BRYANT -- All Bryant Coach Mike Abrahamson wanted was a chance late against Conway on Friday night. Khalen Robinson gave them that and then some.
The junior guard hit a driving lay-up with three seconds left to cap a frenzied final minute and give Bryant a come-from-behind 61-59 victory in front of a fiery crowd at Hornets Gymnasium.
"Conway outplayed [us] most of the night, but I've got to give our kids a lot credit for their resiliency," Abrahamson said. "They realized that it's a four-quarter game and never gave up. I really don't know how we won that game because we didn't play particularly well all night, but we made the plays when we absolutely had to have them."
No play was bigger than Robinson's ending bucket that put the finishing touches on his 27-point, 7-rebound night for Bryant (15-4, 6-1 6A-Central), which charged back from an eight-point, fourth-quarter deficit to win for the 12th time in its past 13 games. The victory also gave the Hornets sole possession of first place in the league standings at the season's midway point.
Conway (14-5, 5-2) scored 12 of the first 14 points of the second half to open a 37-27 lead. The Wampus Cats maintained a 51-43 advantage with 4:30 left, but the Hornets charged back behind Robinson.
"I knew I had to come up big for my team," he said. "We just stayed together and continued to tell each other not to give up. We had to get stops and then take it one possession at a time."
Robinson had a hand in 12 of Bryant's last 18 points, including scoring the team's final 7. His three-pointer with 45 seconds left tied the game at 59-59, and his defense on Conway's ensuing possession six seconds later helped force the Wampus Cats into a turnover. The Hornets were then able to milk the clock by working the ball around the perimeter until it ended up with Robinson, who split a pair of defenders at the top of the key before slipping inside for the go-ahead basket. Conway threw the ball away on its last possession as time expired.
Junior guard Treylon Payne scored 12 points and junior forward Catrell Wallace had 10 points, 9 rebounds and 3 blocks for the Hornets, who finished 22-of-48 shooting and held a slim 29-28 rebounding edge.
Senior forward Jakilyn Kaiser scored 20 points and pulled down 14 rebounds for Conway, which led for 26 of the game's 32 minutes.
"We just came out on the wrong end of it," Conway Coach Brian "Salty" Longing said. "It was a great game for both teams with a playoff-type atmosphere. Bryant didn't shoot it as well as they normally do, but they made shots down the stretch.
"It's a tough one to swallow, and my kids aren't feeling very good right now. But I think a day or two from now, they'll realize that they came in, played one of the state's best teams on their floor, in front of a great crowd and had it won. They let it slip away from their grasps, but they'll grow from this."
The Wampus Cats, who shot 20 of 40, also got 11 points and 6 rebounds from senior guard Kylen Milton.
Sports on 01/26/2019