BUFFALO, N.Y.—The Villa Maria College men's basketball team played a hard-fought game against Bryant and Stratton-Albany on Friday and after forcing over time, the Vikings used a tremendous run to earn the win. The Vikings now sit at 5-6 on the season, as the Bobcats fall to 6-5. 
 
The Vikings stumbled out of the gates, falling behind 21-10 at the 13:40 mark, but they began to chip away as they got into their groove. A layup and a three pointer by Trayvon Holt jolted the team awake as the deficit was cut to six points. However, the Bobcats lead ballooned to 13 and forced a timeout by Villa. Out of the time out, the Vikings were able to score 12 unanswered points starting with a pair of free throws by Dorion Ivey. Ivey followed it up with a cost-to-cost layup they trimmed the deficit to nine points. Derick Simpson chipped in with a layup, before two made free-throws by Jeru Molson made the score just 30-25. After two more makes from the charity stripe by Simpson, Raymond Sims finished a bucket the now had the Vikings behind just one point. In the final 1:40 of the half, there were two ties and four lead changes, but Villa saw themselves ahead 37-36 after the first 20 minutes of play. 
 
In the second half of regulation, neither team was letting the other breathe with no lead getting above six points. The Bobcats consistently made runs, but crucial makes by Juwan Beale, Sims and Molson kept the team alive. In the final moments of regulation, Bryant and Stratton converted on two free throws that pushed their lead to three with 15 seconds left to play. After a time out by the Vikings, Beale was able to fight his way open and hit a game tying three to force over time. 
 
In the extra period, Villa absolutely unloaded on the Bobcats. Jaylin Rose kicked it off with a fast break layup to give the team a lead and after Sims knocked down two more free-throws, Beale nailed a three to push the advantage to 85-78. A few moments later, Molson hit a jump shot that gave the Vikings a double-digit lead. After all was said and done, Villa outscored the Bobcats 17-4 in overtime and earned the victory by a final of 95-82. 
 
Beale was impressive again as he shot 7-for-12 from the field as he scored 24 points, grabbed four rebounds and recorded three assists. Sims was strong off the bench as he contributed 22 points in 34 minutes, while also corralling six rebounds and impacting the defensive end with two blocks and two steals. 
 
The Men's Basketball team will play at home their next time out as they host Bryant and Stratton-Ohio on Wednesday, Dec. 18. Their game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. and will follow the women's basketball team. 
 
Be sure to stay up to date on all of your Vikings scores and awards by following @VillaVikings on Twitter and by liking the "Villa Maria Vikings" Facebook page.