Hackettstown, NJ- In the first Colonial States Athletic Conference game of the year Baptist Bible College lost on the road to Centenary College by a score of 94-79. Despite coming from behind to tie the game, the Defenders could not close out the game as they drop their first conference contest.
The Defenders kept the game close throughout most of the first half and at times had the lead. With less than four minutes to go till the break, Centenary went on an 11-4 run to close out the half and take a 44-36 lead to the locker room. The three ball helped the Cyclones out as they went 5 of 15 for the half compared to Baptist Bible's 1 of 6 from behind the arc.
In the second half Centenary would extend its lead into double digits, but the Defenders would not give in as they fought back to draw the game even at 65 with under 10 minutes left. In the following minutes the Cyclones would capitalize on each of Baptist Bible's mistakes to extend the lead back to double digits with 5 minutes remaining. The Defenders did not have enough time catch back up to the Cyclones as they fell by a final of 94-79.
The Defenders were lead in scoring by Ryan Sullivan and Nathan Greve each with 17 points. Sullivan also added 11 boards for a double-double. Dathan Marshall and Seth Bernard also scored in double figures having 14 and 10 respectively. Stephen added 9 points and a team high 5 assists. Baptist Bible had an improved shooting percentage from the weekend as they shot 48% from the field, but could not keep the turnovers down with 31 on the evening.
Ryan Kearney had a game high 30 points on the night for the Cyclones of Centenary. Rob Urie added 20, while Ludner Innocent notched 10 points along with 9 rebounds and 7 assists.
The Defenders (1-3) will have the Thanksgiving break to prepare for last year's CSAC champion Gwynedd-Mercy College. The game will be at the Huckaby Gymnasium at 8:00 pm on Thursday, December 3rd.
