February 12, 2008

 

                Athens, TN—The Bryan Lions traveled just down Highway 30 on Tuesday night to take on the Tennessee Wesleyan Bulldogs in an Appalachian Athletic Conference matchup. Bryan came into the game in the middle of a 4 game losing streak, and looking to steal a victory on the road from the Bulldogs who sat three games ahead of the Lions in the conference standings.

                The Lions had been struggling offensively during the losing streak, but would need to score as TN Wesleyan had been good shooting team all season. After a sloppy first couple of minutes which saw the Bulldogs go on a 12-1 run to open the game, Bryan settled down and eventually tied the game at 20 at the 15:00 mark of the first half. With 5 minutes left to play, the two teams traded buckets and as they headed to the locker room, the host Bulldogs clung to a slim 2 point lead, 26-24.

                After a first half which was fairly evenly played, with both teams shooting 40% from the floor and only a difference of 2 in the rebounding column, the Lions were in a good position to make a second half push. The first few minutes of the second half were sloppy for both teams as well, and the first field goal of the half came 3 minutes in, with just less than 17 minutes to play. Bryan remained scoreless even longer, not hitting its first shot until Mike Lytle drained a 3-pointer with 13:30 left to play.

                Despite their offensive struggles, the Lions continued to battle and with 10 minutes left in regulation, the game was tied at 34. Again it was the Bulldogs who went on a run, pushing their lead back to 8, 42-34 with 7 minutes left. Bryan shot just 32% from the floor in the second half, scoring only 19 second half points, and being outscored 28-19 in the half en route to an 11 point loss, 54-43.

The Lions will now prepare for Saturday night’s big showdown with longtime rival, the Covenant College Scots. The game will be played at Summers Gymnasium, and Tip-Off is scheduled for 7:30 PM.

Other Notables: The Lions had 3 players in double figures: Charlie Lytle (12 pts, 6 rb), Cody Christopher (11 pts, 9 rb) and Demond Craig (10 pts). Both teams shot under 40% for the game, with Bryan hitting 36% from the floor and the Bulldogs hitting 37%. The Free Throw difference in the second half hurt the Lions, as they made only 4 trips to the line , compared to TWC’s 21 free throws.