Katy, Texas—Devin Gibson picked a good time to get his second career triple-double. Without it, the Roadrunners would have come up short in their opening round game with the number two seed Northwestern State Demons. Instead Gibson led the Roadrunners to a thrilling 97-96 victory and into the conference semifinals.
“What a basketball game,” Roadrunners’ Head Coach Brooks Thompson said. “Northwestern State played a fabulous game.”
After the Roadrunners scored the first bucket of the game, the Demons proved why they were the two seed as they scored early and often from beyond the arc.
The Roadrunners kept it close early but the Demons kept knocking down threes. The Roadrunners got down as far as 11 points down before sending the game into the intermission down 49-43 on a last second Larry Wilkins layup.
The Demons came out in the second half just as hot from beyond the arc as they had been in the first half. As the lead continued to grow, it appeared that the Demons would banish the Roadrunners from the tournament.
With the Demons up 14, 81-67, with 7:40 left, it was all but certain that the Roadrunners season would end and with it the collegiate career of Devin Gibson. Someone forgot to tell the Roadrunners as they went on a six-and-a-half minute, 26-12 run to tie the game at 93 with 1:12 remaining.
“We never gave up,” Gibson said. “We came out, we got down, but we never gave up.”
With the game turned on its head, the Roadrunners continued their miraculous comeback, solidifying it with two seconds left when Gibson found Jeromie Hill under the basket. Hill dunked the ball and in the process sent the Roadrunners back to the semifinals for the first time since they knocked off Nicholls in the 2009 tournament.
“I knew Devin was going to make a play,” Hill said. “I was just trying to find an opening; all I had to do was finish it.
Hill finished the game and the Demons season. Those final two points gave Hill a career high 25 points, good for second behind Gibson who finished with 28 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists to register his second triple-double this season.
Gibson’s play left Thompson speechless after the game.
“I don’t know how to accept it, it is very remarkable,” Thompson said. “That’s what senior leaders do.”