Jan. 24, 2008

Rome, Ga. - In one of the most attended basketball games in Shorter history, the Hawks men's basketball team (13-5, 5-3) decided to make some history of their own by beating the Berry College Vikings for the third time in a row, 81-78.

In the first half, Berry (13-8, 5-4) scored the first five points, but two free throws from Kedric Wilson and a three-pointer from Jairus Jackson tied the game back up. Berry then took the lead all the up until the last three minutes when an offensive strike from Shorter's Tomas Pranciliauskas gave the Hawks some life. A loud Shorter College crowd and Pranciliauskas' incredible 17 points in the first half, gave the Hawks a 35-31 lead going into the second.

The fans kept the Hawks rolling in the second half. Taking as much as an eight-point lead several times in the last twenty minutes, the Hawks shot 67% on three-pointers and were 8-for-9 from the free throw line. The heated contest came down to the wire as only one point separated the two teams with nine seconds on the clock. A foul called on Berry's Jess Mullens allowed Kedric Wilson to score two free throws to give Shorter a three-point lead and the game.

"This has to be one of the most exciting games I've been a part of," said head coach Chad Warner. "Our guys were consistently going after the ball and feeding off the crowd. It was a close game, and in the end, a win against Berry is a win against Berry."

Pranciliauskas led all scorers with 30 points, with five three-pointers. He was followed by three more in double digits for the Hawks: Montagious Brown with 13, Darius Williams with 13, and Jackson with 10. Shorter outrebounded the Vikings 30-22, as Wilson led the way with nine.

Berry's Chris Clark tacked on 25 points of the Vikings' points followed by Daniel Ferguson with 19.

The Hawks continue their homestand on Saturday as they take on SSAC opponent Brewton-Parker at 4 p.m. at Shorter's Winthrop-King Centre.

Below is a video of the game from Shorter College's student-produced newspaper, The Periscope: