By Sam Doherty
Staff Writer
In a close, back-and-forth game, the Brookhaven College men’s basketball team played their hearts out in a losing effort against the Richland College Thunderducks in their final home game of the season Feb. 7, losing 73-77.
The game started with the Richland team taking an early 9-2 lead. The Bears stormed back with a 12-2 run, making the score 14-11 early on in the game. From then on, Brookhaven retained the lead by a tight margin. Richland hit a 3-pointer with 1:23 left on the clock before the end of the half, putting the Thunderducks ahead 34-33.
The second half started with Richland up 35-34. After the first six minutes of the second half, Richland gained a 9-point advantage, only to let Brookhaven cut the lead back down to 2 with 8:24 left in the game.
Brookhaven’s head coach, Kevin Hurst, yelled out the name of a play to the Bears during an out-of-bounds play after which they scored a 3-pointer, keeping the score close at 55-59 Thunderducks.
Following a few successful layups and trips to the free throw line because of fouls committed by Brookhaven players, the Thunderducks jumped back up to a 72-63 lead.
Bear Kenny Slocum, #24, scored Brookhaven’s final 10 points in the last five minutes and 42 seconds of the game, bringing them back to within 2 points of tying the game with 1:47 left on the clock. After relentless play from the Bears, the score was 76-73 with 12.9 seconds remaining.
The Bears could not overcome the Thunderducks, closing the game at 73-77. After the game, Hurst said giving up five back-side offensive rebounds to Richland ultimately cost them the game. The Thunderducks scored on four of those five rebounds, totaling 8 points – more than the difference in the game.
Hurst also said his team “missed 13 free throws, and that’s the entire ballgame.” Missed free throws, foul trouble and being out-rebounded cost Brookhaven the game. As of press date, the Bears are 20-9 on the season and are third in the division in scoring, averaging close to 100 points a game, according to NJCAA.org.
