Bryant got the tough test it was looking for Tuesday night against Benton, and the Hornets responded the way head Coach Mike Abrahamson intended.
Junior guard Khalen Robinson churned out a game-high 18 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and handed out 4 assists as Bryant rode its defense in the second half to pull away for a 54-42 victory Tuesday night at Panther Gymnasium.
"We haven't really had close games," Abrahamson said. "We've either kind of lost convincingly or won convincingly, but we needed this. We're young, and a lot of our guys are inexperienced, so we needed it.
"But any time you can win a close game and pull away at the end is big."
Junior guard Treylon Payne added 15 points while senior guard Rodney Lambert finished with 8 points, 5 rebounds and 3 steals for Bryant (5-3), which trailed 30-27 midway through the third quarter but used back-to-back steals from Lambert and Payne to start a game-changing run that gave them the lead for good.
Senior forward Maleek McClendon had 14 points and 8 rebounds, while senior guard Carl Ross finished with 10 for Benton (3-3). The Panthers, who were coming off a 70-58 loss to Magnolia a week ago, scored just 12 points over the game's final 13 minutes after holding their three-point lead three minutes into the second half.
"[Benton] runs their stuff really, really well," Abrahamson said. "We both know each other really well so we had to adjust to what they were doing. Sometimes we played zone, sometimes we jumped in a man. We just tried to be disruptive with what they wanted to do.
"When they're winning games, they're in the 70s. When they're not, they're in the high 40s, low 50s. So I think the guys did a good job of focusing in on the defensive end."
The Panthers finished 14 of 35 from the field but were just 6 of 20 in the second half. Benton was also outrebounded 33-15 and turned the ball over 15 times compared to 10 for Bryant. The Hornets were 14-of-43 shooting, but they made shots when the Panthers tried to rally.
Bryant trailed 7-2 early in the first quarter, but a pair of free throws from Robinson started a string of eight consecutive points for the Hornets, who led by as many as seven points in the second quarter before settling for a 23-22 lead at halftime.
Benton held a 30-27 lead after a free throw from McClendon, but a 21-footer from Robinson ignited a 7-0 run for the Hornets.
The Panthers were within 42-38 after another basket from McClendon with 4:45 showing in the fourth quarter, but a three-pointer from freshman guard Khasen Robinson quelled Benton's rally and gave Bryant the separation it needed.
Sports on 12/12/2018