Patriots Win Barnburner in Final Seconds

ST. LOUIS, MO. – The Eutectic men's basketball team hosted the Mission University Patriots (Mo.) on Monday night for UHSP's second American Midwest Conference (AMC) game of the season. In a high-scoring close game that included 12 ties, 26 lead-changes, and 74 free throws, the Patriots (now 5-8) finished on top, 96-95, scoring the winning point on a free throw with just 11 seconds left in the game.  

GAME HIGHLIGHTS:

• Mission outrebounded UHSP 23-18 in the first half, resulting in five more shots than the Eutectics. The visitors then drained 18 of those 40 attempts from the floor, including six three-point field goals, for 45% shooting in the half. The Eutectics went 18-35, including 3-of-6 triples from Jasmin Suvalija, for an impressive 51.4% shooting from the floor. But, as the lead was bandied about between the two teams throughout the half, the Patriots finally claimed a slight lead of 52-49 by intermission.
• The second half remained close throughout, with both teams taking turns with the lead. The Patriots edged out the Eutectics in rebounds again (20-16), but the Eutectic defense made up for it in steals, outdoing Mission in the stat 7-3 for the half. Both teams got 33 shots off with similar shooting percentages (39.4%-42.4%), but the Eutectics could not find success from outside, going 1-15 from the arc while the Patriots went 4-13 for the final 20 minutes.
• The Mission victory came down to the final minute. With the Patriots up 95-93, Landon Engelage picked off a pass from MU's Najee Williams and sent the ball ahead to Bryant Odunayo for the tying layup. With just 11 seconds left, a foul was called against UHSP in a battle for a rebound that put MU's Clifford Barrow at the line. Barrow made the second of his two free throw attempts, which would end up as the game winner for Mission, despite two more shot attempts by UHSP in the final seconds.
• In total, 50 points were scored from the free throw line: Mission went 24-34 and UHSP went 26-40.
• Justin Coleman and Bryant Odunayo each posted season-highs for scoring. Coleman dropped in 24 points, also tallying four steals, while Odunayo had 21 points. Landon Engelage pitched in 18 points, eight rebounds, four assists and two steals. Jasmin Suvalija also reached double digits with 13 points. Other UHSP scorers were Braeden Jordan (7), Dylan Merkle (4), David Moore (4), Carmello Bostwick (2), and Brennan Walker (2).   
• MU's Najee Williams led all scorers with 30 points, going 11-21 overall, 4-9 from three, and 4-7 from the line. Jamarian Cato also surpassed 20 points for Mission, scoring 22, while Cliffor Barrow recorded a double double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.

UP NEXT:

The Eutectics, now 3-10 overall and 0-2 in the AMC, will be on the road for the next five games before hosting Hannibal-LaGrange University (Mo.) for an AMC matchup on January 15. The next game for the Eutectics is an exhibition at NCAA Division II Maryville University in St. Louis on Dec. 19. It will be the final game of 2025 for the UHSP team.