Jameel Cosby hit two foul shots for Kenton Ridge with three seconds left in regulation to tie the game at 54-54. Mac Davis hit a 3-pointer for Northeastern with 2:40 left in the third to give the Jets the lead for good. After Michael Baker hit two foul shots to bring Kenton Ridge within 57-56, the Jets went on a big run.
Hayes hit a shot with two minutes left to put the Jets up by three, and the Jets hit three foul shots over the next minute to build an insurmountable lead. The Cougars had three fouls called in the last 30 seconds, including a technical foul, and the Jets added five more foul shots to run away.
Kenton Ridge led 44-43 at the end of the third quarter. Cosby hit a 3-pointer with 5:06 left in the fourth to boost the Cougars’ lead to 49-46, but the led was short lived. The Jets scored the next five points to go up 51-49.
Baker hit a free throw to cut the Jets’ lead to one, but Hayes scored with a little under two minutes left to extend the lead to three points. Josh Lenk followed with a foul shot for Northeastern with about 35 seconds left to extend the lead to four. Kenton Ridge missed two 3-pointers on its next possession, but Cosby grabbed a rebound off the second miss and hit a mid-range shot with 12 seconds left to bring the Cougars within two points.
Kenton Ridge fouled Hayes shortly after the inbounds pass, and he missed two resulting free throw attempts. Cosby drove inside and was fouled with three seconds left and hit two resulting foul shots to tie the game.
Hayes scored the game’s first basket with 6:49 left in the first quarter to reach 1,000 career points. He almost didn’t get the shot off. A Kenton Ridge player ripped the ball out of his hands in the low post, but the ball hit off of Hayes’s legs and rolled forward close to the basket. Hayes was able to grab the ball, jump up and hit the shot off the glass to make Northeastern history.
Hayes led Northeastern with 28 points in the game to go to 1,026 total career points. Cosby led Kenton Ridge with 22.
The Jets evened their record to 4-4, while Kenton Ridge fell to 0-7.
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