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Barons win two, lose one in SSAC action

Some might say that two out of three ain't bad, but not Steve Barker, head men's basketball coach for Brewton-Parker College, of his team's effort last week.
After beating Emmanuel College 65-64 last Monday at Franklin Springs, then stunning Georgia Southwestern State University 65-61 on Thursday at home in Gillis Gymnasium, the Barons lost to North Georgia 98-82 on Saturday in Dahlonega.

Brewton-Parker College junior guard Adrian Sing drives through the lane for a lay-up for two of his 33 points in the Barons' 65-61 win over Georgia Southwestern State University on Thursday, Jan. 13, in Southern States Athletic Conference action at Gillis Gymnasium on the Brewton-Parker campus in Mount Vernon. (Photo by Charles Conkin)

"We had a chance to make it three in a row," said Barker, whose team is 9-9 overall and 3-7 in Southern States Athletic Conference after the 2-for-3 week. "I was very disappointed with the way we played Saturday.
The week started out well as Brewton-Parker picked up a much-needed victory over the Emmanuel Lions Monday night.
" We were in dire need of a win going to Emmanuel," said Barker, whose had been plagued by poor shooting, non-existent rebounding and sloppy ball-handling thus far in the season. Barker switched things up, and as a result, "For the first time in many years I started five guards," he added.
The strategy worked as the Barons jumped out to a 14-4 lead in the first eight minutes. Emmanuel then made some adjustments and closed to within three points of the Barons to make it 35-32 at the half, but as the game progressed the Lions were unable to pull the game out for the home-court fans.
Sophomore guard Tylson Boyd of Columbia, S.C., led the Barons with 16 points, and junior guard Adrian Sing of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, was Brewton-Parker's second leading scorer with 13.
Senior forward Ryan Parry of Tanawah, Australia, and senior guard-forward David Byrne of Rincon each had six rebounds as the Barons were out-rebounded by only one board, 36-35, by the Lions.
Junior guard Ryan Frazee put in a game-high 22 points for Emmanuel (3-16, 2-8 SSAC at week's end).
" We still were not taking care of the ball," said Barker. "We turned it over 24 times."
Against Georgia Southwestern, the Barons methodically built a five-point halftime lead on the strength of better shooting. In the second half, the Barons held their own, finally out-shooting the Hurricanes 44 percent to 39 percent from the floor in the game. Brewton-Parker ended up making 24 field goals against 20 for the 'Canes (11-5, 4-5 SSAC at week's end).
Sing exploded for 33 points to lead all scoring accounting for more than half the Barons' output. Byrne added 10 points, as did Boyd. The Barons forced 22 turnovers while they gave the ball away 18 times.
Senior forward Dontae Truitt, who had been burning up the conference averaging 41 points per game, was limited to 26 points. Truitt, who was named NAIA player of the Week last week and SSAC Player of the Week the past two weeks, also had 14 rebounds for a double-double.
" This was the first time this season when I felt that we just had a total team effort," Barker said.
On Saturday, the Barons rolled into Dahlonega fresh off of two conference victories looking for good things to happen. The Barons started out strong and trailed the North Georgia Saints (12-5, 7-2 SSAC) by only five at the half, thanks to a buzzer-beating trey by senior guard Ben McGlynn of Mooloolaba, Australia.
In the second half, the Saints started hitting from long range, led by junior guard Mark Causey of Gainesville, Ga., and the Barons seemed powerless in stopping him. After a string of 3-pointers by Causey, the Saints held a 24-point lead.
The Barons rallied to chip into that lead but were still on the wrong end of a 16-point gap at the end. Causey was the scoring leader in the game with 30 points. Senior post Canaan Brown had a double double for the Saints putting in 12 points and grabbing 12 boards.
Junior reserve Justin Bess of Miami stepped up to lead the Barons with 21 points. Two other Barons were in double figures: senior guard Tré Hill of Waycross and Boyd with 12 points apiece.
Again, the Barons had trouble protecting the ball, turning it over 17 times compared to just 12 miscues by the Saints. "We came out like we wanted to play and had a solid first half" said Barker, "but in the second period we were just totally out-played."
The Barons next see action when they host Shorter College (3-10, 0-8 SSAC) in Gillis Gymnasium on Thursday for an 8 p.m. tip-off.
Brewton-Parker then steps out of conference play on Saturday, when the Barons play Allen University (S.C.) for homecoming beginning at about 5 p.m. They then entertain Southern Wesleyan University (S.C.) in SSAC play Monday, Jan. 24, starting at 8 p.m. in Gillis Gymnasium.

-BPC-