For the Golden Eagles, playing from behind is not a big deal and they've done it multiple times this season. But playing against the top seeded team in the semifinals of a national tournament alone is a tall task and even steeper when you are always playing catch-up.

And, the Eagles burdened themselves by falling behind early and carried the cross of a deficit all night long before finally drawing to within two points, but only :12.3 seconds were left to play. They trailed all night long, but never more than 13 points in losing to top seeded Penn State Wilkes Barre 77-72, just one win shy of playing in the USCAA National Basketball Championship game at Virginia State University.

The story of the first half and game for KSU Tusc was the play of Kyle Shockley. The wily sophomore singlehandedly staved off any thoughts of a Mountain Lion runaway by burning the nets for 25 of the Eagles 33 first half points.

While the rest of the team could manage just 4/23 shooting (17%) in the opening stanza, Shockley was on fire sinking 8/11 action shots for 73%. He was also perfect from behind the arc converting on all three of his attempts, while his teammates wore the collar via an 0/9 showing.

With the Eagles down 23-13 and 9:54 left in the half, Shockley scored nine straight points to close the gap to 23-22. But the Lions scored the next six points to take a nine-point 29-22 lead with 5:29 left.

Following a Grant Haynam basket to cut the deficit to five points, Shockley went on a tear again scoring the last seven KSU Tusc points of the half and canned a triple at the buzzer. That big shot kept the lead in single digits at 40-33 and gave the Eagles some momentum.

A DeJuan Lawrence hoop to start the final 20 minutes trimmed the lead to 40-35, but it soon climbed to 11 points (49-38) and took a turn for the worse at 13 points (57-44) with 11:59 to play. A Kameron Shockley basket and a pair of free throws by Kyle Shockley got the Eagles back in striking distance (57-48) before the latter was whistled for his fourth foul with 9:58 to go.

With the younger Shockley on the bench, the Eagles needed to find some scoring and they did so in the form of London Cobbs and Kameron Shockley. The duo combined for 16 of the Eagles final points of the game, while Lawrence scored four points during the stretch. Kyle Shockley returned to the lineup with 1:20 left and tallied four points before fouling out with just seconds left in the game.

At the 2:14 mark, things really looked bleak as the Eagles fell behind 71-62. They kept up the pressure and brought themselves back to within 74-72, but only :12.3 seconds remained on the game clock. Wilkes Barre converted four free throws down the stretch to knock the Eagles out of the final four.

The Lions only made three more field goals than the Golden Eagles and both teams made five three-balls. The Eagles held the edge at the free throw line by just one toss. Wilkes Barre also held the edge in second chance points scoring 25 points to the Eagles 13.

Kyle Shockley led all scorers with 35 points, while Cobbs added 13 and Kameron Shockley 10. Lawrence hauled down six rebounds and blocked four shots.

The Golden Eagles finish the season with a 21-10 record.

Kameron Shockely gets fouled on his way to the basket along the baseline and Kyle Shockley scores two of his game-high 35 points.

London Cobbs wrestled this ball away from a Lions defender for a basket, while DeJuan Lawrence is squeezed while vying for a rebound.

(Photos by Rob Brindley)