CONWAY -- Frank Morgan was aggressive the entire game, but he scored when it mattered most.
Morgan, a 5-11 senior point guard, scored 9 of his 11 points in the game's final 3:20 in leading Fayetteville to a 64-55 victory over the Bryant Hornets in Friday's action of the John Stanton Classic at Buzz Bolding Arena.
Morgan's 5-footer with 3:20 left gave the Bulldogs (5-4) the lead for good at 54-52. His three-pointer 90 seconds later increased Fayetteville's lead to 57-52.
"He's so aggressive, but he's also one of those guys who is passive in that he likes to get everybody involved," Fayetteville Coach Kyle Adams said of Morgan. "If he needs to take a shot, he'll take that shot. I want him to be aggressive all the time, and he wants to get it to our scorers and those type of things. I like him when he's full tilt all the time."
Junior Darius Bowers led the Bulldogs in scoring with 15 points. Senior guard Jon Conley matched Morgan's 11-point total, and senior forward Ron Johnson chipped in 10 points. Bowers and Hank Gibbs each pulled down six rebounds for Fayetteville.
Deron Canada hit 4 three-pointers and finished with 19 points to lead Bryant (6-3), but the 6-3 senior was limited to 1 point in the game's final 13 minutes.
"I thought we were getting OK shots for the most part," Bryant Coach Mike Abrahamson said. "When we didn't, it was because of Fayetteville's defense. We got to the line a few times and missed. We got some open looks that we missed. I'm much more disappointed in our defense."
Bryant was 11 of 21 from the floor in the first half and led 33-24 with 2:30 remaining in the second quarter. Fayetteville scored the next nine points, including a buzzer-beating three-pointer by Conley that forced a 33-33 tie.
"We were reeling pretty good," Adams said. "They were getting any shot they wanted. They were getting the ball inside the paint any time they wanted. They were knocking down threes. We didn't play with any good energy at all."
Fayetteville led for most of the second half, but Bryant's Camren Hunter hit a three-pointer with 3:21 remaining to tie the game at 52-52. Morgan, who entered the fourth quarter with only two points, hit a shot from inside the lane 14 seconds later and Fayetteville finished the contest by scoring 12 of the game's final 15 points.
"I just had to stay calm," Morgan said of his late-game efforts. "I let everything flow, and when it came time to make a shot I just did it."
Sam Chumley and Khalen Robinson each added 10 points for Bryant. Chumley scored all 10 of his points in the first quarter as the Hornets broke out to a 20-14 lead after the first eight minutes.
Bryant finished 17 of 45 from the floor and 6 of 16 from three-point range. Fayetteville was 24 of 38 from the floor and 6 of 14 on three-pointers.
FAYETTEVILLE (64)
Conley 4 2-4 11, Schach 0 1-2 1, Bowers 6 3-6 15, Morgan 4 2-3 11, Johnson 4 0-0 10, Gray 2 0-0 6, Witte 0 2-2 2, Gibbs 4 0-0 8. Totals 24 10-17 64.
BRYANT (55)
Hunter 4 0-0 9, Robinson 1 8-10 10, Merriweather 1 1-4 3, Chumley 4 1-1 10, Lambert 1 0-0 2, Canada 5 5-6 19, Wallace 1 0-0 2. Totals 17 15-21 55.
Fayetteville (5-4);14 19 15 16 -- 64
Bryant (6-3);20 13 11 11 -- 55
Three-point goals -- Fayetteville 6 (Johnson 2, Grey 2, Morgan, Conley); Bryant 6 (Canada 4, Chumley, Hunter). Team fouls -- Fayetteville 20, Bryant 16.
Sports on 12/16/2017