December 8, 2007

 

     Dayton, TN-- Saturday night’s game with Virginia Intermont College held a lot of importance for the Bryan College Men’s basketball team. Both the Lions and the visiting Cobras came into the game at 1-2 in conference, and a victory would boost the winner to 2-2 and a place in the middle of the talented AAC pack. A loss would be devastating, pitting the loser at 1-3 in conference play, and creating a tough road back towards the top.

     After defeating the Crusaders from Tennessee Temple earlier in the week, the Lions headed into Saturday’s contest with confidence. After holding Temple to 26% shooting, their best defensive effort of the year, the Lions hoped to build on that effort and play well against the Cobras at home. Virginia Intermont creates tough matchups for their opponents as they have some athleticism on the wings, size inside and can really shoot the three, but Bryan’s lineup presents its own mismatches with 6’9 Charlie Lytle, 6’7 Mike Lytle and 6’6 Cody Christopher able to impact the game on both ends of the floor.

     Bryan fell behind early and never truly pulled back into the ballgame as VIC hit 8 first half three pointers, and led 27-9 in the early going. Led by Jamie Butler who hit 4 first half threes, the Cobras stayed in front despite a solid offensive effort by Kyle Terry. Heading into the locker room at halftime, the Lions trailed 40-20.

     Terry continued his strong season, leading the Lions with 21 points on 6-for-13 shooting, all from beyond the arc, but it was not enough to pull his team back within grasp of the lead. Though the Lions outscored their opponents 42-39 in the second half, the early deficit proved to be too much as Bryan eventually lost at home 79-62. Charlie Lytle(Pictured Left) also contributed 15 points and 12 rebounds in the loss. This was the Lions last conference game before heading into the Christmas holidays.

     Bryan Coach Don Rekoske was disappointed in the loss, saying “We really needed to win tonight. In a game that meant so much in the conference standings, we would have liked to have come out and had a better showing. We just have gotten away from what we’re trying to do defensively and if we hope to have any success, we have to go back and find it. All is not lost though, it’s still early and I still think we’ve got a really talented bunch of guys.” Bryan will have one last chance to right the ship before the holiday break as they return to the floor in non-conference action on Friday night against the visiting Berry College Vikings. The game will be played at Summers Gymnasium on the campus of Bryan College and tip off is at 6 PM.