MOUNT BERRY, Ga. - The Berry College men's basketball team defeated the LaGrange College Panthers in an 80-76 thriller on Tuesday night at the Cage Center.
The Vikings improve to 2-0 on the season, while the Panthers fall to 1-1.
Nile King got the scoring started for the Vikings with a made layup on their second possession of the night, setting the stage for what would end up being a huge night for him individually. The game was tied 9-9 at the 16:12 mark of the first half before the Vikings went on their first good run of the game to get some separation on the Panthers. They went on a 12-4 run to lead by eight thanks to hot shooting from beyond the arc by
Cameron Pope and
Drew Winegarden.Â
The Panthers managed to cut the deficit to two (26-24) with 9:15 left in the half behind a balanced scoring attack from Austen Colton, Devin Fish, and Catfish Battle, but the Vikings held onto the lead until the final four minutes of the half. Berry led 31-30 with 3:57 remaining but LaGrange closed the half on an 11-3 run to take a seven-point lead at halftime (41-34).
After the break, the Vikings started the second half well with a
Ryan Luttrell three pointer and
Hudson McKnight layup to quickly make it 41-39, but weren't able to get closer for the next few minutes as Colton scored the next nine LaGrange points on three free throws and back-to-back threes. Down 50-44 with 15:39 left, the team rallied with multiple players hitting clutch shots.
Back-to-back King layups made it a two-point game, then a Winegarden triple made it 52-51 with 13:36 on the clock, and two made free throws from
Reid Winton Jr. a minute later finally gave Berry the lead back.
Grant Stubbs got in on the action with five-straight point to keep the team ahead, and two Luttrell three pointers gave the Vikings a 64-60 lead with 8:04 remaining.Â
Despite the onslaught by the Vikings, LaGrange kept fighting and even tied the game again at 68-68 with 4:38 to go. However, another Luttrell triple put the Vikings up three while pivotal stops and some made Winegarden free throws ensured a win for Berry 80-76.
Three players scored in double figures for the Vikings and the driving force was King with 26 points, nine rebounds, and three blocks on 12-16 shooting. Luttrell came alive in the second half to finish with 14 points on 5-8 shooting from the field, including four made threes, and Winegarden stepped up off the bench with 15 points on 4-8 from downtown. The bench as a whole stepped up for Berry as they outscored LaGrange's bench 26-16. They also took advantage of points in the paint, winning that battle 36-24 over the Panthers.
The Vikings remain at home for their next game on the schedule, a matchup against the No. 4 Emory University Eagles on Friday, November 13 at 6 p.m.
