BECKLEY, West Virginia -- WVU Tech was in the Christmas spirit Sunday, even if there was business to attend to. And while it's doubtful the Golden Bears had visions of sugar plums dancing in their heads, coach
Bob Williams thought it was evident their minds had drifted.
They woke up just in time.
Tech erased an 11-point deficit in the second half to force overtime, then made enough plays to end the first semester with a 106-102 win over Central Methodist at the Beckley-Raleigh County Convention Center.
The Golden Bears, ranked No. 11 in NAIA Division II, were controlled by their Division I foe most of the afternoon. Central Methodist led 47-43 at halftime and didn't flinch when Tech scored the first five points of the second half.
The Eagles calmly outscored Tech 17-5 to go up 64-53 with 14:15 left.
It was Tech's first game in eight days, but Williams was more concerned with the future than the past. With the semester closing and Christmas barely a week away, Williams was worried about the players' being preoccupied.
"We told them the No. 1 key to the game was to stay present," Williams said. "Stay in Beckley. Don't have your mind elsewhere. Because this happens a lot this time of year to a lot of teams. They lay an egg because they're worried about their travel plans, their parents are calling — 'Hey, what time are you getting in?' — or they have to get to the airport for their flights. Then people at home are saying, 'We're going to this Christmas party,' or, 'We're going to grandma's for this day.'
"There can be a lot of distractions."
As it turned out, the guys will have quite the story to share with their loved ones.
As much as the Eagles had dominated, things suddenly took an about face. Tech (13-2) chipped away to twice get to within four, but Central again answered with six straight points for a 77-67 advantage with 8:41 on the clock.
The Eagles actually took a timeout at that point, but it was the Golden Bears who came out of the break inspired. They went on an 18-3 run to turn a 10-point deficit into an 85-80 lead with 4:07 to play.
Will Fox had a pair of 3-pointers during the burst, and Tommy Collins had a layup and three-point play.
Central Methodist (9-4) got over the shock and picked back up to stay within five the rest of the half. But Tech got some big plays from sophomore Tamon Scruggs, who made some strong moves under the basket on both ends.
"The 3 wasn't falling for me so I decided to just go inside," said Scruggs, who finished with 13 points and a pair of blocks. "I made some good moves and got some and-1s and made some good plays down the stretch."
The comeback looked like it might be for naught when Brandon Shingles missed the front end of a one-and-one and Tommy Collins fouled Josh Robinson with 3.5 seconds left. Robinson missed the first but sank the second to tie the game at 91-91 and force overtime.
Scruggs scored the first points of OT, but was answered by Central's Christian Soderholm. However, seconds later Soderholm had to come out of the game with a gash over his left eye.
Neither team gained an advantage, even with Elisha Boone's miss and stickback giving Tech a 102-100 lead with 35.3 left.
The Eagles had a chance to take the lead, but Isiah Sykes' baseline 3 bounced off the iron and Boone was fouled on the rebound with 6.6 to go. Boone hit four free throws inside those final seconds to secure the win.
"As a team, we know that everybody is coming for us," Scruggs said. "Every game we know that we have to come out ready to play. We have to make sure we are focused and make sure we execute, and just do what we need to do to win."
Robinson scored 24 points and dished out six assists for the Eagles, who were 14-of-26 from 3 and 22-of-42 overall. Soderholm had what Eagles coach Jeff Sherman called a "career game" with 22 points and 14 rebounds. Isaiah Thurmond, Central's top player who was injured most of the first half, finished with 16 points.
Cameron Tutt had 14 and Terrance Bush 11.
Sherman, in his 34th season as Central Methodist's head coach, lamented several things, including his team's "Achilles' heel" of late — an inability to win the game at the free-throw line late.
"They're a more disciplined team than we are," he said. "You don't give up a 10- or 11-point lead like that. We came down and took some lazy shots, lightened up on defense. You can't do that against a team like this. ... We haven't shot the ball well this season (although) we shot the ball well tonight. I don't like the way the game finished up, but did some things tonight that we hadn't been able to do, and we did it against a pretty good team."
Boone finished with 24 points and 10 rebounds for the Golden Bears. Shingles was 5-of-8 from the 3-point line and scored 20. Collins added 13, and Andreas Jönsson, who had a key 3 in OT, scored 12.
The Golden Bears will return to town and report back to practice December 28. Their next game will be January 3 at home against Indiana University Southeast in a doubleheader with the women, who will play first at 5:30 p.m. The men will follow at 7:30 p.m.
"These guys have got a chance to be special," Williams said. "We've got a deep team, talented team, great kids with high character. They're coachable and unselfish."
