Barons basketball team wins a big one on the road

MOUNT VERNON -- There are those who think that in sports, momentum, or "the big mo," is everything.

Whether it was momentum, or simply increased confidence, the Brewton-Parker College Barons basketball team followed up its buzzer-beating win over Emmanuel College on Feb. 11 by traveling to Montgomery, Ala., and beating the Faulkner University Eagles 78-65 on Saturday, Feb. 14.

"We had never beaten them at Tyne-Davis gym," said Steve Barker, Brewton-Parker head coach, whose team improved to 8-4 in Georgia-Alabama-Carolina Conference play (13-9 overall) with the win. "They were 15-9, ranked 32nd in the nation (NAIA Division I) and had just won four straight games."

Still, in the first half the game was up for grabs. The Barons started strong and jumped out to a 19-12 lead, but Faulkner made a run and went up 34-31 at the half.

"They out-rebounded us by 24-17 in the first half," Barker said. "I told the team that if they wanted to win we had to rebound the ball."

In the second half, the Barons turned the tables on the Eagles by out-rebounding them 24-17.

"Our defense and rebounding is what won the game," Barker said. "In fact, we are now the No. 1 team in the GACC when it comes to defending field goals. We are limiting opponents to 40 percent shooting."

Faulkner (15-10 overall, 6-6 GACC) only made 25 field goals in the game and shot 35 percent, while the Barons shot 47 percent.

Junior post Bryan Jett of Hampton led Brewton-Parker with 29 points and 14 rebounds, his 14th double-double of the season. Sophomore guard Adrian Sing of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, had 17 points and three rebounds.

For Faulkner, junior guard Jonathan Battle led the scoring with 15 points, while junior Teon Jefferson followed with 14 points and pulled down nine boards.

"Faulkner beat us here (at the Student Activities Center) last month by a score of 74-49," said Barker. "It was really huge for us to go up there and do what we did Saturday."

The Barons will be back home again Thursday, Feb. 19, to play Georgia Southwestern State University (13-12, 5-7) at 2 p.m. in the Student Activities Center. Then on Saturday, Feb. 21, they head up to Dahlonega to play North Georgia College and State University (12-14, 2-10) at 5 p.m.

-BPC-