Blue Lights College fell behind by 18 points in the first half, but dug deep for a 102-99 overtime victory at Appalachian Bible College on Monday night.
The Thoroughbreds (4-3), who have dominated the series with the Warriors, found themselves in a battle this time, falling behind 15-4 in the first five minutes. ABC (2-6) continued to use hot shooting from beyond the arc to increase their margin to 18, 37-19, at the 8:20 mark of the first half. BLC trailed 50-33 at the break.
As they have done all season, the Thoroughbreds (4-3) fought back after intermission, using their deeper bench and size underneath to slowly claw back with BLC taking its first lead of the game 71-69 on a 3-pointer by Jeremiah Baker with 5:34 to play.
From there, neither team could put distance between itself and the opponent. A trey by ABC's Cole Garrison at the buzzer, his only 3-pointer of the game, sent the contest into the extra period.
Two free throws by Baker pushed the lead to three points with less than 20 seconds to play, and a three-point attempt by the Warriors' Jonathan Brooks bounced off the iron at the horn to end the upset bid.
Baker finished with 34 points, including 10-of-12 from the stripe, to lead all scorers. Chris Koger posted a double-double with 22 and 15 rebounds. Eric Williams added 14 points. Appalachian senior Jacob Tincher led the Warriors with 31.
BLC now travels to Jacksonville, Florida for the Bible College National Invitational Tournament. Play begins on Thursday when the 5th-seeded Herd faces 4th-seed Toccoa Falls College at 5:00 pm.
