February 28, 2008

 

                Bristol, TN-- After exploding for 92 points in their 1^st round upset of Virginia Intermont College on Wednesday, the Bryan Lions took the court Thursday afternoon against the #1 seeded King College Tornado. King received a bye through the tournament’s first round after capturing the Appalachian Athletic Conference regular season title.

                In Thursday night’s win, Bryan had 3 players with 20 or more points in one of their best offensive performances of the year. Thursday night was much more of an offensive struggle as the Lions faced off with AAC Player of the Year Torrington Cox and his teammates. Bryan actually shot better than King in the first half, hitting 53% of their shots from the floor (as opposed to King’s 48%)and taking a 4 point lead into the half, 31-27.

                While King continued shooting just under 50% in the 2^nd half, the Lions cooled off considerably, managing to hit just 38% of their shots and scoring only 16 points in the second frame. King doubled that total in the 2^nd half and pulled away down the stretch for the 12 point victory, eliminating the Lions from the tournament and bringing the 2007-2008 season for Bryan to a close.

                For Bryan, Cody Christopher continued to play well, leading the Lions with 17 points and 4 rebounds; however he was the only Lion who manage to score in double-figures. Cox had a game-high 22 points for the Tornado in the victory.

                Appalachian Athletic Conference Season Awards were announced Thursday and Charlie Lytle was named to the All Freshman Team. Kyle Terry was named to the AAC’s All-Academic team. Bryan finishes the year with a record of 12-19(6-11 in AAC play).