1/6/2010 - Roadrunners Take Thriller: Roadrunners 73, Lon Morris 70

AC’s Takoby Jackson might have done the bulk of the scoring, but his teammates offered plenty of help in other areas – particularly in clutch rebounds.

Travis Smith snagged two defensive rebounds in the final minute and a half, with his second coming with just nine seconds to play in helping the Roadrunners to the 73-70 road win.

Jackson strummed the nets to the tune of 30 points, including 16 in the game’s first eight minutes. The sophomore hit six three pointers along the way and finished as the only Roadrunner in double figures in scoring. However, Trent Brantley grabbed 14 rebounds, Adrick McKinney pulled down nine boards – including a game-saver off a Bearcat miss with three ticks on the clock. In addition, Mike Timmins and Antonio Holmes added crucial plays down the stretch to push the Roadrunners to 10 wins on the season.

The Bearcats’ Jorge Redmon and Joel Gierbolini led Lon Morris with 17 points each.

Prior to the game, AC head coach Todd Neighbors said his team still stung after the overtime road loss to Blinn back in December – the team’s only blemish on its conference record. In that game, the Bucs hit a couple of buzzer beaters at the end of regulation and OT to knock off AC.

And on Wednesday, when Lon Morris’ Greg Chaisson launched a last-second three that would have tied the game, Neighbors said the sense of déjà vu was plenty strong.

“We were definitely having Blinn flashbacks, especially when we the shot went up, but this shows how well our guys learned their lesson,” Neighbors said. “Lon Morris kept the pressure on, but our guys kept battling back. Takoby was tremendous, and Adrick’s board work for us was huge.

“Our guys made a statement that as a team, with as many freshmen as we have, we can still compete in this league.”

AC’s win sets up a first-place battle with San Jacinto Saturday at Shands Gym. Game time is 4 p.m.