C-SC men climb into sixth place in conference race with overtime victory at Clarke

DUBUQUE, Iowa — The Culver-Stockton College men’s basketball team outscored Clarke University 17-6 in overtime to post a 94-83 Heart of America Athletic Conference victory Wednesday night at the Kehl Center.

The Wildcats, who have three of their last four games, improve to 10-11 overall and 8-9 in the Heart. They are in sixth place in the conference, one game out of fifth place and a half-game ahead of Peru State and Grand View. C-SC is trying to qualify for the conference’s postseason tournament for the first time since the 2018-19 season.

C-SC led 71-64 with five minutes remaining, but the Pride clawed their way back to 75-74 on a bucket by Jake Layman with 47 seconds left. Clarke chose to foul Gabe Cox with nine seconds remaining, and Cox buried both free throws to give C-SC a 77-74 lead.

After a timeout, Clarke went the length of the court, and Layman drained a game-tying 3-pointer with 2.6 seconds left in regulation. C-SC’s Robert Fry II got off a quality shot at the end of regulation that clanged off the rim, sending the game to overtime.

The Wildcats netted the first five points and nine of the first 10 points of the extra period to pull away for the victory.

Connor Davis, a Quincy University transfer, scored a career-high 26 points. He made 9 of 14 shots from the field, including 4-for-6 from the 3-point arc, and made all four free throws he attempted. Fry and Seth Larson both finished with 21 points. Larson added a team-high 13 rebounds.

The Wildcats return home to face Benedictine College on Saturday in Canton, Mo.