CBU's big defensive stop sinks Lady Toppers

Daily Journal

BLUE MOUNTAIN - Christian Brothers made it tough for Blue Mountain to shoot all night long. At the end the Lady Bucs made it tough to thrown an inbounds pass too.

Down three with 3.0 seconds left, Blue Mountain was unable to put the ball in play and never had the chance to tie, as Christian Brothers held on for a 71-67 win at Kyle Gymnasium Thursday.

In the men's game, Crichton College defeated Blue Mountain 116-97.

Christian Brothers, of the NCAA Division II Gulf South Conference, got two free throws from Crystal Shelton for a 69-67 advantage with 3.0 seconds on the clock.

Those were two of a game-high 18 points for Shelton.

Blue Mountain (3-6) shot just 27.3 percent in the first half and sent Christian Brothers to the free throw line 22 times. The Lady Bucs, however, were never able to use their size advantage to build a big lead.

Blue Mountain, of the NAIA TranSouth Conference, stayed an arm's length behind until Shayla Stroud's driving layup gave the Toppers at 48-47 lead with 11 minutes, 20 seconds to play. It was BMC's first lead since the 15:33 mark of the first half.

Christian Brothers went back in front and built a four-point lead, but Lana Harris scored down low for a 65-64 lead. Then Brittney Garner scored in transition after a steal by Jamie Harrison, and the Toppers were up 67-64 with 2:07 left.

Every Blue Mountain shot was contested. When the Lady Toppers squared to shoot they were often met by center Ponecia Anderson, who had five of the Lady Bucs' nine blocked shots.

The Lady Toppers handled that challenge better in the second half and shot 38.2 percent.

"I was really pleased with how hard and smart we played," Blue Mountain coach Lavon Driskell said. "We made some nice plays to hang in and get back to a lead."

Harris and Joy Pierce had 12 points each for the Lady Toppers, and Stroud added 10.

Playing for the last shot in a tie game the Lady Bucs looked for the give-and-go they had worked several times previously in the second half. When the Lady Toppers took that away, they turned to Shelton.

The Lady Toppers' defense collapsed on Shelton, and that's when Harris was called for her fifth foul while trying to rake the ball away.

"We thought we were about to get a tie ball there, if not a steal," Driskell said."

Crichton College 116, Blue Mountain 97: It was a 45-point improvement from the first meeting, which Crichton won by a score of 141-77.

The Toppers (0-10) trailed 60-37 at halftime but got within 11 points after a 3-pointer with 5:54 to play.

Jon Estes led five BMC players in double figures with a game-high 26 points.

Crichton placed seven players in double figures.