HATTIESBURG, Miss. – The William Carey Men's Basketball Team suffered their first loss of the season, falling to Tougaloo College 69-66 Monday night at Clinton Gym.
"Tougaloo showed a lot of fight and determination all night," said Head Coach Steve Knight. "Each time we extended our lead they came roaring back. I give them a lot of credit for hanging in there when they could have quit. Obviously, they kicked our tails around the basket and the rebounding differential was the difference in the game. They made the plays down the stretch, and we didn't."
Both teams struggled at the start of the game to find an offensive rhythm leading to a total of six points being scored in the first four minutes. After trading shots, Chad Jones got the Carey offense going with a three pointer to make it 8-7 Touglaoo. Javeon Gordon converted a pair of free throws to put the Crusaders ahead by one with Zandon Haralson and Randarius Hughes following with layups to make it 13-8 Carey with twelve minutes remaining.
Over the next seven minutes, Carey maintained the lead, pulling away to as many as nine with five minutes left in the half. The final minutes of the half saw the Crusader offense go cold allowing the Bulldogs to cut the deficit to 27-25 with just over two minutes left. From there both teams traded shots with Jamar Jenkins sending Carey into the break, up 36-30.
Cam Brown and Ankerion Gross opened the scoring for the Crusaders in the second half giving Carey a 40-31 lead. Over the next six minutes, both teams again traded shots with Tougaloo chipping away at the lead only to see WCU pull away each time eventually taking their largest lead of the night at 54-41 on a Hughes layup with twelve to play.
However, the Bulldogs picked up the defensive pressure, as the offensive found their rhythm, going an 18-4 run over a seven-minute span to take their first lead since the fifteen-minute mark of the first half. Both teams took turns with the lead over the next four minutes with Carey holding a 66-65 lead with under a minute to play.
On the Bulldogs next possession it looked as if Carey picked up a pivotal steal but instead was called for a foul sending Tougaloo to the free throw line. Tyler Hudson converted both attempts to put the Bulldogs up 67-66 with less than thirty seconds left. With Carey having enough time for one last shot Jenkins took aim from behind the arc but as the ball left his hands Antonio Patterson blocked the shot to seal the victory.
Makeem Roberts and Randarius Hughes led the offense, each finishing with thirteen points.
Carey is back in action Thursday, November 21, as they hit the road to take on Thomas University. Play is set to begin at 6:30 p.m.
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