BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Berry Men's Basketball secured another Southern Athletic Association win, this time on the road against the number two foe they saw last weekend, Birmingham-Southern, 75-55.
After an opening 5-0 run from the Panthers, the remainder of the game was dominated by the Vikings in this quick rematch. Jordan Krueger began a 7-0 run for his team that ended with leading scorer Braxton Benham's made deep ball. At 16:25 the Panthers tied the game at 7, but Blake Campbell did not let that last for long as he claimed a three the next possession (10-7).
The halfway point in the first half was boosted by the Vikings fifth three in the first ten minutes of play. Now with a 14-point advantage, Berry looked to hold and keep their distance from the Panthers until halftime.
BSC would be unable to cut the score any closer than double digits and with leading scorer Braxton Benham shooting almost a perfect percentage from the field, the hopes of Birmingham-Southern withered away.
Two more made threes and some key paint points wrapped up the first half and left the Vikings just shy of a 20-point lead at 45-26.
In the second half, the game played no differently as the Vikings continued to dominate in all areas of the court. Up 25 after another Benham two points with 12:27 to go, BSC struggled to answer the hot Berry offense and tough defense.
Breaking the 20-point lead, the Panthers thought they had finally found some hope under five minutes to go as they made a tough triple and forced Berry to regroup (66-51).
BSC's 19-8 run in the last 10-minutes of the game just was not good enough to compete with the current #1 SAA team who got out early on the road.
Campbell's 13th rebound (a new career-high) that resulted in an offensive putback after the regrouping timeout led to his leading partner Benham taking a charge on the defensive end that would finalize the game and reclaim any momentum BSC thought they held.
In the final three minutes, a wave of subs for Berry continued the success, pushing their winning streak to seven and stunning the Panthers.
Catch Berry back in action at Millsaps College on Sunday at 4:00 PM ET.
Berry Pushes Win Streak to Seven with Defeat of BSC
Berry
75
Birmingham-Southern
55
Final | 1 | 2 | T |
---|---|---|---|
Berry (10-10,7-1 SAA) | 45 | 30 | 75 |
Birmingham-Southern (12-8,6-3 SAA) | 26 | 29 | 55 |
Jan 26, 2024