ST. AUGUSTINE – Lydell Manigo scored a team-high 21 points and grabbed nine rebounds to help Flagler College fend off a frantic rally by the University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez and escape with an 82-80 overtime win in a non-conference men’s basketball game Wednesday night at Flagler Gymnasium.
Flagler remains undefeated with a 4-0 record while Puerto Rico-Mayaguez fell to 1-5.
It was Jerrell Oxendine who drained a 3-pointer with five seconds left to go in overtime to erase a one-point deficit and give the Saints an 82-80 lead. Matt Clark took a hand-off low in the paint, slipped, but found Oxendine open for the shot. The Tarzans could not get a shot off in time after a 30-second timeout with three seconds left.
Manigo made 8 of 14 from the field and sank three 3-pointers. Oxendine added 16 points and six rebounds while Dennis Diaz chipped in with 12 points, 10 of which came in the first half. De’Aires Tate grabbed a season-high 15 rebounds with eight of those coming in the second half and overtime session. He added eight points to his line. Desmond Gibson finished with eight points, eight rebounds and two blocked shots. Kessler Bell hit a pair of key 3-pointers and tallied eight points.
The Saints sank 45.5% (10-22) of their shots from long range and shot 41.5% (27-65) from the field in the game. Flagler out-rebounded UPR-Mayaguez 47-39. The Saints grabbed 17 offensive rebounds which led to 23 second chance points.
Alexander Rivera led the Tarzans with 21 points and 10 rebounds before fouling out of the contest. Jaime Perez scored 18 points and grabbed six rebounds coming off of the bench. Jerome Caraballo and Giovanni Guzman each tallied 13 points. Francisco Lopez added 10 points and dished out a game-high eight assists.
The Tarzans struggled in the first half shooting 38.7% (12-31) from the field and trailed at the half 39-32. They turned it on the second half shooting a blazing 54.5% (18-33) from the field. The Tarzans held a 42-30 advantage in points in the paint.
Flagler returns to action on Monday (Dec. 1) when it plays host to Saints Leo University at 7 p.m. at Flagler Gymnasium.