Eagles Late Comeback Falls Short Against CBC

WALNUT RIDGE, Ark. (2/13/24) - The Williams Baptist men's basketball fell to Central Baptist College 90-81 in an American Midwest Conference game Tuesday evening at the Southerland-Mabee Center. 

The Eagles trailed by 15 in the first half, but rallied to close within 77-72 with just over five minutes remaining in the contests. The Mustangs pushed the lead back to eight at 84-76 with 2:26 left, but WBU again refused to go quietly as they got back to within seven at 88-81 after a TJ Clardy dunk with 53 seconds to go.

However, the Mustangs were solid at the free throw line in the closing seconds and crashed out on the boards to prevent the Eagles from completing the comeback.

Clardy led the way for the Eagles with 17 points and five assists, while Duke Hardin, Ashton Young and Cory Sanders all finished with 12 points each. 

Williams did what it needed to against the AMC league leaders in terms of taking care of the ball on the offensive end as they committed just 10 turnovers on the nights and allowed CBC to score just 13 points off those turnovers. The Eagles also crashed the boards and finished with a 43-42 rebounding edge, but the difference in the game took place at the foul line.

Central Baptist College knocked down 19-of-23 of its attempts from charity stripe, while WBU went 13-of-21, including 5-of-12 in the second half. 

WBU returns to the court Saturday, Feb. 17 for senior day against the University of Health Sciences & Pharmacy in St. Louis. Tipoff is set for 3:30 p.m. from the Southerland-Mabee Center.