Thomas drops 35, Washington rallies to defeats Decatur in overtime

BERLIN, Md. – Washington showed their resolve with a stunning 83-77 victory at Decatur in overtime after a crushing buzzer-beating 3-pointer sent the game to an extra period.

The Jaguars held a 7-point lead with 57 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. The lead slowly evaporated in the final minute of action.

Holding a 3-point lead with seven seconds left, Washington had to stop the Seahawks from going the length of the floor and hitting a game-tying 3. Instead, Decatur’s Zakhari Baker received a pass 22 feet from the rim, and in one motion turned, hoisted, and rattled home the game-tying shot.

It turned into a gut check for the Jaguars.

“We’ve got to come back, and regroup in overtime,” Washington head coach Kirkland Hall told his players in the huddle following the final buzzer in regulation. “Don’t get down on yourselves, because this has happened to a lot of teams. It happened to us tonight. I said ‘let me see how much character you got…’ and they showed they had it.”

In overtime it was a freshman, Elijah Thomas, who led the team to victory.

Thomas, who finished with 35 points, scored 11 in the extra period, going five-of-six from the charity stripe.

“We’ve definitely gotten a lot better over the last few years,” Thomas said after the game. “We’ve got more experience now.”

Hall had a lot of praise for his players after the road win.

“This is our third game on the road, and they’ve been playing tough. What can you say. And nobody expects much out of us, because we’re Washington. And I told them we’re going to prove everybody wrong if we come to play.”