CARPENTER'S BUZZER-BEATER GIVES RAIDERS 77-75 WIN OVER PELLISSIPPI STATE

Roane State erased a six-point deficit in the final two minutes and defeated Pellissippi State 77-75 on Wednesday night when Mikey Carpenter laid in a buzzer-beating transition basket after Jordan Hamilton stole the inbounds pass.

With 15.5 seconds left and the score tied at 75, Hamilton took the ball at the top of the key against Pellissippi State's man-to-man defense. He drove left, spun back right underneath the basket and double-clutched a finger roll that kissed off the glass to tie the game.

Pellissippi pushed the ball upcourt and called timeout with 6.5 seconds remaining, but on the inbounds pass Roane State faked man-to-man and dropped into a zone. The deception worked. Hamilton jumped the pass, tipped it ahead to Carpenter at half court, and Carpenter laid it in at the buzzer.

It was the kind of finish that defines a season, and it came after the Raiders had overcome a rough second half that left them trailing by six with under two minutes to play. In the timeout, head coach Alan Holt kept the message simple, telling his players they had to be more controlled with their game, and reminded them that the Raiders should have the lead. Hamilton, the veteran guard who has been in those moments before, took the words to heart.

"This win is just huge," Holt said afterward. "Jordan's an older guy in our program. He hit the bucket to tie it, and then he gets the steal to give us the layup to end it. It's just the perks of having an older, more mature guy that's kind of been in those situations before."

The Raiders (15-9, 10-5 TCCAA) had started the night with the kind of basketball Holt had been teaching all season — connected, tough, relentless. Then the second half happened. Turnovers mounted. Bad shots piled up. A once-comfortable margin evaporated. But they responded the way Holt has been preaching all year, with the resilience and toughness that has become the program's identity.

"We had a really, really phenomenal stretch in the first half," Holt said. "Then we had an equally as bad stretch in the second half, full of turnovers, and bad shots, but we were able to respond. We were able to do the kind of things we've been talking about like being resilient, being tough, being able to play through mistakes, and play through things that we can't control. Our guys did a great job of that late in the game."

Adonai Mussie led all scorers with 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting and pulled down nine rebounds. Dashawn Hall-Johnson came off the bench to score 13 points, including three 3-pointers. Carpenter finished with 10 points and five assists, the final two of which came on that game-winning layup. Hamilton added 11 points, nine assists and six rebounds. Roane State shot 45.2 percent from the field (28-of-62) and 34.3 percent from three (12-of-35). The Raiders committed 15 turnovers but forced 15 of their own while recording seven steals and five blocks. They out-rebounded Pellissippi and dished out 21 assists.

Foul trouble forced several players on the bench early, but the Raiders found a way to win. The emotional victory should provide a much-needed spark as Roane State prepares for a massive road test Saturday, February 14th at second-place Columbia State. The Chargers are 13-1 in league play and have lost just once all season in conference action. Holt hopes his team carries the momentum from Wednesday's late heroics into what he called "the chaos" of that matchup.