Barons split pair of conference games


MOUNT VERNON -- After winning four straight games, the Brewton-Parker men's basketball team held its conference destiny in its own hands last week.

On Thursday, Jan. 29, the Barons kept their Georgia-Alabama-Carolina Conference championship hopes alive by beating Shorter College at the Student Activities Center 71-63.

But on Saturday, they watched those hopes fade as they lost to Southern Polytechnic State University by a score of 92-82.

"Southern Poly was 7-0 going into the game and we were 5-2," Brewton-Parker coach Steve Barker said of the teams' GACC records. "A win would have put us one game out of first place with a realistic shot at competing for the conference. The loss left us in second place at 5-3 with them now 8-0, and that is not where we wanted to be."

The Barons (10-8 overall) were prepared for Shorter (12-8 overall, 4-4 GACC after defeating Emmanuel College 77-67 on Saturday).

"The Hawks are known for their 2-3 zone, which forces you to take outside shots," said Barker, who had the Barons spend three days practicing to face the zone. "The guys focused on what I had to say about how to beat the zone."

Brewton-Parker responded by shooting 58 percent from long range, making 10 of 17 of their 3-point efforts. The Barons out-rebounded the Hawks 35-32 and were in control the whole game. The Barons led 37-26 at halftime.

With six minutes to go, Shorter closed the gap to six, but "we responded," said Barker. "(Junior guard) Tre Hill (of Waycross) hit a 3, we got a stop at the other end, then (senior guard) Jarvis Smith (of Atlanta) hit another 3 which bumped it back to 13." The game's outcome was never in doubt after that.

Junior post Bryan Jett of Hampton led the Barons with 18 points and 15 rebounds for his second double double in a row and 11th of the season, and he also blocked five shots. Senior post Hector Solano of Miami, Fla., had 15 points and five rebounds.

Shorter's leading scorer was senior guard Dan Bryant with a game-high 23 points.

The win gave Brewton-Parker sole possession of second place in the GACC going into its match-up with Southern Polytechnic on Saturday.

"Southern Poly is an up-tempo, full-court pressure, man-to-man team." Barker said. "We spent one full day practicing against that before the game."

Nevertheless the Barons committed 29 turnovers and compounded matters by missing 16 foul shots.

The Runnin' Hornets (18-4, 8-0) played a 10-man rotation and kept the pressure on throughout the game. "They wore us down," Barker said. "They have a lot of depth."

The Barons really lost the game in the first half, making only eight field goals and getting out-rebounded 23-14 to trail 41-27 at the midway point.

"I asked them to be more focused during the second half and they came out and cut the deficit to nine in the first two minutes of the half," Barker said.

The Barons went on to outscore the Hornets, who were ranked No. 14 in last week's NAIA Division I national ratings, in the second half by 55-51. Still, it was not enough to pull out the win or impress Barker.

"We have problems with teams that come out and just flat get after us," said Barker. "Championship teams relish those confrontations, that opportunity to show their heart. Right now, as a team, we are not rising to meet the challenge."

Still, Jett stepped up for his third double-double in a row with 20 points and 12 boards, while sophomore guard Adrian Sing of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, had 15 points with six assists.

For the Hornets, junior guard Tabius Tate led the scoring with 21 points and also had 10 rebounds for a double-double.

"I guess you could say that only losing by 10 with as bad as we played shows that there is room for improvement," said Barker. "We will be practicing against the full-court press today and every day until further notice."

Now 5-3 in the GACC, the Barons will face Southern Wesleyan University on Thursday in Central, S.C. Southern Wesleyan has an identical record to Brewton-Parker so this will be a battle for second place in the conference.

The Barons then come home to play Auburn University Montgomery (5-12, 1-7) in the Student Activities Center on Saturday for homecoming at 4 p.m.

-BPC-
 

Brewton-Parker College senior guard Jarvis Smith (No. 3) fires a first-half shot against Southern Polytechnic State University juniors Troy Sledge (33) and Chris Jackson (14) while Barons senior post Bryan Jett (12) eyes the play during first-half action of the teams' Georgia-Alabama-Carolina Conference game played Saturday, Jan. 31, in the Student Activities Center on the Brewton-Parker campus in Mount Vernon. The visitng Runnin' Hornets won 92-82, building their GACC lead to three games with an 8-0 record. (Photo by Josh Niswonger)