Champion ends semester with road win
SPRINGFIELD, MO. — Champion Christian College will end the fall semester with a winning record for the first time in program history after besting Baptist Bible College on the road Thursday.
The Tigers (5-3) trailed 5-0 in the first 40 seconds and 15-3 five minutes into the game. Baptist shot 8-for-17 from distance in the first half, but Champion fought back to trail only 40-38 at the end of the first half.
“Playing an undersized team, I thought we underestimated them and just didn’t show up to play,” said Champion head coach Jesse Byrd. “We didn’t commit to winning on the defensive end of the floor.”
Champion surged forward to a
10-point lead five minutes into the second half.
“But, again, we didn’t lock in defensively and allowed them to stay within reach getting within four with five minutes left,” Byrd said. “It also showed how much we missed Austin Pike, our starting small forward, out with a calf injury.”
Senior Cody Connor led the Tigers with
33 points on 13-for-24 shooting on the way to an 87-78 win. Connor also led the team with 13 rebounds and six assists.
The team shot 33-for-65 overall, but only 2-for-10 from three-point range.
“It was definitely not our best game, but we were able to grind out an ugly win and go into the break with a winning record for the first time in school history,” Byrd said.
Sophomore DeMarkiyo DeVoil, from Bastrop, La., earned a double-double with
15 points on 6-for-10 shooting and 10 rebounds. Senior Pargo Williams, of Baltimore, Md., had 12 points on 5-for-8 shooting and five assists.
Trevon Reed, a sophomore from Blevins, added nine points and tied for the team lead with six assists. Freshmen Laine Waddle, from Columbus, Texas, and Anton Pirtle, from Memphis, Tenn., added nine points and seven points, respectively.
Champion is next scheduled to play Jan. 2 in Bank of the Ozarks Arena at 8 p.m. against National Park College. The Tigers fought for a 108-102 double-overtime victory over the visiting Nighthawks
(2-3) on Nov. 28.