Murry's 17 Points, Lindsey's Late Game Heroics Give No. 20 Express Men 79-76 Road Win Over KVCC

Kalamazoo, Mich.---Shaakir Lindsey's game-winning lay-up with 21 seconds left gave the No. 20 Express men's basketball team a big 79-76 road win over Kalamazoo Valley Community College.

In fact, Lindsey scored six points and made two crucial steals in the game's final four minutes to help the Express close the game on a 14-3 run. Down 73-65, the freshman point guard hit a lay-up with 3:45 left to start the run.

Following that, a fast break 3-pointer and two free throws from Andy Bachman (North Side/Fort Wayne, Ind.) pulled the Express within one. That's when Lindsey ripped the ball from Davonte Harris and threw an outlet pass, which was tipped and recovered by John Murry (North Central/Indianapolis, Ind.), who hit a lay-up to put the Express up 74-73 with 2:05 left.

KVCC answered right back with a jumper from Jaylen Larry on the next possession. On the other end, Bikramjit Gill (Our Ascension of the Lord/Toronto, Ontario, Canada) missed a lay-up, leading to a fast break lay-up opportunity for KVCC's Jibreel Hussein. He missed it, though, and Lindsey took advantage with a driving lay-up that gave the Express a 76-75 lead.

Following a split pair of free throws from KVCC's Tyler Oliver, Lindsey took the ball up top and drove in for another lay-up that gave the Express a 78-76 lead. On KVCC's ensuing possession, Lindsey grabbed another steal leading to a KVCC foul. Bachman would end up making one of two at the foul line for the final margin as KVCC's Harris missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

Murry led five Express players in double figures with 17 points, while adding four rebounds, two assists and one steal. Bachman also had a big game after finding his shot in the second half. He finished with 14 points, 13 rebounds and one block, while Gill added 12 points, 13 rebounds, four blocks, two assists and one steal.

Tony Boykins (Loy Norrix/Kalamazoo, Mich.) and Lindsey each finished with 10 points. Boykins had a steal that led to the late 3-pointer from Bachman. Kenny Jones (Clay/South Bend, Ind.) had a strong effort off the Express bench with seven points and nine rebounds (six offensive) in just 14 minutes of play.

Martez Asberry (Douglas Academy/Detroit, Mich.) led the Express in assists with three. 

Hussein led KVCC in scoring with 18 points, while Jevonte Hughes had 13 points and 13 rebounds. Larry added six points, 13 rebounds and a team-high three blocks. Oliver (12) and Harris (10) also hit double-figures.

The Express (10-3) will take on Kellogg Community College at 3 p.m. tomorrow in the finale of the KVCC Christmas Classic. KVCC fell to 8-3 with the loss.

Notes

The win gave the Express their first victory over KVCC in the tenure of third-year head coach Dave Clarke. He was previously 0-3 against them, and the Express avenged a 117-109 KVCC win at Owens on Nov. 13 of this season. Tonight's win also marked the fourth straight win for the Express, who have now won seven of their last eight.

The game featured four players with 13 rebounds (two for each team), and 10 players in double figure scoring (five for each team).

KVCC held their largest lead (11) with 16:43 left in the game, while the largest lead for the Express came when they opened the game on a 6-2 run. After that opening spurt, KVCC went on a 14-0 run.

After shooting 1-for-11 from 3-point range in the first half, the Express shot 3-for-6 in the second half. In fact, the Express shot 16-for-34 (47.1 percent) overall in the second half, while holding KVCC to a 13-for-36 (36.1 percent) second half performance.

After four straight games not reaching double figure scoring, Gill now has six straight games of at least 12 points. He also has three double-doubles during that stretch.

Bachman's 13 rebounds marks a season-high. He has 10 or more rebounds in three games this year. Murry has scored in double-figures in all but one game this year, including nine straight. 

Lindsey has now scored in double figures in four of the past five games.