Men's Basketball's second half & OT surge gives the Warriors a thrilling Homecoming victory

(Rochester Hills, MI) - The Rochester Christian men's basketball team opened up its 2025-26 campaign at home for Homecoming on Saturday, inviting the Knights from Kentucky Christian to the Garth Pleasant Arena. The Warriors used a second-half surge, outscoring the Knights by 11 and an overtime period, outscoring KCU by 10 points to start the season strong at 1-0. The Knights fall to 0-2 on the season. 

FIRST HALF

Tyler Allen gave RCU their first points of the season, the first two of his 13 on the day. Following a pair of KCU triple's, Tymias Williams and Dustin Farrow combined for six points. The two teams kept trading buckets, with the team tying at 13, 15, and 17. Linden Holder would hit his first of three 3-pointers on the day for a 20-17 lead. 

The Knights would convert on more than half of their 3-pointers, including one to give them a 40-35 lead. James Fisher gave the Warriors their final points of the half at the 2:02 mark, which brought the Knights' lead down to four. Over the final two minutes, the Knights would put up seven more points to give them a 52-41 lead after the opening 20 minutes. 

SECOND HALF

Linden Holder made his second "3" of the game for the Warriors' first points to start the Warriors' comeback. The Knights were able to build their lead up to 12 points, their largest of the game, at the 16:03 mark. Tymias Williams made an "and-1" to energize the Warriors bench. Darnell Thurner Jr., Jamil Mashhour, and James Fisher scored back-to-back-to-back layups for a three-point game. The Warriors' battle back to tie it ended just under 10 minutes remaining with a Tymias Williams layup. 

The teams continued to trade points until a Dustin Farrow layup and a Tymias Williams dunk gave them a five-point lead. KCU kept battling back, bringing the game back to a tie at 78 with 1:38 left in regulation. Tyler Allen made a huge 3-pointer for the Warriors on the ensuing possession. After a quick exchange of possessions, the Knights ultimately hit the tying shot with six seconds remaining. A quick KCU steal just after half court saw them miss a potential buzzer-beater. 

OVERTIME

The extra five minutes of play saw the Warriors grab the early lead with Tymias Williams and James Fisher scoring on back-to-back drives. Linden Holder and Williams would aid the lead to be pushed out to nine points, following a Linden triple. Holder had three free throws in the final minute to close out the Warriors' first win of the season. 

TOP PERFORMERS

All five Warriors starters recorded double-figure points, led by Tymias Williams with 23. James Fisher and Linden Holder each added 16, while Tyler Allen and Dustin Farrow scored 13 and 11, respectively. Linden Holder added nine assists in the game, while Williams had six. 

Dustin Farrow recorded his first double-double of the season with 11 rebounds, with Tyler Allen next up with eight. Tymias Williams created four steals, while James Fisher had three blocks. 

UP NEXT

The Warriors will next hit the court on Wednesday, November 29, when they head down to Michigan-Dearborn to open up Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) play against the Wolverines, with a 7:30 PM tipoff.