MONTICELLO – No. 16 Christian Brothers rallied in the second half to defeat the University of Arkansas at Monticello men’s basketball team by a final score of 65-62 on Saturday in the first Gulf South Conference game of the season.
The Boll Weevils (8-5, 0-1 GSC) never trailed until the 10:07 mark of the second half, when the Bucs (13-2, 1-0 GSC) put together an 8-0 scoring run, capped by an Alex Rogers jumper, to take their first lead at 41-40.
From that point, both teams exchanged shots over the next nine minutes. Junior Sergio Crowe nailed his fourth and final three-pointer with 1:21 remaining to create the game’s 10th tie at 59-all.
CBU’s Rogers put the Bucs on top by two on the following possession, and Cory McArthur extended that lead to four on a pair of made free-throws with 19 seconds remaining.
Junior Ricardo Hall attempted and made his first three-pointer of the season on the following possession to put UAM down by one point at 63-62 with 17 seconds remaining.
Then forced to foul, UAM sent CBU’s Harry Green to the line, who sunk both attempts with three seconds remaining to give the Bucs their final advantage. Ricardo Hall’s desperation shot from midcourt missed as time expired.
Crowe finished as the game’s leading scorer with 24 points, which was also a season-high. He connected on 9-of-16 shots from the field, including 4-of-9 three-pointers. He was 2-of-3 from the foul line and also captured six rebounds.
Hall recorded his fifth double-double of the season with 18 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
Scott Dennis led the Bucs with 15 points, followed by Cory McArthur and Zack Warner with 13 and 12 points, respectively.
The Boll Weevils shot 49 percent from the field (23-of-47), 33 percent on three-pointers (7-of-21) and 82 percent at the foul line (9-of-11). The Bucs finished at 48 percent from the field (27-of-56), 37 percent on three-pointers (7-of-19) and 57 percent at the foul line (4-of-7).
UAM remains in Monticello for its next contest, a 7:30 p.m. tipoff against Henderson State this coming Thursday, January 13 inside Steelman Field House.
