HATTIESBURG, Miss. – The William Carey Men's Basketball Team dropped a SSAC match-up against UT-Southern, falling to the Firehawks 93-83 Saturday afternoon at Clinton Gym.
 
"We played very atypical first half for us," said Head Coach Steve Knight. "Normally a good free throw shooting team but we went 5-14 from the line and committed 10 turnovers. In the second half, we battled back from a huge deficit and gave ourselves a chance, but UTS made the buckets and free throws when they needed them. I thought they were really good this afternoon."
 
Carey got off to a hot start, as Randarius Hughes opened the game with eight straight points to give the Crusaders an early 8-0 lead. Just as fast as WCU started they went cold, with UTS picking up momentum. With seventeen minutes to play in the half, the Firehawks not only erased the deficit but took a 16-13 lead over a five-minute span.
 
A three pointer by Jamar Jenkins tied the game and over the next four minutes both teams took turns with the lead. With eight minutes remaining in the half and Carey leading by one. The Firehawks jumped out to a 33-24 advantage behind an 8-0 run. Over the final minutes of the half, Carey managed to cut the deficit to four points at 38-34 but UTS answered stretching their lead to ten points before taking a 46-38 lead into halftime.
 
UT-Southern got things rolling quickly in the second half, building a 63-42 lead after six minutes had passed. The Crusaders kept their focus, and slowly chipped away at the Firehawk lead to get within 79-74 with four minutes remaining. Carey managed to keep it a five-point game on multiple occasions over the next two minutes. However, with UT-Southern leading 83-78 they pulled away for good on a 10-3 run.
 
Ashton Campbell led five Crusaders in double figures with 20 points. Cam Brown and Randarius Hughes each finished with 16 points. Makeem Roberts and Dylan Brumfield each added eleven points with Roberts also pulling down ten rebounds.
 
Carey is back in action Tuesday, February 11, as they take on Southeastern Baptist in non-conference action. Play is set to begin at 7:00 pm at Clinton Gym.