Jan. 14, 2009 – Patrick Fandja beat the buzzer and Truman picked up a big home victory on Wednesday night in Pershing Arena. Fandja hit a jumper at the top of the key to give the Bulldogs a 69-67 victory over Missouri Western.
The Bulldogs (6-10/1-8 MIAA) needed late heroics after being up by as many as 13 points early in the half. The Griffons (7-8/ 4-4 MIAA) took a five point lead with just 2:55 left but Ethan Freeman and Fandja each hit baskets to pull Truman to within one at 64-63.
Dominique Thuston knocked down a pair of free throws with 1:29 left to put the Griffons back up by four.
Alex Henderson, who had struggled from the field all night, caught a pass from Banks Estridge on the right baseline and drilled his first three-pointer to pull the Bulldogs back to within one.
Thuston then took an ill-advised three-point attempt in the Griffons next possession and Fandja knocked down the first free throw to tie the game.
Fandja missed the second and with a four-second difference between shot and game clocks, the Griffons called a timeout with :16 seconds left to set up a play.
The Bulldog defense forced a loose ball that ended up turning into a shot clock violation and giving Truman the ball with 3.1 seconds left. The inbounds play found Fandja alone at the top of the circle, where the senior’s high arching shot found the bottom of the net as the buzzer sounded.
Fandja finished with a career-high 23 points and pulled down 11 rebounds for the Bulldogs’ third double-double of the season. Ethan Freeman added 16 points and
The Griffons were led by Lonnel Johnson’s 16 points and 13 apiece by Thuston and Quentin Noblin.
The Bulldogs will be off on Saturday and next take the floor in Warrensburg next Wednesday night against the