The Wilbur Wright Rams basketball team was looking for revenge against the Oakton Community College Owls after falling to them 79-70 in their previous matchup on Nov. 15.
The previous matchup between the two teams saw an intense down-to-the-wire finish that saw Wright trailing by just five points in the final 2 minutes. Despite a strong performance from the Rams, strong free throw shooting down the stretch is what ultimately led to a 79-70 victory for Oakton.
Their second meeting of the season on Dec. 15 was another back-and-forth game with strong defense on full display for both teams.
It was a quick start for the Rams, as they jumped out to an early 5-1 lead. Their defense was swarming early on and did not allow the Owls to score until the 13:50 mark of the first half.
After the early lead, Wright went through a three-minute scoring drought. During this span, they were turning the ball over and rushing their offensive possessions. The changing point of the half for the Rams was their strong 3-point shooting.
The first three of the game was made by Tim Odeyungbo. It was a big one for the Rams' confidence and it also tied the game at eight. On the very next possession, guard Bryson Yarbrough added to the Rams' first-half 3-point total of six by drilling a 3 to give the Rams an 11-8 lead.
Throughout the first half, the Rams looked like the more energized and locked-in team, but couldn't take advantage of their open shot opportunities, and found themselves trailing 28-23 at the half.
The second half was very much like the first. Neither team was giving up anything on defense and they were battling hard the whole half.
Both teams were off to a sluggish start offensively, which lead to the head coach of the Rams, Carlos Thomas, calling a timeout. In the timeout, Thomas tried to come up with a new offensive game plan to get his team to play with the same energy that they were playing with in the first half.
After the timeout, forward Adrian Pelszynski came off the bench and nailed a 3-pointer in the corner to give the Rams a 40-39 lead. From the five-minute mark of the second half to the final whistle, Wright's lead didn't grow to more than 3 points, but stingy defense got them the stops they needed to preserve the lead.
The last two minutes of the game was when the game was decided. With 1:16 left in the game, the Rams led 49-46 and were trying to run as much time off the clock as possible to win the game. Oakton's center Thomas Sullivan had other plans and was able to get to the post and score four points down the stretch to give the Owls a 50-49 lead with 4.7 seconds left.
With no timeouts left and such little time, Wright's chances of getting the ball down the court and making a shot were slim, but as they did the whole game they fought hard and dug deep. After inbounding the ball, Tim Odeyungbo galloped down the court looking for a half-court shot to win the game. While he was going up for the halfcourt heave he was fouled and went to the line for three free throws.
With no time on the clock, both teams were standing at the halfcourt line as Odeyungbo stepped up to the line to try and win the game for the Rams. His first attempt from the line was good and tied the game at 50 a piece. Odeyungbo, with the chance to win the game, made his second shot. His teammates ran from halfcourt and mobbed their teammate, as the Rams held on to win a nail-biting defensive affair, 51-50.
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