KC men rally, but lose in OT to Navarro

KILGORE, TX -- The Kilgore College men lost their first home game of the season Feb. 22 in an overtime thriller versus Navarro College, 75-70.

Led by Michael Thomas' 24 points in the second half alone, the Rangers rallied from 18 points down to force overtime.

It looked almost hopeless for KC with 14 minutes left in the game, trailing the Bulldogs 44-26, but the Rangers went on a 24-9 run to get within three points with 2:30 left in the game.

After a Navarro field goal, Cameron Gooden nailed a long 3-pointer to get within a point of the Bulldogs with 1:30 left.

Thomas then stole an inbounds pass from Navarro (17-11, 11-6, Region 14) and called timeout.  Gooden inbounded the ball to Thomas who made a tough layup to tie the game up at 58 points with 20 seconds left.

On the other end, Navarro's layup attempt was blocked, forcing overtime.

KC (20-8, 11-7 Region 14) fell flat in the extra stanza to end a 15-0 home record.

Thomas ended up with 26 points, five steals and assist and a rebound.

Rodrigue Andela put up double-double numbers with 12 points, 12 rebounds, three steals and a blocked shot.

Gooden ended up with 13 points and two assists and Tyron McMillian was strong on the boards with 14 rebounds.

Rounding out the scoring for KC was Montrell Horsey with 7 points, McMillian (4), D'Rell Roberts (4) and Stephan Morris (4).

Navarro was led by German Kasanzi who came off the bench to score 21 points.  Other Bulldogs in double figures were Akol Mawein (14), Dravon Clayborn (13) and Tyrese Ross (12).

KC has one home game left, traveling to Paris Wednesday, Feb. 26, to face Paris Junior College at 7 p.m.

The Region XIV Basketball Tournament is set for March 3-7 in Shreveport.