JD Davison Delivers Walk-Off Win for Maine in OT

Portland, ME – The Maine Celtics beat the College Park Skyhawks 123-122 in overtime on Thursday night behind a pair of clutch shots by Two-Way Player JD Davison.

Davison banked in a three-pointer with 4.3 seconds to play to send Maine and College Park into overtime tied at 116. Then, playing to a target score of 123, Davison’s contested layup delivered the walk-off win for the Celtics, who won their first overtime game this season. Maine was previously 0-3 in overtime games at the Portland Expo. Maine improves to 6-5 after the win and College Park slips to 5-3 in the regular season.

Five Celtics players scored in double figures, led by Davison with 36 points, eight rebounds, and six assists. Baylor Scheierman also packed the stat sheet with 23 points, 11 assists, and eight boards. Two-Way Player Anton Watson finished with 18 points and eight rebounds. Maine was lights out from beyond the arc, connecting on 19-41 (46.3%) shots from deep. The Celtics also assisted on 27 of 46 made field goals.

College Park was led by a season-high 31 points by former Maine Celtic Jordan Bowden, who buried 5-10 shots from deep. Nikola Djurisic added a new career-high 24 points and eight rebounds for the Skyhawks as six players scored in double figures.

The Celtics starting things on the right foot, scoring the first seven points of the game. Davison would score seven of his own early but College Park would respond. Mouhamed Gueye and Dominick Barlow made back-to-back layups to put the Skyhawks up 15-11. College Park would lead by as many as nine in the 1^st, but Scheierman started to heat up late in the quarter. Maine would trail 36-33 after one, with College Park shooting 68.2% (15-22) in the opening period.  

In the 2^nd, the teams would trade buckets as Maine briefly re-gained the lead. Scheierman scored five quick points, and Davison’s contested bank shot would make it a 49-48 game, but Gueye nailed a three to put College Park back up four. Watson hit a spinning lay-up followed by a three of his own to give the Celtics a 56-54 lead. College Park continued to dominate on the boards, out-rebounding Maine 28-14 in the first half. ColIlege Park led the game, 66-62 at the break. Both teams shot north of 50% in the opening half.

The 3^rd quarter started with Davison and Scheierman each scoring buckets for Maine. The Celtics and Skyhawks would go back and forth, with Watson nailing a pair of triples. Scheierman and Davison took over the game, giving Maine an 80-74 lead. The Skyhawks answered – Bowden’s free throw capped a 7-0 run to give College Park the lead. From that point, Maine and College Park would trade buckets for several minutes. Bowden’s driving lay-up put the Skyhawks up 87-86. Jay Scrubb answered to put Maine up one. Gueye scored a three-point play to put College Park up two. Gueye’s dunk gave College Park a 94-93 lead after three.

In the 4^th, Kameron Warrens drained a three to put Maine up four. Jordan Bowden answered with a three of his own. Bowden’s steal resulted in a lay-up and forced an early timeout with College Park up by one. Hason Ward’s dunk put Maine back up by one. Ward fed Davison for a bucket to put Maine up 106-103. Ward converted an and-one to extend the lead to five. Watson buried another three to give Maine its largest lead at 113-105. Durisic scored a three-point play with 1:22 left to make it a 113-110 game. Bowden made two free throws, then a costly Davison turnover resulted in a Bowden lay-up to give College Park an improbable 114-113 lead. Down by three, Davison banked in a three to tie the game at 116 with :04.3 left to force overtime.

In OT, DJ Rodman made a pair of free throws, followed by a Davison bucket, and Maine led 118-116, then the game was tied at 120 after a College Park bucket, and the Final Target Score of 123 was within reach. Rodman made another free throw, but Davison missed a shot off an offensive rebound – Maine led 121-120 but College Park had the ball. Bowden was fouled shooting a three, but only made two out of three to give the Skyhawks a 122-121 lead. On the ensuing possession, in a next basket wins scenario, Davison drove to the rim and scored from three feet out to deliver a walk-off win for the Maine Celtics, 123-122 over College Park.

PLAYER OF THE GAME: JD Davison was the Player of the Game with 36 points, eight rebounds, six assists, and three steals. Davison was 16-28 from the field, including 4-5 from beyond the arc.

THE ROAD AHEAD: The Maine Celtics and College Park Skyhawks will square off again on Saturday at the Expo in a 1 p.m. matinee. Tickets are on sale by visiting MaineCeltics.com.