Men's basketball thrills in opening-night nail-biting win

BARBOURVILLE, Ky. - If opening night is any indication, thrills will be in heavy supply at Robsion Arena this winter.

Markelle Turner scored 33 points and the Union defense made just enough stops to thwart a Shawnee State comeback effort, taking home an 88-85 win in front of an electrified home crowd in the men's basketball season opener Tuesday.

Union gave itself a big cushion at the midway point, thanks to a 13-2 scoring run in a 2:50 stretch late in the first half. Turner got things started with a jump shot, then Deonte Douglas ended it with a second-chance layup, helping turn a tight 29-27 lead into a 48-34 edge going into the half.

But once the Bears proceeded to score the first 12 points of the second half, it was clear it would be a fight the rest of the way. The Bulldogs managed to go back ahead by 10 behind a pair of Turner 3-pointers, only for the Bears to continue to fight back, even taking a 71-70 lead on an Issac Abergut jump shot with 6:50 to play.

While Turner answered with a layup that kept Union ahead the rest of the way, the path to victory was hardly a clear one.

With the score at 86-84, Union held the ball to the end of the shot clock, only for Shawnee State to force a turnover, which led to a fast break, which led to Brandon Beavers getting fouled and going to the line with a chance to tie with eight seconds left.

But after making the first, Beavers' second shot when off the back iron. After a rebound and timeout, Deonte Douglas sprung wide open off the inbounds pass and was able to dribble more than four seconds off the clock before getting fouled. He then hit two free throws to make it 88-85, giving Shawnee State one last chance to go the length of the court for the tie.

The student section's "warm up the bus" chants nearly proved premature, as Latavious Mitchell made a great catch in traffic and found a cutting Abergut who got a clean look at a tying triple, only for it to bounce off the rim to the elation of the relieved home crowd.

While Turner was the show-stealer, Terrin Hamilton stuffed the stat sheet with 17 points to go along with 15 rebounds and five blocks, both of which were game highs.

Union also held things down on the offensive glass, grabbing 20 offensive rebounds, with seven of them coming from newcomer Anton Mozga.

NEXT UP FOR THE BULLDOGS

As if Tuesday wasn't enough early season excitement, the Bulldogs are now set to open Appalachian Athletic Conference play against Montreat in a rematch of last season's conference championship game. The Bulldogs travel to face the Cavaliers at 4 p.m. Saturday.