Springfield trailed 101-75 with less than 11 minutes left.
Springfield coach Bob MacKinnon saw the Armor lost 115-111 to the BayHawks in Erie, Pa., Friday night.
ERIE, Pa. – Springfield coach Bob MacKinnon had a bit of a homecoming on Friday in Erie.
The BayHawks weren't cordial hosts.
Springfield tied a season-high with 39 points in the fourth quarter but Erie held off a furious Armor rally to hang on to a 115-111 win in front of 2,782 fans at Erie Insurance Arena.
“I thought we had a stretch between the three- and two-minute mark where we had four turnovers and they were unforced mistakes,” MacKinnon said. “We stepped out of bounds and those are plays that really matter.”
MacKinnon, a Buffalo (N.Y.) native with most of his family in attendance, is a former coach at Mercyhurst College. He spent three seasons with the Lakers and always enjoys returning to Erie.
“The people of Erie are great people and always fun to come near home,” MacKinnon said. “I enjoyed my time here and have wonderful relationships with the people here.”
MacKinnon was happy to travel to Erie, but he would have been more pleased if the Armor had completed their comeback.
Springfield (18-28) trailed 101-75 with 10 minutes, 12 seconds left after a 3-pointer from Nick Covington before going on a 39-10 run over the next 10 minutes. Carleton Scott, a Notre Dame product, had 11 points during the run, including three 3-pointers and a dunk. Ramone Moore scored seven of his 17 points during the run as well.
Dennis Horner scored on a layup with 16.5 seconds left to cut Erie's lead to 114-111 and Demonte Harper made only 1-of-2 from the free throw line one second later to give the BayHawks a 115-111 lead.
The Armor missed two shots over the next 10 seconds and had to foul with four seconds left.
Erie, which blew a 14-point lead on Thursday in a 109-102 loss to Maine, needed a win Friday to stay in the playoff race.
Springfield will get one more shot at the BayHawks Monday at 1 p.m. before heading to Texas on Wednesday to take on Austin.
“This is a league of opportunity and getting into the playoffs is just more opportunity to be seen,” MacKinnon said. “Every game is important whether you are in the playoffs or not. Every game you play is on your resume and we did what we were supposed to do. These guys are professionals and as professionals they are to play to the end.”
Springfield shot 37% in the first quarter and had one assist on its 20 field goals. The Armor started sharing the ball more over the final three quarters to stay close enough to Erie to make one final run in the fourth quarter.
Scott finished with 20 points to pace Springfield and pulled down six rebounds, all on the defensive end. Edwin Ubiles scored 16 points followed by 13 from Kris Joseph, 12 from Ben Uzoh and 11 points by Willie Reed. Horner led the Armor with nine rebounds and Springfield outrebounded the BayHawks 48-41.
“Springfield has a great team and they threw everything they had at us,” BayHawks coach Gene Cross said. “We can't take them lightly and they have the ability to score in bunches. We have to be ready for Monday.”
Harper scored a career-high 23 points to lead Erie, which was missing star center Henry Sims for personal reasons and standout guard Mustafa Shakur, who was injured Thursday in Maine. Cory Higgins added 20 points, while Keith Benson had 16 points and 10 rebounds.
Kyle Goldcamp battled an ankle injury to score 11 points and Tirrell Baines and Nick Covington each scored 10 points for Erie.