The Patriots came to Kansas City with the goal of
playing on Saturday, but playing at 1:00 AM on Saturday morning in the second
round was not a part of that plan for the.
After turning it over 33 times in their first
contest with SAGU, the Patriots came out firing on all cylinders against Hope
International (HIU). The Patriots forced five Lion turnovers in the first four
minutes of the contest resulting in an early 9-0 advantage. However, the Lions
would prove that they could score as well, trading blow for blow with the
Patriots over the next eight minutes until Taron Franklin (Philadelphia, Penn.)
would find Julito Hutchinson (Atlanta, Ga.) for the up and under, creating a
21-13 advantage.
Over the next two minutes of the contest, the
Patriot offense would sputter against a Lions team that was leading the country
in points allowed at 61.4, allowing the Lions to claw back in the game at 21-20
with 6:59 remaining in the first half. Following a forced shot to avoid a shot
clock violation, the Lions would take their first lead of the night at 22-21.
However, the Patriots would bounce back when Raymon Austin (Cleveland, Ohio)
would fight his way to the basket to gain the bucket and the free throw,
putting the Patriots up two with five minutes remaining. Four short minutes
later Omar Skinner (New Castle, Del.) would find William Bailey (Valley, Ala.)
on alley-oop fast break pass, propelling the Patriots to a 38-30 halftime
advantage.
In the second half, the Patriots got started quickly
when Raymon Austin found Omar Skinner underneath the basket to get the offense
rolling. That same Patriot offense would blaze through the next five minutes to
take a 51-39 advantage with 15 remaining. The Patriots would continue to build
when William Tolefree (Stone Mountain, Ga.) would find Julito Hutchinson under
the basket to push the advantage to 55-44. However, the Patriots would relive a
late charge by their opponent when the Lions cut the lead to 61-56 with 9:39
remaining.
For the Patriots, William Bailey would answer the
call when he drilled a 10 footer to spark the offense once more. On the next
possession Bailey would ring the bell once more when he got to the foul line
and pushed the Patriot lead to 65-56 with just over seven remaining. However,
the Lions would roar back once more to close the gap to four with just over
three remaining and after a short trading of baskets, to three with under one
minute remaining. But the ice cold blood would run thick for the Patriots as
William Tolefree would sink two free throws with five seconds remaining to send
the “Cardiac Pats” to round three!
The Patriots advanced to the round three on Saturday
at 6 PM where they will face off with MidAmerica Nazarene University for a
chance at the Fab Four.