In a Tuesday night contest at the Hornets Nest, the Bryant Hornets took on the Catholic Rockets in a very close game. The game was neck and neck the entire way, but the Hornets would break away at the end, winning 56-42 in 7A Central Conference action. Bryant ended a four-game skid with this win, and Head Coach Mike Abrhamson was very pleased with his team.
“We picked up the pressure in the second half,” Abrahamson said. “We sold out on our athleticism and forced them to run out of timeouts by the fourth quarter. [Catholic] was very improved and they gave us a good game, but we just wore them out.”
Senior guard Calvin Allen started off the game firing, scoring the first five for the Hornets. This energy along with put backs from senior forwards Marvin Moody and Lowell Washington would prove to not be enough as the Rockets’ blazing touch from downtown kept hitting two contested threes early. The Rockets led 12-11 at the end of the quarter.
Catholic began to pack the ball inside after a few misses in the second quarter. The Rockets pushed their way to the free-throw line and went 5 for 9 in the quarter. The Hornets (15-7, 4-5 Central) looked to Washington to help sustain the energy, and he would provide five points.
BELLES 50, LADY HORNETS 43
With the Bryant Lady Hornets leading 31-20 entering the fourth quarter, out of nowhere the Mount St. Mary’s Belles came out to perform. Behind the hot shooting hand of Vallerie Kauffman, scoring 15 points to end the game and with Lizzie Allgood also contributing to the comeback, attributing six points to the effort, the Belles would score 30 points in a span of one quarter, leading to a 50-43 win for Mount in 7A Central Conference play. Bryant Head Coach Brad Matthews was upset with his team’s performance in the fourth.
“They pressured us in the fourth quarter and we had too many turnovers to overcome,” Matthews said. “We let them get momentum and they got very hot. We failed to rebound well. We played well for three quarters.”
The Lady Hornets (2-18, 0-9 Central) started the game on a 4-0 run with all points coming from senior guard Kendal Rogers. The Lady Hornets also knocked down a pair of threes early on thanks to seniors Lania Ratliff and Riley Hill.