Eagles Runaway From Tigers in Opener

WALNUT RIDGE, Ark. (11/4/23)  – The Williams Baptist University men's basketball team entertained a near capacity crowd at Southerland-Mabee Center on Saturday as the Eagles topped in-state foe Champion Christian College 97-77 on homecoming.

Four players scored in double figures for the Eagles, and forced the Tigers into 12 turnovers and the Eagles won the battle on the boards 41-36. Williams also scored over half of its points in the paint and got 30 points off turnovers.

Frank Petion led all players with 28 points on 10-of-15 shooting, and added 10 rebounds for a double-double. Duke Hardin added 20 points and three steals, while Ben Keton scored 11 points and TJ Clardy added 10.

Champion shot 41.8 percent from the floor on 28-of-67 shooting and went 5-of-19 from beyond the arc. KJ Younge led the Tigers with 19 points.

Williams held a slim 46-44 lead early in the second half, but used an 8-0 run to later pull ahead 52-44 with 16:28 to go. The lead continued to grow and after a Clardy dunk with 9:55 remaining the lead was 72-56.

EJ Johnson helped put an exclamation point on the game with a dunk with 48 seconds to go to put the count at 97-74. A 3-pointer by Younge on the next trip down the floor set the final and gave the Eagles the win.

Up Next

Williams travels to Nashville, Tenn. on Thursday, Nov. 9 to take Welch College. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m.