Eagles Battle Back in Second Half to Take Thriller Over Pioneers

WALNUT RIDGE, Ark. (11/14/23) - The Williams Baptist University men's basketball team rallied from a double-digit first half deficit to take a home victory over Crowley's Ridge College 72-67 Tuesday night at the Southerland-Mabee Center. 

The game was a tale of two halves. The Eagles shot only 26.5 percent from the field and 7.7 percent beyond the arc in the first half, but rallied back in the second half shooting 44.4 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from beyond the arc to help erase an 18-point first half deficit. 

Ben Keton scored 16 points, 11 of which came in the second half on 6-for-19 shooting. T.J. Clardy also had a big second half for the Eagles, scoring 10 of his 14 points in the final 20 minutes. Frank Petion put up 15 points on 4-for-9 from the field.

The Eagles got down early in the first half.  After Ben Keton opened up scoring 16 seconds into the game, the Pioneers would go on a 19-7 run to go up by 10 on WBU.  The Pioneers would cruise into the locker room with a 39-21 lead over the Eagles.

The second half, however, would be a different story.  The Eagles players and fans would showcase a different energy not shown in the first half.  With seven minutes left in the game, the Eagles defense would begin a full court press that would turn the momentum completely in the favor of the Eagles.

The Eagles would score 28 points off turnovers in the second half, thanks to steals from Jayvon Clark, TJ Clardy, and Duke Hardin. The Eagles would cut a 12 point Pioneer lead to just tw0, punctuated by a T.J. Clardy dunk that sent the home crowd into a frenzy.

Keton would hit a three to put the Eagles up 60-59 with 3:35 left in the game. The Pioneers fought back and tied the game at 65-65 with under a minute to play but Hardin knocked a trey from the corner with 29 seconds left to put the Eagles up for good. D.J. Townsend knocked down a pair of free throws to ice the game and secure the win,

Next, the Eagles will travel to Chicago, Ill. to take on East-West University on Friday, Nov. 17 at 5 p.m.