Hustling to victory
Bears defeat Athens 60-46, move into second place tie in District 14-3A

Chad Wilson Photo FOCUSED-- Brownsboro's Andrew Pollard focuses on the basket during the Bears win over Athens.

With a new starting lineup for the first time in district play the Bears rolled to a big victory over Athens Friday night in Brownsboro.

Inserted into the starting lineup was Ryan Epperson, Tristian Warren and Ryan Smith who combined scored 12 points.

Brownsboro's biggest advantage against Athens however was not the new lineup but the overall team play of the Bears.

Simply stated, the Bears never stopped hustling. From the opening tip to the final buzzer there was a Bear defender around the ball at all times.

The teams battled back and forth on the score board early in the first period before the Bears went to the press defense. Once in press mode the Bears ran away from the Hornets to take an 18-11 first period lead.

Coming off the bench Joe Denney ignited the Bears offense in the first period with a three pointer as part of his 7 period points. Denney finished the half with 12 points and the game with 14 points.

In the second period of play the team started slow before the Bears took a 27- 19 lead with 2:15 to play in the half. Brownsboro was able to keep and build upon an early lead as they forced several Hornet turnovers and rebounded well on both ends of the court.

Chad Wilson Photo BEHIND THE BACK- Colin Thompson nails the behind-theback shot as part of his team high 16 points in the Bears victory over Athens.

Leading 31-23 after the half the Bears started the second half off well. Brownsboro went on a 7-2 run to begin the period before an Athens timeout with 5:37 remaining in the period.

Entering the final period of play with a 12 point lead the Bears continued to hustle as if the game was tied or they were behind. The result, the Bears outscored Athens 16-14 in the fourth for their second district win.

Leading the Bears in scoring for the second consecutive game was Colin Thompson with 16 points. Thompson hit a third period three as part of Brownsboro's 5 three pointers in the game.

Other Bears nailing their shot from beyond the arc were Joe Denney (2), Ryan Smith and Jordan Magee. Smith scored 12 points in the game.

Prior to defeating Athens the Bears lost a close contest to Bullard 65-57.

Brownsboro got off to a slow first period start as the Panthers outscored the Bears 18-4. By the half things did not look good for the Bears as they trailed 22- 46 in Bullard.

Making a few halftime adjustments the Bears came out firing on both sides of the ball in the third period. For the second consecutive period the Bears scored 18 points but this time the Bears played outstanding defense holding the Panthers to just 2 points.

Still trailing by 8 entering the final period the Bears could not overcome the deficit, losing 65-57.

Thompson led the Bears in scoring with 25 points. Thompson connected on 2 three pointers in the game. Also scoring in double figures was Tristian Warren with 13 points.

With an overall record of 13-9 and a district record of 2-1 the Bears stood tied for second place in District 14- 3A. Chapel Hill holds the top spot in district with a record of 3-0.

After their game Tuesday against Van the Bears will be on the road Friday at Chapel Hill. Chapel Hill edged Van last Friday to remain undefeated in district action. Game time in Chapel Hill is set for 7:30pm.
Bears         4     18   18     17 -57
Bullard     18   28   2   17 -65
C.Thompson 25, T.Warren 13,
R.Smith 6, K.Parsell 5, A.Pollard
4, A.Adair 2, R.Epperson 2.
Bears         18   13   13   16 -60
Athens       11   12     9 14 -46
C.Thompson 16, J.Denney 14,
R.Smith 12, A.Adair 7, A.Pollard
4, K.Parsell 4, J.Magee 3.