Hornets host Wampus Cats for Senior Night
BRYANT – The Bryant Hornets completed the regular season Thursday with a 67-47 home victory over Conway.
Against the Wampus Cats, a game-changing run early in the fourth helped catapult Bryant to the win.
At the start of the fourth, Bryant had a comfortable 50-38 lead. When Conway scored to make it a 50-40 game, the Wampus Cats were hoping to go on a run. Instead, it was Bryant that went on a run.
The Hornets went up 52-40 when Camarion Bead scored on an offensive putback. RJ Young would later make a pair of free throws to increase the lead. Due to a 3-pointer by Kellen Robinson, the Hornets were suddenly up 57-40 when Conway requested a timeout.
However, the break did nothing to slow down Bryant. Defensively the Hornets continued to swarm. When on offense, Bryant received scoring from all over the floor.
Conway would fall further behind when Robinson scored on a nice drive to the bucket. With its next possession, Bryant scored again when Young made a floater in the lane just before the shot-clock expired. The Hornets went up 63-40 when RJ Newton scored near the paint.
Moments later, the crowd was brought to its feet when Drake Fowler threw-down a 1-handed slam. Fowler’s dunk was the byproduct of a fast break that was sparked by the Hornets forcing a Wampus Cat turnover.
Now trailing 65-40 with just over 2 minutes left to play, Conway finally scored cutting the Bryant advantage to 65-42.
During the closing moments of this contest, reserve players from both teams were on the floor as Bryant earned a 67-47 victory.
The Hornets dominated late. But early on, the game was close.
At the end of the opening quarter Conway trailed Bryant 15-10. At halftime, Bryant held a 25-19 advantage. In the third, the Hornets would lead Conway by as much as 14. However, each time it seemed like Bryant was on the verge of blowing the game open, the Wampus Cats would find a way to hang around.
However, in the final period, Bryant finally put the game out of reach. The Hornets used a 15-0 run in the fourth quarter to pull away from Conway on its way to the 20-point win. Following the game, the players were visibly pleased as they cutdown the nets at Hornet Arena.
Robinson led Bryant in scoring with 24 while Bead had 14, Young 11 and Fowler scored 10.
Bryant now heads into the 6A State Tournament at 28-3 overall. Coach Mike Abrahamson’s team went 11-1 against 6A Central opposition. Due to being champion of the Central, the Hornets will be a No.1 seed at the tourney.
Regarding the Bryant Lady Hornets, a rough
second half proved too much to overcome against Conway. The Lady Hornets’ difficulties paved the way for Conway to pull away for a 79-48 victory.
At the start of the second half, Bryant trailed 40-35. The Lady Hornets went into the intermission with a ton of momentum. But the Lady Wampus Cats put an end to Bryant’s surge after the break.
A major key to Conway reclaiming control was its ability to handle the
Bryant press. Meanwhile, the Lady Hornets had a difficult time taking care of the ball against Conway’s trapping defense. Throughout the third, the Lady Wampus Cats consistently took advantage of Bryant’s inability to avoid turnovers. Heading into the fourth, Conway led 62-43.
In the latter stages of the game, Conway did not let up.
The fourth mirrored the third quarter as the visitors earned the victory.
Conway dominated the second half. However, the first two quarters of the game were competitive.
At the end of the first period, Bryant trailed by 12. However, the
Lady Hornets used an aggressive press to disrupt Conway’s offensive rhythm.
The stout defense led to quality scoring opportunities for Bryant – which built momentum throughout the quarter. Also, Bryant got 11 points in the second from
its senior point guard Brilynn Findley.
Therefore, at the half, the Lady Wampus Cats’ lead had dwindled to 5.
But in the third, Conway regained controlled and never looked back on its way to a victory.
Conway’s Alexis Cox was the game-high scorer with 32 points while Emerie Bohanon finished with 23.
For Bryant, Findley led the way with 11 while India Robinson scored 10 points.