MOUNT VERNON -- The Georgia-Alabama-Carolina Conference can be a rough and tumble world. Just ask the Brewton-Parker College men's basketball team.
On Thursday, Feb. 5, the Barons played for sole possession of second place in the GACC but lost to the Southern Wesleyan University Warriors 69-65 in Central, S.C., to fall all the way to fifth place.
On Saturday, Feb. 7, Brewton-Parker bounced back to beat Auburn University Mongtomery (Ala.) 71-58 on homecoming at the Student Activities Center in Mount Vernon.
Because both Southern Wesleyan (11-9 overall, 6-4 GACC) and conference leader Southern Polytechnic State University (18-5, 9-1) lost their Saturday games, the Barons (11-9, 6-4) then found themselves back tied for second again -- with Faulkner (Ala.) University (15-8, 6-4) and SWU at the conclusion of the weekend's basketball action.
"I felt good that we were able to refocus after the loss and the tiring road trip and do what we had to do on Saturday," Barons coach Steve Barker said.
The Barons return to action Wednesday, a change from Thursday because of the Georgia High School Association's Region 3-AA Tournament at the Student Activities Center, when they take on Emmanuel College at 8 p.m. On Saturday, they will travel to Montgomery, Ala., to play Faulkner in a key GACC match-up.
"Southern Wesleyan has been playing extremely well," Barker said of last week's first game. "So that was a big, big conference game."
The Barons defended and shot well in the first half to lead 29-24 at halftime, and they had a 10-point lead with six minutes remaining in the game before the host Warriors stuck back.
"Southern Wesleyan went to a 1-2-2 zone at the six-minute mark and we went ice cold," said Barker. "No one stepped up to make a big shot."
The lack of outside shooting spelled doom for the Barons, who were a dreadful 3-for-20 from 3-point range on the night. To make matters worse Brewton-Parker was out-rebounded 34-27.
Senior post Hector Solano of Miami, Fla., led the Barons in scoring with 18 points and eight rebounds. Junior post Bryan Jett of Hampton had 16 points and six rebounds.
Junior forward Brandon Allen was the top scorer for the Warriors with 14 points and six rebounds. The win put SWU in sole possession of second place in the GACC and dropped Brewton-Parker to fifth in the conference race -- at least, until Saturday.
"We had to bounce back for homecoming," said Barker. After a tangle with Atlanta traffic and a major tie-up on Interstate 85, the Barons did not get back to Mount Vernon from Central, S.C., until 5:30 a.m. Friday, leaving themselves less then 48 hours before the big game.
"I was concerned because AUM has been playing a lot of zone," said Barker. "Getting back late from Southern Wesleyan potentially meant no legs for the Saturday game."
Sure enough, the Barons quickly fell behind in the game and were down 22-15 to the Senators early.
Then sophomore guard Adrian Sing of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, put four in from long range and Hector Solano made a lay-up at the buzzer and the Barons held a 31-28 point lead at the half.
In the second half, the Barons continued to make shots and, after their lead grew to 11, AUM came out of its zone to play man-to-man and the Barons maintained a double-digit lead the rest of the way.
Jett was the leading scorer for the Barons with his 13th double-double of the season, 15 points and 10 rebounds, while junior guard Tre Hill of Waycross had 15 points and six assists. Junior guard Akeem Hardman of AUM (6-13, 2-8) was the leading scorer in the game with 23 points.
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