CHARLESTON (WVDN) – After a valiant effort on Tuesday, Feb. 14, the Spartans did not get any love in Charleston, suffering a gut wrenching 68-66 loss to the Capital Cougars.
It was a thrilling ride from start to finish, but not the result the Spartans had hoped for.
The game opened with a few players playing above another level than others. For Capital, it was Demahjae Clark, and for East (10-9) it was Adam Seams and Chris Sinclair. At one point, Clark scored 7 straight points for his team, and Seams had four assists in the quarter including two to Sinclair and one beautiful, behind-the-back bounce pass to Monquelle Davis for a layup.
At the end of one, East led 15-13.
Gabe Patton knocked in a triple to open the second quarter, and Sinclair continued to make his presence felt inside under the basket. That was a necessity, because Capital had big Shalik Hampton banging down there as well, and Sinclair’s length helped counter the bigger Hampton. The Cougars’ Elijah Bennett hit a 3 that brought his team within 2 at 25-23 with two minutes to go in the first half, but Seams found Bryson Brammer in the corner a few possessions later for a 3 of his own, and East led 33-29 at the break.
Goose Gabbert had a stretch in the third where he scored 6 straight points. Gabbert, who missed the last game with a hip injury, was still hobbled in this one, but he had a determination about him which was good to see. Capital (7-10) made a little run at the end of the period and led 50-44 after three.
With the Spartans trailing 66-61 late in the fourth, Sinclair scored a much-needed bucket to make it 66-63. After Hamilton hit just 1-of-2 from the charity stripe the next time down, Seams hit a triple that cut it to 67-66 Capital with 7.8 seconds left. Clark then just made one free throw, as well, and gave East a chance, but Patton missed a contested jumper, and the Spartans came home disappointed.
Gabbert led East with 21 points, and Sinclair, the player of the game, had 16.
Clark led the Cougars with 22 points. Hampton added 12, and Bennett had 11.
The Spartans return home this Friday against Princeton in an important conference game.
GE: 15 18 11 22
C: 13 16 21 18
Stats courtesy of 103.1, WRON.
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