March 1, 2008

Final Stats

MEMPHIS--The Christian Brothers University Bucs clinched a share of the Gulf South Conference West Division championship Saturday night as they defeated Harding 70-56 at Canale Arena.

The division title is the first for the Bucs (19-9, 10-4 GSC West) since joining the GSC in 1996-97.

The Bucs used two key runs to pull away in Saturday's win. Trailing by four after back-to-back Harding (16-11, 10-4) layups to start the half, the Bucs responded with a 10-0 spurt over a 2:37 span, capped by a spectacular tip-in by Brandon Shane (Greenfield, Tenn./Greenfield HS) that put the Bucs ahead 38-32 with 16:15 remaining. Harding would never regain the lead again.

The Bisons cut the lead to 48-46 with 8:50 to play on a Kevin Brown tip-in, but the Bucs went on a 15-4 run to put the game away with little suspense, sparked by four straight points from Nick Kohs (Cincinnati, Ohio/Lakota East HS) and ended by a three-point play on the fastbreak by Kevin Weybright (Cincinnati, Ohio/Wyoming HS), which gave the Bucs a 63-50 lead with just 4:24 to go, and Harding never cut the lead to single digits again.

Weybright led the way with 23 points, seven rebounds, and three assists in 38 minutes, finishing the regular season with 1,903 points in his career, just 55 behind Bill Lowry, CBU's all-time leading scorer. Kohs turned in another double-double, his 15th of the season and his ninth in GSC West play, with 19 points, 14 rebounds, three assists, and two blocks in 39 minutes. Reggie Peyton (Memphis, Tenn./St. Benedict HS) added 13 points and eight rebounds.

Trent Morgan led Harding with 15 points, while Matt Hall and Brown added 10 each.

The Bucs overcame their worst three-point shooting night of the year, as they finished just 2-of-23 (8.7 percent) for the game. They shot 43.4 percent (23-of-53) overall, however, while Harding was 45.5 percent (25-of-55) overall and 1-of-12 (8.3 percent) from beyond the arc.

The Bucs out-rebounded Harding 36-35 and forced 13 turnovers while committing nine.

The Bucs finish in a three-way tie for first place with Harding and Ouachita Baptist, and they are seeded second in the West in next week's GSC Tournament at the DeSoto Civic Center in Southaven.

They will play Friday night at 7:30 p.m. against West Georgia, who finished in third place in the GSC East. The Bucs split two regular-season meetings with the Wolves, losing 84-79 in overtime at West Georgia in December and winning 80-77 at Canale Arena in January.