KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Raven Men's Basketball season came to an end Friday night in the second round of the 2019 NAIA Men's Basketball National Championship. The Duer Bracket No. 1-seed Ravens (31-4) were defeated by the 4-seed Pikeville Bears (25-8) 83-79 in double-overtime.
The fact the game went to overtime at all might have seemed far-fetched early in the second half as the Bears took a 40-25 lead. The Ravens, as they've done all season, never lost their cool and began to battle back. With 16:55 to play, Thomas O'Connor hit a 3-pointer to trim a 12-point deficit to single-digits. Colby Nickels added two buckets and a free throw, then O'Connor converted an and-1 to cut Pikeville's lead to 46-43.
However, the Bears had an answer. Pikeville pushed its lead back to 10 points with 13:25 to play, forcing Ravens Head Coach Ryan Moody to call a timeout. The tactic worked as the Ravens went on a 13-2 run after the timeout to take a 56-55 lead, their first lead of the game, with 8:21 to play.
The Bears responded with a 5-0 run to take a 60-56 lead, but O'Connor answered with two free throws and then Adam Kutney scored to tie the game with an offensive put-back.
With 29 seconds left in regulation, the Ravens found themselves again down by 2 points. Kutney came up big again, grabbing an offensive rebound and scoring to tie the game 64-64 and the game went to overtime.
The Ravens grabbed control early in the first overtime, taking a 71-65 lead with 2:34 to play. However, the Bears closed the period on a 7-1 run to send the game to a second overtime.
The Ravens worked for a 78-76 lead with 1:54 to play, but that's when the gas ran out. Another Pikeville 7-1 run ended the game and the Ravens season.
All five Ravens starters ended the game with double-figure scoring. Nickels led the way with 20 points and Kutney had 13 points and 12 rebounds. O'Connor and Eric Krus each scored 14 points and Jaiden Bristol had 11 points and six assists. The scoring outputs mean each of the starters close out the season averaging more than 10 points per game.
The season ended sooner than the Ravens hoped but the team accomplished many program firsts and set new records. The 31 wins are the most in program history and the Ravens 24-0 mark is the most wins in Heart of America Conference history, and the first undefeated conference record since the Heart expanded to its current membership. The Ravens also won 29 games in a row in 2018-19, breaking the school record for most consecutive wins.
O'Connor and Kutney each eclipsed 1,000 career points, and O'Connor finishes his career with 245 made 3-pointers, tied for second-most in Ravens history with Coach Moody.
