CONWAY, Ark. - The University of the South men's basketball team could not overcome a slow second half, as Hendrix College took the victory, 69-68, Friday night inside Grove Gymnasium in a Southern Athletic Association (SAA) contest.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Final Score: Hendrix (5-16, 4-6) 69, Sewanee (14-7, 7-3) 68
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HOW IT HAPPENED
-Sewanee was able to quiet the Hendrix crowd early as the Purple and White knocked down the first nine points, with seven of the nine by
Colin Kahl.
-After Caleb Squires got the Warriors on the board with 15:27 left in the half, a quick steal by
Tre Corrigan and a fastbreak triple by
Russ Marr sent the lead back to nine, 12-3, at the first media timeout.
-Sewanee kept the foot on the gas, as
Tre Corrigan scored on back-to-back trips with 10 minutes left in the opening period. After knocking down a shot from downtown, the sophomore picked up the rebound on the other end and went coast-to-coast to give Sewanee its biggest margin of 12, going up 23-11.
-Trailing 40-23 with less than four minutes left in the stanza, Hendrix began chipping away at the lead. The Warriors ended the half on a 9-3 run to cut a 17-point deficit to 11 into the locker room.
-Despite a second half jumper by the Warriors to start the period, Kahl opened the Tiger scoring with a triple to send the lead to double digits again, 46-34. However, from there, a 13-2 run by the home team saw the Sewanee shrink to its lowest of the game, 48-47, with 13:47 left in the game.
-The Tigers rallied with a
Russ Marr three-point play to give Sewanee some breathing room, but it wouldn't last long, as Hendrix took its first lead of the game with 11:15 to go on a Beau Kronenberger 3-pointer.
-The lead did not last long, as Marr knocked down two free throws on the next possession.
-Trailing by six, 60-54, at the under-8 media, the Warriors did not go away. Going on 9-2 run, Hendrix reclaimed the lead, 63-62, with four minutes to go.
-About a minute later, Corrigan restored order momentarily with two key free throws. However, the Warriors reclaimed the lead for good with 2:49 to go thanks to two shots at the line by Squires.
-In the final seconds, Sewanee's Marr was able to draw a foul with nine seconds left in the game. Trailing by two, Marr converted on the first to make it a 69-68 score, but the first missed shot from the line came at the worst time for the Purple and White. Hendrix rebounded the missed free throw to secure the victory.
-After Sewanee knocked down 16-of-37 (43%) from the floor and 9-of-19 (47%) from downtown, Hendrix shut down the Tigers' offense in the second half, outscoring the visitors, 37-25.
CONFERENCE STANDINGS
-With four SAA games remaining, the Tigers (14-7, 7-3) still hold on to second place in the standings. Berry (19-2, 10-0), who extended its win streak to 11 games with a 92-66 lopsided victory versus Millsaps, now holds a three-game on Sewanee for the top seed.
-Sunday's contest with Rhodes becomes more interesting. With a 66-65 victory over Centre on Friday, the Lynx (13-6, 6-4) are one game behind the Tigers for second place in the league standings.
-Earning a top-four seed is crucial in the SAA Tournament, as the quarterfinal games are hosted by those top seeds. The opening round of the tourney takes place on Feb. 19.
SEWANEE KEY STATISTICS
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Tre Corrigan and
Graham Smith each had 15 points to pace the Purple Tigers. Corrigan added six boards and four dimes, while Smith had two steals and knocked down 6-of-10 from the field.
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Colin Kahl posted a double-double with 13 points and 10 boards. He also added four assists and two blocks.
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Russ Marr scored 12 points and grabbed seven rebounds, while
Luka Avaliani picked up eight boards and dished out six dimes.
HENDRIX KEY STATISTICS
-Caleb Squires led all scorers with 22 points, while Tyler Deithloff added 12 points and rebounds each.
UP NEXT
The Tigers' last road game of the regular season will happen Sunday afternoon at Rhodes.
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