Mechanics Drop One at the Buzzer on Senior Night

On a night when Williamson honored senior basketball players Corby Bennett and Garrett Watkins, as well as their families, the Williamson basketball team came ever so close to pulling off an upset to honor the two.  A valiant effort by Williamson fell just short, as Thaddeus Stevens scored on a put back shot as time expired to escape the Restall Sports Center with a 55-53 buzzer beating win.

Things could not have started worse for Williamson.  It took them over five minutes to score their first points of the game.  They had just four points at the ten-minute mark and trailed by 15 points with seven minutes left before finally finding themselves.  They actually went on a 14-3 run at the end of the half to trail just 26-22 at the break.

Stevens started the second half the way they started the first and quickly raced out to a nine point lead.  At that point, Williamson's defense stepped things up and they slowly whittled away at the lead.  The Mechanics took their first lead of the game at the 13:00 minute mark and increased that lead to five points at 42-37 with 11:21 left. 

Stevens would regain the lead at 50-49 at the 5:47 mark and the teams would both go almost three minutes without scoring a point.  There were four lead changes after that.  Down by two with under a minute left, Ronald Johnson hit a shot off a rebound for Williamson to tie things at 53-53 with 29 seconds left. 

After each team took a timeout, Stevens played for the last shot.  Williamson could not have asked for a better defensive effort, as they forced the Bulldogs to throw up a long three pointer that was well off the mark, but sadly for Williamson fans, went straight to the arms of a Stevens player who put the ball back up at the buzzer for the 55-53 win.

At halftime, Williamson honored third year seniors Corby Bennett and Garrett Watkins and their families as well. 

"Statistics are one thing, but their contributions are not just on the court.  These guys were great to have as part of the program and were almost like having coaches on the floor.  We will surely miss them," shared head coach Bill Michaels the home crowd.

Williamson was led by Semaj Chery with 13 points, 10 rebounds, two blocks and two steals.  Abdoulaye Diallo added 112 points, five rebounds and three assists.

Williamson closes out their season this Saturday in a 1:00 P.M. start against Lehigh Carbon.