DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Dylan Hibicke's three-point buzzer beater as time expired lifted the University of Dubuque men's basketball team to a 66-63 win over (RV) SUNY Cortland on Sunday night in game one of the Florida Sunshine Shootout.
The Spartans only led for 14 seconds in the first half against Cortland with a 9-0 run after trailing by seven. The Spartans shot 30.77% from the field and only made one three-pointer on 10 attempts in the half, but the Spartans' defense kept Cortland within its grasp trailing 31-24 at the half.
The Spartans quickly got going in the second half with a 12-4 run to take their first lead of the second half just five minutes into the half. Both teams went back and forth before Cortland was able to go back up by six at 52-46 with seven minutes to play. The Spartans still trailed 58-56 with just under five minutes remaining, but after a
Jalen Scott three-pointer put the Spartans back in front and back-to-back layups from
Jacob Williams put the Spartans in front 63-59 with 3:06 left.
The Spartans would go 3:03 of game time without scoring a point down the stretch that allowed Cortland to score the next four points, including a layup plus the foul shot to tie the game at 63-all with 11 seconds remaining. On the Spartans final possession of the game, Cortland would use their one foul to give with three seconds left. On the ensuing in-bounds pass from
Grady Thompson,
Dylan Hibicke would bury a tough three-pointer from the right wing to give the Spartans the thrilling win.
Hear from Robbie Sieverding
"Exciting game tonight in Florida against a quality opponent. Jacob played really well and it was great to see Grady back on floor. Grady played well especially in the second half and Dylan came up with a big time shot to win it. Quick turn around with an another solid opponent tomorrow."
Williams led all scorers with 20 points on 9-16 shooting. Thompson returned from injury with a 12-point, 12 rebound double-double. Scott added 10 points, five rebounds, and five assists.
Ethan Henderson finished with nine points in 13 minutes off the bench.
The Spartans improve to 8-2 overall.
Up Next
The Spartans will play their final game of the Florida Sunshine Shootout tomorrow night at 5:00 p.m. (CT) / 6:00 p.m. (ET) against Transylvania University from the Ocean Center.
