Good thinks happen when RoyShawn Webb has the basketball in his hands at the end of games. It happened again Tuesday night.
Webb made a strong move to the basket and scored with 2.7 seconds left to give Mount Mercy a 68-66 victory over Viterbo in a non-conference game at the Hennessey Recreation Center.
Nearly the same thing happened Monday when the Mustangs upset 16th-ranked St. Ambrose, 80-78, in another nail-biter. Webb drove to the bucket in that game and missed, but Dennis McKinney scored on a put-back in the final second for a happy ending.
"We ran the exact same play yesterday against St. Ambrose. It was basically the same thing," said Webb, a strong left-hander who is hard to keep away from the basket.
The defensive player from Viterbo tried to stop him from penetrating, to no avail.
"I attacked him and finished the bucket," said Webb, "and we won the game."
Mount Mercy Coach Aaron Jennings called a timeout with 14.6 seconds after Viterbo tied the game, 66-66, on a 3-pointer by Noah Fredrickson. Webb would have the ball and would begin his attack with seven seconds remaining, either getting to the basket or finding an open teammate.
"That play was drawn up for him," said Jennings. "He's so devastating. We had all the options, but he was the No. 1 option because he has the basketball."
The score was tied 14 times in the tight ballgame and the lead changed hands nine times. Neither team led by more than by eight points. The contest was reminiscent of the season opener between these two teams, when Mount Mercy prevailed 74-73 in La Crosse, Wis.
Viterbo called a timeout with 2.7 seconds left Tuesday night after Webb scored, but Tyler Kelley deflected the in-bounds near midcourt and time expired.
Two games, two straight nights, two tight wins that snapped a three-game losing streak.
"It definitely feels great for us as a team," said Webb. "We go into the (holiday) break feeling good about ourselves, but we still have a lot of work to do."
Mount Mercy raised its record to 7-6. Viterbo fell to 4-8.
"We're hoping that we're getting better," said Jennings. "We're talking about getting better, we're talking about improving possession by possession, game by game, and to fight.
"To win these games late, that's what playoff time is all about. That's what the end of the season is all about," he said. "So we're learning something about ourselves and hopefully we're moving in the right direction."
Bailey Basala led the Mustangs with 15 points, six rebounds and six assists. McKinney finished with 12 points and seven rebounds. Webb provided 11 points and five rebounds. Davion Watson had 10 points and seven rebounds.
Fredrickson scored 23 points for Viterbo.
VITERBO (66): Robert Cunitz 2-10 1-1 6, Jack Monis 5-10 1-2 11, Tyree Young 6-9 1-4 14, Noah Fredrickson 9-16 1-2 23, Brady Polk 0-4 1-2 1, Alex Clement 0-2 0-0 0, Nicholas Malovrh 0-0 0-0 0, Jesse Kutz 1-2 0-0 2, Nolan Martin 3-3 0-0 9. Totals 26-56 5-11 66.
MOUNT MERCY (68): Tyler Kelley 3-8 0-0 6, Dennis McKinney 4-12 2-2 12, Davion Watson 5-10 0-1 10, Bailey Basala 6-13 1-1 15, RoyShawn Webb 5-6 1-2 11, Julian Hehmann 0-0 0-0 0, Streeter McIlravy 3-7 2-2 9, Christian Reischauer 0-2 0-0 0, DJ Johnson 1-2 2-2 5. Totals 27-60 8-10 68.
Halftime - Mount Mercy 29, Viterbo 29. 3-point goals - Viterbo 9-22 (Fredrickson 4-7, Martin 3-3, Young 1-3, Cunitz 1-6, Monis 0-1, Polk 0-1, Clement 0-1), Mount Mercy 6-20 (Basala 2-8, McKinney 2-9, Johnson 1-2, McIlravy 1-3, Watson 0-2, Reischauer 0-2, Kelley 0-4).
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