No. 2 McEachern secures Elite Eight trip with an upset win over No. 1 Grayson.

The Indians won, 57-56, on the road in an electric overtime game. 

When the brackets were finalized, this was a one of the most desired, anticipated matchup possibilities, and it lived up to expectations. 

Down 4 points going into the final minute of regulation, McEachern’s hopes were dwindling until Mike Jacobs scored his first two points of the game. His basket was met with contact that sent him to the free-throw line that gave Jacobs a chance to bring the Indians within one. Despite missing the free throw, Jacobs’ points brought McEachern to a 45-43 deficit. 

Chance Moore got his hands on Jacobs’ missed free throw to gain an extra possession for the Indians. After drawing a foul, Moore nailed both free throws to tie the game and send it to overtime. 

The extra period saw a back-and-forth battle. In the final minute of overtime, McEachern went on a 6-0 run to give themselves a 55-50 that would be the game’s final blow. 

Going into the game, the keys for each team were clear. McEachern had to figure out a way to handle Chauncey Wiggins, Ian Schieffelin and the Grayson frontcourt. On the other side, Grayson needed to contain Chance Moore and Cam McDowell. 

In the end, McEachern’s dynamic duo was too much for Grayson to overcome. 

The game was won at the free-throw line. McEachern went 19 of 25 from the line while Grayson only took six attempts. 

Despite having a slow start, Chance Moore finished with 20 points, and he made winning play after winning play when McEachern needed them most. Moore used his length to get his hands on loose balls that resulted in extra possessions for the Indians in crunch time.  Moore manufactured points by finding ways to get to the free-throw line. Half of his points came from free throws. 

From the tip, Cam McDowell was the most active player on the floor. McDowell soared above the trees to collect rebounds, he was active on the defensive end, and he was a vocal leader that McEachern needed. He finished with 19 points, and 10 of those came in the first half when the Indians were struggling to get shots to fall. 

Grayson’s size did prove to be a thorn in McEachern’s side at times. Ian Schieffelin led the Rams in scoring with 14 and Chauncey Wiggins finished with 13. The Rams’ frontcourt cleaned up on the glass for stretches of times. Wiggins did most of his damage on second-chance points. 

Robert Cowherd had a solid night for the Rams. He scored 12 points, and half of his points came in overtime. 

McEachern is set to take on Collins Hill in the Elite Eight.