By Stan Caldwell
stanmansportsfan.com
HATTIESBURG – Missing two players that were expected to make big contributions this season, William Carey men’s basketball coach Steve Knight has had to play with his roster to get a winning combination on the floor.
So far, what he’s doing is working.
The Crusaders pulled away in the second half after trailing at halftime to defeat Florida College 86-70 Saturday afternoon in Southern States Athletic Conference action at Clinton Gymnasium.
Carey, ranked No. 18 in the NAIA poll, remained atop the SSAC standings at 12-1, improving to 16-5 overall with its fifth consecutive victory. Florida College dropped to 11-10 and 5-8.
“What we talked about at halftime was just pushing the ball in transition and making their guys get back,” said Knight. “Defensively, we wanted to put a lot of pressure on them, make them work to get it across half-court. I thought we did that in the second half.”
The Crusaders have played most of the season without 6-foot-5 forward Anthony Jones, a junior transfer from Copiah-Lincoln Community College. Jones averaged 16.3 points in three games before suffering a season-ending injury.
Carey also lost senior forward Leito Holloway to a broken arm suffered in a Jan. 10 game at Blue Mountain. He could possibly return if the Crusaders advance to the NAIA National Tournament in March.
To get that far, however, WCU will need more efforts like it got Saturday against the Falcons.
Senior forward Branden Sheppard had 21 points and 14 rebounds, taking over in the second half, and junior Cameron Douglas stuffed the stat sheet to the tune of 13 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals.
“We made shots at the start, then hit a little drought,” said Douglas, a 6-foot-4 transfer from Pearl River Community College. “We just had to be aggressive, pound the ball inside, and rely on our defense.”
The Crusaders got off to a blistering start, hitting 9 of their first 10 shots from the field, including 5 of 5 from 3-point range as they built, first, a 13-point lead then a 12-point advantage.
But Carey then went ice-cold, missing 10 straight shots while Florida College ripped off 17 unanswered points in a 20-2 run. The Falcons hit 3-point shots on three straight possessions to take a 33-27 lead with 6:12 to play in the first half.
Carey got back on track, but still trailed 40-39 at halftime. The second half, though, was a different story.
The Crusaders and Falcons traded the lead two more times before Sheppard hit a pair of foul shots to put Carey ahead for good, 43-42 with 18:51 to play. That ignited a 13-2 surge that put the Crusaders in command.
“I just always want the ball, as Coach says, just be active around the basket,” said Sheppard. “Even if I don’t get the ball, it opens up the lane for someone else.”
The first shot the 6-foot-8 Sheppard took was successful 3-pointer, and in the second half that paid dividends as he had his way in the low post, because the Falcons had to respect his perimeter game.
“It’s just staying aggressive,” said Sheppard.
Carey made 19 of 32 shots (54.1 percent) from the field in the second half, mostly coming on slam dunks and lay-ups. The Crusaders also committed just three turnovers in the second half, and just nine for the game.
“We knew from playing them earlier that they’re not real deep,” Knight said. “They’re third in the country in 3-point shooting, but we felt if we could make them work on defense, their legs would start to get heavy.”
Florida College got as close as five points midway through the second half, 58-53, but Sheppard drove the lane for a slam, then the Crusaders got a missed 3-point shot on defense and senior Adrian Williams raced all the way for a fast break lay-up.
Carey was off on a decisive 13-5 surge that put the game away. Williams added 12 points and junior Brandon Cranford had 11 points off the bench. Jacob Roark scored 13 points to lead Florida College.
The Crusaders now embark on a critical road trip with games Thursday at Mobile, then a Saturday showdown at 10th-ranked Stillman College, which trails Carey by one game in the SSAC standings.
“We can’t afford to look past Mobile,” said Knight. “They’re always tough, and they had a good game plan when we played them here.”
In the women’s game, the Lady Crusaders snapped a two-game skid with a 69-57 victory.
Carey trailed by seven points midway through the first quarter, but took control with 10-1 run to close the period, and never trailed the rest of the way.
Junior Danyelle Lewis had 13 points to lead Carey (7-9, 6-6), junior Rachel Thompson had 11 points and 11 rebounds, and freshman Michaela Terry added 10 points off the bench. Passionate Amukamara led all scorers with 18 points for Florida College (10-12, 2-10).
Carey Basketball Summaries
Saturday at Clinton Gymnasium
WOMEN
William Carey 69, Florida College 57
FC 16 11 17 13 – 57
WCU 18 14 23 14 – 69
FLORIDA COLLEGE (10-12, 2-10 in SSAC): Colyn Springer 7, Dejoure Boland 4, Passionate Amukamara 18 (8 rebounds), Kynese Davis 11, Kristian Davis 7, Arianna Tankersley 10. TOTALS – FG 22-55 (3FG 4-25), FT 9-20 (57).
WILLIAM CAREY (7-9, 6-6 in SSAC): Savannah Richardson 7, Rachel Thompson 11 (11 rebounds), Danyelle Lewis 13, Shantavis Hughes 6, Tariah Mouton 9, Jada Jones 2, Catoria Blackman 3, Destiny Williams 8, Michaela Terry 10. TOTALS – FG 25-59 (3FG 9-23), FT 10-17 (69).
MEN
William Carey 86, Florida College 70
FC 40 30 – 70
WCU 39 47 – 86
FLORIDA COLLEGE (11-10, 5-8 in SSAC): Kent Hegarty 9, Stefan Nakic-Vojnovic 12, Andrew Voss 7, Jacob Roark 13, Ethan Smith 10 (6 assists), Zach Brock 8, Matt Simpson 5, Bryce Nickels 6. TOTALS – FG 24-60 (3FG 11-35), FT 11-16 (70).
WILLIAM CAREY (16-5, 12-1 in SSAC): Branden Sheppard 21 (14 rebounds), Adrian Williams 12, Dalen Dotson 7, Ryan McRaney 9, Cameron Douglas 13, Brandon Cranford 11, Rodney Mallett 6, Marques McGee 2, Javontae McDavid 3, Khalil Jordan 2. TOTALS – FG 33-61 (3FG 10-21), FT 10-17 (86).
