BPC Men Drop SSAC Games

Courtesy of BPC

The Brewton-Parker College men's basketball team played two games last week and fell in both Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC) games against Stillman (Ala.) and Tennessee Southern. vs. Stillman

Brewton-Parker Men’s Basketball took on Stillman (Ala.) in Gillis Gymnasium on Thursday night to start SSAC action. The Barons (4-4) fell to the Tigers (3-2) 64-52 in a tight battle on the home hardwood.

BPC took a quick lead, with a trey from Grant Sanders 40 seconds into play. Stillman responded with a 6-0 run to put the Barons in a three-point deficit. The Barons regained the lead with three points from Jordan Johnson and a point from Damarcus Johnson Jr.

The Barons’ onepoint lead did not last long, as the Tigers went on to tie the game at 10 with 12:15 left. A big slam from Sanders sparked a 10-3 Brewton-Parker run led by six points from Ferlin Joseph Jr. and Chris Spenkuch with two to give the Barons a 20-13 lead with 4:56 left.

Stillman found a groove and cut the lead down to one with an 8-2 run, but Dre Burroughs extended the lead back to four with a three. With a tip-in from Joseph Jr., the Barons took a 27-24 lead going into halftime.

Stillman struck at the start of the half, with a 5-2 run to tie the game at 29 with 17:26 on the clock. After some slow back and forth for the next few minutes, the Barons came out with a 38-37 lead with 12:54 on the clock.

The Tigers took a 4138 lead with a pair of jump shots. Lance Smith was able to tie the game at 41 with a big “and one” and a made free throw at the 11:40 mark.

Over the next three minutes, Stillman took an 8-0 run to put the Barons in an eight-point deficit with 8:34 left to play. A layup from Kendall Norrington Jr. put the Barons back within six points, but the Tigers responded with a three to increase their lead to nine points.

After two scoreless minutes, Stillman increased their lead to 13 with four unanswered points with 4:34 on the clock. The Barons cut the Tigers lead to 8 with a late 7-2 run, thanks to four points from Johnson, two from Joseph Jr, and a free throw from Zailan Blue.

The game ended with a Tigers 6-2 run for a 6452 loss for the Barons.

BPC shot 37.5 % (21of-56) from the floor, 16.7% (3-of-16) from three, and 33.3% (7-of-21) from the foul line. Joseph led the Barons with a double-double performance, scoring 16 points and snagging 11 boards. Smith led the team with three assists and netted 11 points as well. Defensively, Brewton- Parker forced 17 turnovers from Stillman while notching 10 steals in the process. vs. Tennessee Southern

Brewton-Parker Men’s Basketball continued SSAC action as they took on Tennessee Southern in Gillis Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon. The Barons (4-5, 0-2 SSAC) were downed by the Firehawks (6-2, 2-0 SSAC) in a thrilling 6765 overtime battle.

The Barons started the half with a 7-2 run, sparked by a dunk and a jumper from Grant Sanders followed up by three points from Lance Smith. UT Southern responded with six straight points to take an 8-7 lead with 11:01 on the clock.

BPC put together a stretch of seven points led by a trey from Dre Burroughs, and two points each from Damarcus Johnson Jr. and Chris Spenkuch to take a sixpoint lead with 9:17 left in the half.

The Firehawks gained some momentum in the last eight minutes of the half, taking a 15-4 run to put the Barons in a 23-18 deficit going into half time.

UT Southern struck first in the second half to extend the Barons’ deficit to seven. A three from Burroughs sparked a 7-2 run to cut the Firehawks’ lead to two with 15:19 left in the game.

Brewton-Parker cut the lead down to one point thanks to six points from Smith, leaving 13:28 to play. Over the next five minutes, the Firehawks produced a 13-5 run to take the biggest lead of the night, holding a 47-38 advantage at the 8:34 mark.

Spenkuch led with six points in a 15-10 stretch that put the Barons back to a two-possession ball game with 31 seconds left. Burroughs got sent to the line and made both free throws to place BPC within two. A huge layup from Spenkuch with 12 seconds left would send the game to overtime tied at 57-57.

Overtime saw both teams on the free throw line within the first 30 seconds, staying even at 59-all. The teams went back and forth for the next three minutes, coming out tied at 63 with 1:34 left on the clock.

The Barons were not able to hold on, as the Firehawks dropped the Barons 67-65 with four points on the foul line sealing the game.

BPC shot 39.7 % (25of-63) from the floor, 23.5% (4-of-17) from three, and 61.1% (11-of-18) from the foul line. Smith led the team with 25 points and seven assists. Spenkuch led the team with seven rebounds while also scoring 13 points. Burroughs also was in double-digit points with 10. Defensively, Brewton-Parker forced 19 turnovers from the Firehawks while notching 15 steals. BPC narrowly won the rebounding battle, 37- 35.

BPC hosted Coastal Georgia on Monday of this week after presstime, and will not be back in action until after the Thanksgiving break.