Hornets open season, tourney by dismissing Beebe
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).
By Rob Patrick
SEARCY — When Bryant senior point guard K Ron Lairy picked up his fourth foul in the final minute of the third quarter, it meant that the team’s leading scorer to that point would be out with the Hornets clinging to a 30-25 lead over the Beebe Badgers.
Lairy had accounted for 11 points, 9 in the first half when Bryant built a 20-15 lead.
But, sparked by sophomore point guard Brantley Cozart and sophomore post Quinton Motto, the Hornets not only held on but extended the lead. Senior K.J. Hampton scored a game-high 15 points as Bryant opened the 2009-10 season with a 52-30 victory in the opening round of the Searcy Bank Classic on Monday night.[more]
The Hornets will take on the host Searcy Lions in the tourney semifinals on Thursday at 8:30 p.m.
“When Brantley came into the game, he gave the game a whole new dimension because he made the (Beebe defenders) chase him instead of him going to them,” explained Hornets coach Ron Marvel. “When they started chasing him with two guys, it left our post man open and it made a world of difference.”
Motto hit a 12-foot jumper to beat the buzzer ending the third quarter. That gave the Hornets a 32-25 lead. Early in the fourth, he followed his own miss with a bucket to make it a 9-point game.
After a Beebe miss, Hampton rebounded a Bryant miss and got the ball quickly to guard Brandon Parish who whipped a pass right back to him and the result was a three-point play. The Hornets’ lead ballooned to 37-25.
At the other end, Motto took a charge and, after a Beebe timeout, Cozart beat a half-court trap, drove into the lane drawing the defense and dumped the ball off to Hampton on the left baseline for another three-point play, making it a 15-point advantage.
“K.J. knocked down a couple of big shots for us there,” Marvel acknowledged. “Motto played excellent. He had a really good game. Those young kids are getting better. L.J. (McLaughlin) made some sophomore mistakes but he played well. All three 10th graders played well for us.
“Our intensity level was definitely different,” said the coach of the Hornets’ improved second half play, “and we spread the floor and we started looking for the low post.”
After a 3-point by Beebe’s Davonte Young snapped a 10-0 Hornets run, Cozart was fouled and hit both shots before Lairy returned to the floor to close out the game.
Kendall Butzlaff fed Parish for a hoop that increased the margin to 44-28 and, after Beebe’s Chris Serrati missed two free throws, Lairy drove to the hoop, drew the defense and fed Hampton for another bucket inside.
The Hornets forced a turnover and Butzlaff picked up another assist as Dontay Renuard hit a short jumper. Moments later, Butzlaff hit a layup and Bryant had its biggest lead of the game at 50-28.
Beebe’s Braden Jones and Bryant’s Conner Rayburn traded buckets to set the final score.
In the first half, the Hornets had gotten into foul trouble because of the penetration of Beebe’s Scot Gowen who scored 6 of his 7 points in the half. He wound up going to the line for 10 free throws (thought he made just five. He had 1 point in the second half.
“We just stayed on the floor,” Marvel said of the defensive adjustment. “As (Bryant assistant) Coach (Jim) Pennington says, they stayed solid. We didn’t lunge at him or reach at him or grab at him, we just stayed on the floor and slid our feet, stayed between him and the bucket.”
Team defense in a helping man-to-man held Beebe to 10 of 32 shooting from the field with 18 turnovers. It also quieted Gowen.
“We played it as a team because they were all switching off at times,” Marvel said. “We switched a lot of things so we didn’t have the same kid on him all the time.”
Jones wound up leading the Badgers with 10 points.
The game seesawed into the second quarter. Beebe held a 6-5 lead with a chance to increase in the final minute of the opening period when Lairy made a steal and Renuard, following his own shot, scored with :22 left to put the Hornets up 7-6.
Gowan’s free throws on consecutive trips up the floor allowed the Badgers to build a 9-7 edge early in the second period. They had a couple of chances to add to that before Butzlaff swiped a pass and Lairy took advantage with a 15-foot jumper that tied the game.
Beebe continued to attack the basket and Zach May added a free throw. Lairy countered with a driving jumper that put the Hornets ahead to stay. And, after McLaughlin took a charge at the other end, Renuard buried a 3 to make it 14-10.
On baskets by Lairy, Motto and McLaughlin the lead grew to 20-13 before a steal and layup by Brandon Fuller had the Badgers within 20-15 at the half.
Hampton got right into the act offensively to start the second half. Lairy and Butzlaff combined to force a turnover that led to a trip to the free-throw line for Hampton who made it 21-15.
A free throw by Gowen and a post-up bucket by Caleb Davidson trimmed the margin to 3 before Hampton short drive into the lane produced an answering bucket. With 5:56 to play, Bryant held a 23-18 lead.
Neither team could change that score for a while. Finally, Hampton drove from the post for another hoop. Fuller hit a 3 for Beebe but Parish answered with one for Bryant.
Jones hit two free throws but Lairy hit his jumper. Jones got a jumper from the lane to go before Lairy fouled out on a charge that wiped out a basket.
Given a chance to cut the lead to 3 or 2, the Badgers’ May misfired setting up Motto’s buzzer beater which sparked Bryant’s decisive run.
BRYANT 52, BEEBE 30
Score by quarters
BRYANT 7 13 12 20 — 52
Beebe 6 9 10 5 — 30
HORNETS 52
Player fg-fga ft-fta reb. fls. pts.
o-d-t
Lairy 5-11 0-0 0-0 0 4 11
Parish 2-6 0-0 1-2 3 2 5
Renuard 3-9 0-0 0-4 4 2 7
Butzlaff 1-4 0-0 0-4 4 3 2
Hampton 6-11 3-4 5-3 8 1 15
McLaughlin 1-4 0-0 1-0 1 0 2
Rayburn 1-1 0-0 0-1 1 1 2
Motto 3-6 0-2 3-0 3 0 6
Cozart 0-0 2-2 0-2 2 0 2
Nossaman 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Garner 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Team 0-2 2
Totals 22-52 5-8 10-18 28 13 52
BADGERS 30
Player fg-fga ft-fta reb fls. pts.
o-d-t
Fuller 2-7 0-0 0-4 4 0 5
Young 2-6 0-0 1-0 1 3 5
Gowen 1-5 5-10 1-0 1 1 7
Davidson 1-3 0-0 2-6 8 5 2
Jones 4-5 2-2 1-2 3 1 10
May 0-5 1-2 0-3 3 1 1
Pursell 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Serrati 0-0 0-2 1-1 2 2 0
McAfee 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Team 2-2 4
Totals 10-32 8-16 8-18 26 13 30
Three-point field goals: Bryant 3-13 (Renuard 1-6, Lairy 1-3, Parish 1-3, Butzlaff 0-1), Beebe 2-7 (Fuller 1-4, Young 1-2, May 0-1). Turnovers: Bryant 9, Beebe 18.
