Xavier Rose reached a coveted milestone, and he and his teammates earned the hard-fought win in one of the most thrilling games of the season so far as TBC Eagles Men's Basketball defeated NCCAA D-2 #8 Champion Christian College 80-75 Thursday evening on the home court. Rose was one of two Eagles to score 20+, and in so doing, he surpassed 1,000 points for his college career, all as an Eagle.

Rose entered play with 979 points and needing 21 to reach the milestone that a low percentage of college players at any level reach.

Rose got his first two tallies at the line as part of a 12-point first half up until the final two seconds. He was 4 for 11 from the field and 4 for 4 at the line at that moment. However, after a layup and a free throw from Diego Fernandez with 2 seconds left, Rose intercepted the long football-style inbound pass in the TBC backcourt and launched a buzzer-beating three-pointer from behind the midcourt stripe as time expired to bring his total to 15.

The Eagles went into the intermission leading 39-28 with Rose 6 points away from 1,000.

Those 6 points came in the second half. Rose hit a three-pointer early and a layup later to reach 999. A foul with 9:09 left to play put him at the line, where he made both shots. The first was career point 1,000.

Rose hit the second, and the game continued.

Also figuring huge for the Eagles was Fernandez, who scored 10 points in each half for a total of 20. Fernandez was 5 for 12 from the field and 10 for 11 at the line.

Champion chipped away at their 11-point halftime deficit, and a three-pointer from Damian Bohlman tied the score at 61-all at the 7:09 mark. The teams traded 6-point runs to a 67-67 tie with 4:08 left to play.

Brandon Hill's layup then gave the Eagles the lead for good, but Champion did not make it easy. They got to within 1 point two more times but could not get the go-ahead bucket to drop.

Ian Kanady made two crucial foul shots with 9 seconds left to make the score 78-75, and after an unforced error by Champion, Ethan Bray sealed the win with a layup with 6 seconds left.

Kanady scored 11 total points, and Hill and Jacquez Anderson (2 threes) each had 8. Bray finished with 4, and DJ Thompson and Ja'Maryus Pringle each contributed 2 very important points. TBC shot 41% overall and 50% in the second half to earn the win. Champion got double-digit scoring from five different men and shot 40% from the field, including 54% in the secnd half. 

The Eagles will host NAIA Ave Maria University at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday then travel for three games against NCAA Division 2 teams: Palm Beach Atlantic in West Palm Beach on December 17 and Florida Technical College and Lynn University – both in Orlando – on December 20 and 21.