed the gap to two, 76-74, but a successful inbounds play saw time expire with the Running Eagles falling just short of the win.
Up next, the men's basketball team remains in SSAC play as the Running Eagles hit a road trip to both Middle Georgia and Brewton-Parker this upcoming week.
