November 30, 2007

 

     Dayton, TN—Coming off a big win to open conference play against UVA-Wise, the Bryan Lions stepped onto the floor Saturday night to take on AAC Pre-Season #2 Bluefield College in a game which would give the Lions a good gauge of where they stood in conference. Bluefield is an extremely athletic team which returned a lot of talent from last year’s team which made a trip to the NAIA National Tournament after ending Bryan’s season in the AAC Conference tournament.

     The game was a tale of two halves. In the first half, Bryan came out playing extremely well both offensively and defensively, sparked by Cody Christopher who had his best offensive performance of the year. Christopher would finish with 21 points and 4 rebounds on the night for the Lions. Once again the Lions held their opponents to a low shooting percentage in the first half, with the Rams shooting only 38% from the floor in the first frame. At the break, the Lions headed into the locker room leading by 6, 40-34.

     The second half was a story the Lions hope to soon forget, as they were outscored by their opponents from Bluefield 64-39. The Rams got hot from beyond the arc and turned up the pressure defensively, which Bryan was unable to handle, turning the ball over 21 times on the night. The Rams were led offensively by Curtis Dixon and Dantae Gholson who contributed 16 and 14 points respectively.

     Bryan had a few bright spots in the loss, with 4 players scoring in double figures. In addition to Cody Christopher’s 21, Lamarr Shorts had 17 points, Charlie Lytle had 14 points and Kyle Terry had 12 points, hitting 3 treys from beyond on the arc. Mike Lytle failed to score for the first time all year, but contributed 8 points and 8 rebounds in the loss.