BENTON – Down by 10 points going into the fourth quarter, the Benton Panthers made a mad dash at the end of the game to get within two, but their rival Bryant Hornets would hold onto a 58-55 victory to start their season.
“I’m really proud of our kids, just to kind of get over this mental hump is big,” Bryant Head Coach Mike Abrahamson said. “We have to get better at closing out games. We didn’t block out well and didn’t rebound well the whole game. That helped them stay in it.”
Bryant junior Braylon Steen’s 16-foot jumper assisted by junior Lowell Washington put the Hornets (1-0) up 46-36 going into the fourth quarter, but the Panthers (1-1) wouldn’t go away. Senior Arkansas State signee Jake Scoggins picked up an offensive rebound and put back to start the fourth, and senior Clay Anderson’s two free throws and 3-pointer assisted by sophomore Jai Peters got Benton within 48-43 with 5:42 left.
With a chance to get within three, Benton missed two free throws and Bryant junior point guard Calvin Allen put in a lay up for a 50-43 lead halfway through the quarter. It looked as the Hornets would pull away when Washington picked up a steal and a bucket, but Peters hit a three to get within four, and after Steen’s layup assisted by senior Kevin Hunt, Anderson hit two free throws and Scoggins scored a layup to get within 56-54 with 19 seconds left.
Hunt hit two free throws for a four-point lead with 8.5 seconds left and the Hornets fouled Anderson, who hit the first three throw and intentionally missed the second, but the attempt didn’t hit the rim giving the ball back to the Hornets. Allen went to the free-throw line for the Hornets for a 1-and-1 with a three-point lead and missed, but Anderson’s last-ditch attempt just over the half-court line was no good.
“I was proud of our kids’ effort,” Benton Head Coach Dexter Hendrix said. “They played hard to the last second. Had a shot to tie it up there at the end, but they made a few more plays than us down the stretch. You have to give them credit, they played very physical, aggressive defense and that hurt us some.