MOUNT BERRY, Ga. - The Berry College Vikings men's basketball team registered a commanding 73-42 win Friday night in a Southern Athletic Association (SAA) showdown with Hendrix College in their first home contest at The Cage Center in over two weeks.

Berry (13-7, 6-1 SAA) led from start to finish to sweep the season series with senior guard Braxton Benham pacing the Vikings with a game-high 17 points.

Jacob Morgan made a three in the first possession of the half with the help of Benham to set the tone in the opening minutes. Drew Winegarden's savvy defense resulted in the Vikings regaining possession, but an offensive miscue allowed the Warriors (2-18, 0-7 SAA) to force a turnover and get an easy layup for two. This began seven minutes of pure Viking domination. Berry pushed the lead to 23-5 at the 11:42 mark and held Hendrix to a 2-13 start from the floor that included 10 consecutive misses.

Unable to score for three minutes, Berry relinquished the double-digit lead, finding themselves within seven points of the Warriors with 8:06 left in the frame with a score of 23-16. Though Berry temporarily went cold, Parker Godwin pulled up for three to kick off Berry's 17-9 run at the end of the half. With one second to go in the first half, Benham threw a laser of a pass to Morgan from across the court for a pure three from Berry's hot long-range shooter. The Vikings, knowing it was good, began to skip into the locker room before the ball cleared the basket with a 40-25 advantage.

Defensively, head coach Matthew Richter's team held the Warriors to a 9-28 (32.1 percent) clip in the first 20 minutes, including a 2-of-7 (28.6 percent) from deep. Berry, at the other end, went 16-of-29 (55.2 percent) overall, and 7-of-13 (53.8 percent) from deep. The Vikings outranked the Warriors 12-2 on fast break points.

Berry came out strong in the second half, with mighty Morgan sinking a 3-pointer right off the bat, extending their lead to 18 points. Hendrix responded with a layup, but the Viking's defense held firm, shutting the Warriors down.

Isaac Martin and Benham were instrumental in Berry's offense during the final 20 minutes of the game, with Martin assisting Benham on a fastbreak layup, pushing the score to 45-27. Despite Hendrix's efforts, Berry maintained their momentum with another basket from beyond the arc for Martin.

Hendrix struggled to close the gap, with missed shots and turnovers hindering their progress. Berry capitalized on these mistakes, with Mason Lawrence and Nile King contributing to the scoreboard with layups, pushing the lead to 56-36. Hendrix called for a timeout to regroup after a layup from Nile, but with 12:50 left in the game, it would have taken a miracle for the Warriors to stop the Vikings. Unsurprisingly, Berry never let up, and the relentless offense continued to dominate the game.

Benham extended Berry's lead to a game high 25 points with a fastbreak 3-pointer and subsequent free throws made the score 63-38 with nine minutes left. Berry's defense remained impenetrable. Cameron Pope's layups and Grant Stubbs' 3-pointer sealed the game for Berry, who finished with a commanding 73-42 victory.

The Vikings held the Warriors to a 23.33 percent field goal percentage. Hendrix was 1-for-7 from beyond the arc. The Vikings held strong, shooting 44.44 percent from the field and 36.36 from beyond the 3-point line.

Morgan finished the day with 14 points and three rebounds. King, with 14 points (a new career high) and four rebounds, complimented Benham's six rebounds and five assists nicely.

Berry will be back in the gym on Sunday afternoon to face SAA foe Rhodes College at 2:00p.m. in The Cage Center.