Bauer’s Free Throw Seals Victory for Men’s Basketball over Carroll

Box Score

JACKSONVILLE, Ill. – It was the type of situation t-shirts from the 1990s were made of: tie game, no time left, two free throws…No Fear. Freshman David Bauer's free throw with triple zeros showing on the clock gave the Illinois College men's basketball team an amazing 63-62 win over Carroll University on Saturday afternoon in front of a frenzied Sherman Gymnasium crowd. The win was the second in a row for IC, who improve to 3-13 (2-9 Midwest Conference), while Carroll drops to 8-8 (5-6 MWC).

A balanced effort from Illinois College allowed the Blueboys to hang with Carroll despite trailing for nearly 30 minutes of the contest. Brandon Fishburn was the high scorer for IC, knocking in four three-pointers on his way to 13 points. Cody Hildebrand and Max Stutsman each had 12 in the game, while Bauer ended with 11.

For much of the first half, an Illinois College win seemed improbable. After Hildebrand opened the scoring, displaying a nice touch on a fadeaway jumper, Carroll would take command with an 8-0 run and eventually go on to lead, 19-5, with just over seven minutes gone. Showing a tenacity that has developed in recent games, the Blueboys refused to go away. Behind Hildebrand's nine points in the first half and a pair of important three-pointers from Fishburn, IC wrangled its way back into the contest. A Tim Schappaugh three-pointer and Bauer jumper supplied the Blueboys with the last five points of the half to send the teams to the locker room with IC trailing by just four, 33-29.

Coming out in the second half, another 8-0 Carroll burst upped the Pioneers lead back to 12, 41-29, with less than 18 minutes to play. Again the Blueboys responded. Schappaugh banged in a tough jumper in the lane, Hildebrand converted a three-point play and Mitchell Patterson swished a pair at the line for an immediate 7-0 answer.

Carroll would eventually lead again by 11 points, 47-36, but the tide turned in a big way after the clock rolled under 12 minutes to play. Fishburn started the rally with a three-pointer and Stutsman later added one as well. Another Fishburn triple tied the score at 47-47. After a solid defensive possession, Carroll turned the ball over, allowing Bauer to convert a tough fast break layup to give Illinois College the lead. Two free throws from Carroll's Nathan Schaefer (a game-high 16 points) tied the score, 49-49, with 7:46 to play. And then the offenses went silent.

For more than three minutes, neither team scored as the defenses locked in and no second chance buckets were given on either end. The first haymaker came in the form of a Hildebrand steal off of a Bryan Nagy turnover. Hildebrand lofted the ball ahead to Patterson and the sophomore finished the fast break with a flush, putting the Blueboys on top, 51-49, with 4:32 remaining and forcing Carroll into a timeout. The Pioneers would then start to overplay on defense, but IC stood up to the pressure and turned it into a chance at easy points. On one possession, Hildebrand found a wide-open Patterson for a layup that made it 55-50. The next time down, it was Patterson locating Stutsman alone in the paint for two, making it 57-52 with 2:26 to play.

The Pioneers weren't done. In the span of 38 seconds, Carroll scored five points to knot the score at 57-57 with 1:25 to play. Now faced with full-court pressure, Illinois College broke through and Hildebrand delivered a pass to Stutsman to go back up by two. A foul on the play was converted by Stutsman to make the lead 60-57. After a missed layup from Carroll, Stutsman scored again with 41 ticks to go, seemingly sealing the game.

A foul on Stutsman with 32 seconds left allowed the Pioneers to convert two pressure-packed free throws and make it a three-point game. Forced into fouling, Carroll was given new life when Hildebrand missed a pair – the Blueboys had made 16 straight up until that point. Taking full advantage, Carroll's Kyle Keranen knocked home a three-ball from the top of the key to tie the game with 10 seconds remaining.

Overtime loomed but Illinois College would have the last say in the matter. On the inbounds pass, Nagy jumped a passing lane and stole the ball under the rim, only to lose possession and have the ball bounce out to Bauer, standing at his own free throw line. The clock was running with five seconds left when Bauer took off upcourt with a full head of steam. The freshman headed straight to the bucket and a foul was whistled on Keranen with no time left.

After a long discussion, the lane was cleared for Bauer to attempt two shots. He would need just the one. Showing no trace of nerves, his free throw never even gave a thought to grazing the rim. Game over. Bauer was mobbed by teammates, much to the dismay of the Carroll contingent.

Now owners of a two-game winning streak, Illinois College will take its show on the road to face Grinnell on Jan. 27. The Blueboys and a new set of Pioneers will get started at 7 p.m. following the women's contest.