They attacked in waves. Forcing turnovers. Scoring on the break. When it was over, the Bryant Hornets had earned an easy victory over a typically demanding opponent.
Bryant remained undefeated on the young season with a resounding 63-31 victory over Little Rock Catholic during Thursday’s opening day of the OrthoArkansas/CAC Basketball Tournament.
The Hornets (3-0) put together its most complete defensive performance of the season, according to Coach Mike Abrahamson. They forced more first-half turnovers (18) than points allowed (15) and generally made things miserable for Catholic every trip down the court.
“I thought we played well defensively in our other two games … the thing about Benton (in the opener) is we didn’t rebound well, but our first-shot defense was good,” Abrahamson said. “Against Heritage our first-shot defense was good but we fouled a lot. Tonight we just had a better all-around effort.”
Bryant’s superior defense led directly to its most prolific offensive output of the season. Nineteen of the Hornets’ 34 first-half points came off of turnovers – many of those in transition – and they held a 52-24 lead entering the final quarter when they emptied the bench.
Romen Martin led a balanced attack with 15 points – including three first-half threes – and six different players scored at least six points. For Martin, who is averaging 16.7 points per game, it is his third game of at least 15 points. Kevin Hunt added 13 points, followed by Rickie Allen (8 points), Calvin Allen (6), Kaleb Turner (6) and Braylon Steen (6).