Hornets close out King Cotton with win over Mississippi team
EDITOR’S NOTE: Because the look back at each day in Bryant athletic history has been so favorably received during the time when there was no sports during the COVID-19 shutdown, BryantDaily.com will continueposting past stories of Bryant athletics either posted on BryantDaily.com (from 2009 to the present) or published in the Bryant Times (from 1998 to 2008).
PINE BLUFF — In their final game at the King Cotton Classic on Monday, the Bryant Hornets found themselves in almost the exact position they were in on Saturday, up 10 at the half. That day, against the Wooddale Cardinals of Memphis, the Hornets fell victim to a second-half rally and suffered a nine-point loss, their fourth in a row.
But, on Monday, they withstood the rally of the Raymond, Miss., Raiders and finished where they had been at halftime, securing a 68-58 win.
Now, Wooddale is from Memphis, a hotbed of high school basketball but Raymond is ranked number one in its classification in Mississippi, number two in the area around Jackson, and number seven in the state by MaxPreps. The Raiders defeated Little Rock Parkview on Saturday after losing to a team from Chicago on day one of the Classic.
“All of the teams here are really good,” said Hornets head coach Mike Abrahamson. “We’re up 10 again at half, just like we were two days ago. I came in there (the locker room) and said, ‘Okay, same situation.’ We knew we were going to get their best effort in the second half just like we did two days ago.
“Today, we handled it a lot better,” he noted. “We showed a little growth. It still wasn’t perfect, but it was better. So, I’m proud of that as we end the tournament on a high note.”
The Hornets got a big boost from sophomore Will Diggins, who was a starting tackle for the Bryant football team. It was his first start for the basketball team, and he came through with 14 points and seven rebounds.
Treylon Payne pumped in 19 points, Camren Hunter and Khasen Robinson added 13 each and Aiden Adams scored 9.
“Will really stepped up,” Abrahamson said. “I’m super-proud of him. We needed him today and he played great. Fourteen points, seven rebounds — I tell you what, we’ll take that every game. He was great.”
Payne scored 7 of the Hornets’ first 13 points as they built a 13-5 lead in the first quarter. Hunter, who had five assists, dealt to Robinson for a 3 to cap the run. After Raymond’s Jabarie Robinson hit two free throws, the Raiders jumped into a trapping defense and forced a turnover but, moments later, Khasen Robinson took a charge. At the other end, he fed Diggins for his first basket.
But Jabarie Robinson, a talented sophomore who scored 26 points in the game, drove for a layup and, moments later, Hunter was cited for his second foul and came out. Jordan Marshall added a basket inside for Raymond to cut the lead to 15-11 but a tip in by Payne got the Hornets back on track.
After an illegal screen cost the Raiders possession, Payne drove for a basket to make it 19-11 going into the second quarter.
The two teams matched points for most of the second quarter as the Hornets maintained with Hunter on the bench. Adams hit two of his 3’s along the way. Khasen Robinson had one. Both also took charges on consecutive trips up the floor before Diggins scored to make it 34-22.
Jabarie Robinson hit a 15-footer in the closing minute to make it a 10-point difference at the half.
“Great ball movement in the first half, even when Cam came out,” Abrahamson noted. “A lot of in and out and one-more passes. Treylon played really well offensively the first half, scoring-wise, but he also held it together, just keeping the ship steady. The ball movement was great. So, we could get good rhythm shots. You make more of those shots. So, we withstood that without Cam.”
But there was a surge by the Raiders in the second half. On Saturday, the Wooddale surge in the second half overtook the Hornets. This time, the lead eventually was cut to 5, 44-39. Hunter stopped a 8-0 run with a free throw and, after Khasen Robinson made a steal, Hunter took a kick-out pass from Diggins and nailed a 3.
So, when Khasen Robinson hit two free throws with 1:36 left in the quarter, the Hornets’ lead was back to double-digits, 50-39.
Raymond’s Martavin McWilliams and Hunter traded three-point plays and, off a turnover, Hunter scored off the offensive glass to make it 55-42 going into the fourth quarter.
“The third quarter, they made their run,” Abrahamson acknowledged. “We were having trouble keeping the ball in front of us. They started to get to the rim, and we went to the match-up zone and slowed them down a little bit.”
Hunter fed Diggins for a basket to start the final period, increasing the lead to 15. Jabarie Robinson hit a driving jumper then Payne fed Diggins for a bucket. Tremaine Dixon hit a long 3-pointer for the Raiders, who then called a timeout, trailing 59-47.
When play resumed, the Hornets went on a 7-1 run. Diggins followed his own miss for a basket, Payne hit a free throw and Hunter scored off the offensive boards. Dixon interrupted with a free throw but when Hunter dished to Diggins for another basket, Bryant’s lead had reached its apex at 18, 66-48.
The Hornets are set to return to action on Tuesday, Jan. 7, with the annual Saline County Shootout against the Benton Panthers when Bryant inaugurates the new Hornet Arena.
HORNETS 68, RANGERS 58
Score by quarters
Raymond 11 13 18 16 — 58
BRYANT 19 15 21 13 — 68
RANGERS (10-5) 58
J.Robinson 11-13 2-2 26, Marshall 1-5 0-0 3, McWilliams 2-5 1-1 5, Armstrong 1-1 0-0 2, Stimage 4-9 3-4 11, Miller 0-3 0-0 0, Downs 0-0 0-0 0, Dixon 3-7 3-4 11, Fuqua 0-2 0-0 0, Kidd 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-46 (48%) 9-11 (82%) 58.
HORNETS (7-5) 68
Hunter 5-9 2-3 13, Payne 8-11 2-3 19, K.Robinson 4-7 2-2 4, Adams 3-8 0-0 9, Diggins 7-13 0-0 14, Schroeder 0-0 0-0 0, West 0-0 0-0 0, L.Newburn 0-0 0-0 0, O.Newburn 0-0 0-0 0, Brunson 0-0 0-0 0. Team27-48 (56%) 6-8 (75%) 68.
Three-point field goals: Bryant 8-15 (Adams 3-7, K.Robinson 3-4, Payne 1-2, Hunter 1-1, Diggins 0-1), Raymond 5-15 (Dixon 2-4, J.Robinson 2-3, Marshall 1-3, Miller 0-2, Fuqua 0-2, Kidd 0-1). Turnovers: Bryant 10, Raymond 15. Rebounds: Bryant 10-14 24 (Diggins 4-3 7, Payne 2-2 4, K.Robinson 0-4 4, Hunter 1-1 2, Adams 2-0 2, O.Newburn 0-1 1, team 1-3 4), Raymond 12-13 25 (Stimage 3-5 8, Dixon 2-3 5, J.Robinson 2-2 4, Marshall 1-2 3, McWilliams 1-1 2, Armstrong 1-0 1, team 2-0 2). Team fouls: Bryant 13, Raymond 12.
