By Stan Caldwell
stanmansportsfan.com
 
HATTIESBURG – It seems like William Carey University takes two steps forward and one step back in men's basketball this season.
 
And the Crusaders took a step back Saturday afternoon, dropping a hard-fought 79-74 decision to Stillman College in Southern States Athletic Conference action at Clinton Gym.
 
WCU dropped to 14-7 overall and remains tied with Dalton State for fourth in the SSAC at 9-5 in conference play. Stillman (15-7, 12-3) has won nine of its last 10 games, including five straight, and is alone in second place in the league standings.
 
"Those were plays that they made down the stretch that we didn't make," said Carey head coach Steve Knight. "It was one of those games where everything was a grind. We weren't in a great rhythm."
 
A boisterous crowd got its money's worth in a nail-biter that saw 13 lead changes and seven ties. The Crusaders overcame a 10-point deficit in the second half  and had a lead with under four minutes to play, only to see the Tigers make the key plays down the stretch.
 
"That's part of basketball," said senior Earl Smith. "Sometimes, the basketball gods work against you. We tried to get them, but things just happened.
 
"Coming in, we knew they were physical, but we just didn't play as a team like we usually play. We tried to play their game instead of our game."
 
Stillman scorched the nets in the first half, building a nine-point lead at the halftime break. The Tigers converted 18 of 31 shots (58.1 percent) in the first half, including 8 of 13 (61.5 percent) from 3-point range.
 
"We just had to come out harder (in the second half)," said junior Dylan Brumfield. "We knew who their shooters were; we just came out lazy in the first half. The second half, we just got up on them."
 
The first half featured nine lead changes as the two teams took turns landing haymakers at a fast and furious pace.
 
But Carey never led by more than three points, that coming twice, the first time at the 13:28 mark of the first half, when Smith swished a 3-ball from the left side of the key for a 15-12 lead.
 
Stillman answered with an 8-0 run, but junior Dylan Brumfield countered with a 3-point shot from the left wing to get Carey started on a 9-2 run, taking a lead on a 3-ball from junior Ankerion Gross with eight minutes to play in the half.
 
Junior Kaeden Laws gave the Crusaders their second three-point lead, at 27-24 with 7:23 to play in the half, on another 3-pointer.
 
However, that's when the Tigers' shooting barrage truly heated up. Stillman converted eight of it last 10 shots in the first half, including 4 for 4 from downtown, and outscored Carey 22-10 the rest of the period.
 
"The first half, we came out kind of lackadaisical," said Smith. "I felt like we didn't want to play the first half, but the second half, we picked up the intensity and we gave ourselves a chance to come back and win the game."
 
Carey trailed 50-40 with 16:30 to play in the game before beginning to rally. But the Crusaders could have dented the margin much earlier, but left at least 10 points on the table with missed layups and other easy opportunities.
 
"The beginning of the second half, a lot of people won't remember that, but we had an opportunity for 10 points on the offensive end, and didn't score," said Knight.
 
"We got in transition and Earl lost the ball out of bounds one time, and he got it knocked away another time. Dylan twice – I mean, he's got a dunk and they knock it off his leg out of bounds – then Kaeden missed a bunny inside."
 
Still, Carey rallied by attacking the basket, mostly with Brumfield doing the slashing. Brumfield finished with a game-high 25 points, including 9 of 11 from the free-throw line, and grabbed 8 rebounds.
 
"We came out soft and weak, and expected the refs to call the fouls," said Brumfield. "So, we just said we're going to make them call the foul, get aggressive and go to the goal."
 
Brumfield drove the lane for a layup to cap a 14-6 surge that trimmed the deficit to 56-54 with 10:48 to play. And it was Brumfield who put Carey ahead 61-60 with 8:53 to go on a 15-foot jumper from the left side.
 
The two teams went back and forth the rest of the way, playing through three more lead changes and three more ties.
 
Gross gave the Crusaders their last lead with a pair of foul shots with 4:26 remaining, but misfortune dogged Carey over the final four minutes.
 
The Tigers missed a pair of foul shots, but grabbed the offensive rebound and got the ball to junior Brenden Lankford-Johnson, who slashed to the basket for a layup to tie the game 70-70.
 
And the Tigers took Brumfield out of the game in the final four minutes, holding him scoreless over that period, and forcing a costly charge with 36.0 seconds left and the Crusaders trailing 75-72.
 
"That's on me," said Brumfield. "Everything that happened in the last four minutes is on me. I didn't do a good enough job. We just have to come out to practice tomorrow and get ready for next week."
 
The Tigers were 4 for 4 from the line in the final 30 seconds to salt the game away. Senior Bailey Talley led Stillman with 17 points and 8 rebounds, and senior Marcus Bates Jr. added 16 points, as the Tigers put five players in double figures in scoring.
 
Smith added 14 points and 8 rebounds, and Gross had 12 points for Carey.
 
"Give (Stillman) credit, they came out here ready to play," said Knight. "They're now 9-2 on the road. They have a mentality. They talk a little bit and try to get in your head, and they're not like that at home. They're like road warriors, they get after it on the road."
 
The Crusaders will have to be road warriors of their own as they face a critical road trip, playing at Brewton-Parker on Thursday and Middle Georgia State on Saturday.
 
"I told them, I'm not giving you 24 hours to get over this one; you need to start thinking about Brewton-Parker right now," said Knight. "They've beaten us three times in a row. Then we turn around and go to Middle Georgia, which is a tough place to play.
 
"It's never easy when you're that far away from home. We need to win all our (remaining) home games, and we need to sweep these two games. That will put us back where we would have been had we won this game."