By Matthew D. Stokes
BerryVikings.com Staff Writer

ROME, Ga. – Michael Schulte scored six of his 16 points in overtime and five Berry College players scored in double figures as the Vikings earned their first victory of the season with a 93-90 overtime win against Rust College Saturday afternoon at the Cage Center.

"It's been a long time of frustration," said Berry head coach Jeff Haarlow of the team's 17-game winless streak to start 2011-2012. "The guys deserve more wins than we've got, but I'm sure as heck proud of them for how hard they've fought."

The fight that Haarlow spoke up showed up in the box score, where Berry, which features just one player taller than six-foot-two, outrebounded its opponent for the first time this season.  The Vikings held a 49-39 advantage overall on the boards, with a 13-11 advantage on the offensive glass and a 32-28 advantage on the defensive side. 

Berry's 48.6 percent shooting mark was its highest of the season.

Berry started the game strong, leading by as much as nine points in the first half. But Rust battled back and took a 42-39 advantage into the locker room at halftime.

The second half was a hotly contested affair that saw host Berry ahead by as many as six points with less than three minutes left in regulation. Once again, Rust found a way to stay in the game, tying the game with 22.8 seconds remaining on a Larry Veasley jumper.

With less than five seconds on the clock and the score tied 76-76, Berry's Mac Whalen drove to the top of the key, where he was stunningly and inexplicably fouled by Rust's Justycze Clark. But Whalen missed both ensuing free throws, sending the game to overtime.

In the extra five-minute period, Schulte scored six points and Hunter Smoak tacked on five more, accounting for 11 of Berry's 19 points in that span.

Berry looked to have control when Jonathan Abrams hit a pair of free throws to put the Vikings ahead 93-85 with 32 seconds left in overtime. But Rust's Shunn Thompson hit a free throw with 10 seconds left to cut the Beacats' deficit to seven points.  Rust grabbed the ball on the next possession and William Montgomery was fouled and sent to the line, where he hit his first free throw before purposely missing his second. The carom was picked up by Thompson, who found Montgomery alone above the key, allowing Montgomery to drop in a 3-pointer and pull the Bearcats to within three points. 

Thompson would foul Whalen with two seconds on the clock and when Whalen was unable to convert from the charity stripe, the Bearcats had one last attempt, but a desperation three-quarter court attempt was wide, giving Berry its first win of the season and sending its student section streaming onto the court to celebrate.

"When you're in the streak that we were in, you just have to get some confidence, and we did," Haarlow said. "It just carried the whole time through."

Five Berry players scored double digits, led by Nasser Almulla with 20 points. Lake Graham tacked home 18, Schulte finished with 16 and Whalen and Abrams had 10 apiece.

Graham and Whalen led Berry with nine rebounds apiece, while Smoak dished out a team high six assists.

Veasley led the visitors with 26 points. He was followed by William Montgomery, who in addition to his 15 points had 10 rebounds and nine assists, and Markeith Wilson, who scored 13 points.

Berry returns to the hardwood on Tuesday in a home affair with Huntingdon at 7 p.m.

- BerryVikings.com -