By Brian Smith | For the Tribune
NEW ALBANY
Seymour, looking to knock off Hoosier Hills Conference foe New Albany for the first time since 2005, had the home Bulldogs teetering for much of Friday night’s contest.
Although the Owls never led by a margin greater than four points, they kept within striking distance until the end. A single Tucker Bevin free-throw in overtime slipped New Albany by the upset-minded Owls, 43-42.
Eric McCoy, who had a heave fall through before halftime, caught fire from downtown in the final moments of regulation. While many in the Doghouse saw New Albany grow its lead to a seemingly comfortable five points, 36-31, McCoy and the Owls battled back. Hitting two 3-pointers in the matter of 48 seconds, McCory leveled the score at 37-all.
With 1:09 to go in regulation, New Albany opted to hold for the final shot. A deep 3-point try from Biven was off the mark, as was a tip-in attempt by Maddox Schmelz.
The teams swapped leads early in the OT. New Albany got on the board first with a Biven single free throw while on the other end, Colin Madden beat the Bulldogs up the floor for a lay-in.
At the free-throw line, Seymour missed the front end of two one-and-ones in the OT. New Albany, meanwhile, saw Trey Hourigan swish a pair for a 40-39 Bulldogs edge with 2:19 to play.
Hourigan would have his woes at the stripe too, missing a pair on the next trip.
Then, following a pair of makes by New Albany’s Schmelz, Seymour found another trifecta. This one was of the step-back variety via Marcus Brooks, silencing the New Albany crowd while the purple shirts provided the game’s sounds.
Inside the final 40 seconds, New Albany, again, held for the final shot. With 4.9 ticks left, Biven was fouled near mid-court. The sophomore was well short on the first attempt, but swished the second after a Seymour time-out.
In a last effort, the Owls pushed the ball up the floor but an off-balanced try from Brooks was well off the mark.
Hourigan was a load for the Owls to handle, notching 16 points and nine boards.
Seymour, meanwhile, was guided by McCoy’s 15 points. Brooks chipped in 10 while Drew Vehslage added six.
In the opening half, the Owls only mustered up eight points in the second quarter, but they all game in the final 2:14 before the break. Trailing 17-10 and after five turnovers in the second stanza, the Seymour offense found a groove. Casey Regruth drove baseline for a field goal. The next trip, Regruth slipped a pass to a cutting McCoy for a lay-in. After a single McCoy free throw, Seymour picked up a free possession late as New Albany threw the ball away with 8.8 ticks left.
From there, Seymour went the length of the floor, eventually finding McCoy on the right side. Fighting for a tiny window of space, McCoy launched a shot that banged off the window, rattled the rim, and fell through to give the Owls an 18-17 halftime edge.
Despite coming out of the second half coughing up seven third quarter turnovers, the Owls stayed composed and continued to challenge New Albany shots. Buckets by Brooks and McCoy gave Seymour leads of four points at two different moments in the early third quarter. The lead never grew as the game tightened to the thrilling finish down the stretch.
Seymour dropped to 1-5 with the loss while New Albany crept over .500 to 3-2.
Having played six games thus far, the Owls have gone to overtime in half, dropping all three.