Bryant rebounds after blowing big advantage

FORT SMITH — Bryant was able to pull away late, but Charleston didn’t make it easy Friday night at the Stubblefield Center.

Bryant gave up a lead early in the fourth quarter but then closed out the game strong in a 65-60 victory against Charleston in the semifinals of the Coca-Cola Classic.

“I don’t care what classification they are in, they are a really good team,” Bryant Coach Mike Abrahamson said. “Classes don’t matter as much in basketball. We knew what they could do.”

Bryant (9-3) built a 37-21 halftime lead with the help of sophomore Khalen Robinson, who finished with a gamehigh 24 points. The Hornets were able to find high-percentage shots throughout the first half, making 15 of 27 shots and 5 from behind the arc.

The Hornets made only 1 of 7 shots in the third quarter while being limited to five points in the period.

Charleston (7-3) took advantage, cutting the lead to 42-40 heading into the final quarter. The Tigers made 8 of 14 shots in the third quarter while limiting their turnovers to one after 11 first-half miscues.

“They never got rattled and played right along,” Charleston Coach B.J. Ross said. “That’s a real good Bryant team. They have a really good player in Robinson, and we saw him last year. He got to us early. Good players will do that.”

The Tigers grabbed their first lead since the first quarter with a 9-2 run to open the fourth quarter to take a 49-44 advantage.

“We came to play in this tournament to face good teams,” Ross said. “Everybody likes to win. But you gain a lot when you play teams like that, win or lose. Games like this test our character. I’m proud of my guys.”

The Hornets bounced back after the Tigers made their offensive push, using a 13-2 run to take a 57-51 lead.

“We had to really switch up what we were doing because we got a little stale,” Abrahamson said. “We picked up the pressure and tried to speed them up. We were able to get some easy shots to get us back in the game.”

Bryant’s Deron Canada scored 15 points while Camren Hunter added 13 to keep the offense balanced.

Brayden Ross finished with a team-high 23 points while hitting five three-pointers to lead the way for Charleston. Jacob Green had 18 points, and Chase Ewing contributed 10. Ross, Green and Ewing scored all 19 third-quarter points for Charleston.

“They were lights out in the third quarter,” Abrahamson said. “There didn’t seem to be much we could do about it. But I have to give our kids credit. Going through that is difficult. Our kids were able to bounce back.”