HATTIESBURG, Miss. — William Carey caught fire in the second half and never looked back, storming past Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College for a 99–90 win on Saturday afternoon.
The early action was fast and furious. ABAC's Bryce Wimberly struck first, but
Randarius Hughes answered instantly, setting the tone for a track-meet pace. The Stallions leaned on Nate Mobley, who powered in eight early points—including back-to-back layups—to push ABAC ahead 12–9 within five minutes.
But every surge had a response. Carey kept punching back, highlighted by an
Arzika Seibou layup, a Hughes block, and a follow-up tip-in that flipped the lead once again. The teams traded blows all half long, stacking up 13 lead changes before a Hughes tip-in at the buzzer nudged the Crusaders ahead 40–38 at the break.
ABAC came out swinging in the second half, rattling off nine of the first 13 points to go up 47–44. The momentum seemed to tilt—briefly. With WCU clinging to a 53–52 edge, the Crusaders slammed the door open.
Anthony Richards drilled a mid-range jumper,
Jamar Jenkins slashed in a layup, and
Malik Franklin splashed another jumper to ignite a six-point spurt. ABAC momentarily stopped the bleeding—but only momentarily. Carey roared right back with a 7–0 run, stretching the margin to 66–54 with 12 minutes left.
Two minutes later, a Seibou layup pushed the margin to 73–56, giving Carey full control. ABAC attempted several pushes behind Matthew Mairena and Tommie Hall, trimming the deficit to 12 multiple times, but each rally was met with a Crusader answer.
With time running out ABAC mounted one final charge in the closing minute—Hall buried a three, Mairena hit key free throws, and suddenly it was 95–88. But that was as close as they'd get. Dunn slammed the door with a late layup and a pair of free throws, locking in the win as Carey's defense delivered 19 forced turnovers, 11 steals, and an eye-popping 31 points off takeaways.
Five Crusaders hit double figures in the balanced, high-octane performance, led by Dunn's 22 points. Franklin added 21, Seibou finished with 16, Jenkins chipped in 14, and Hughes contributed 10.
William Carey now turns its focus to Thursday, February 12, hitting the road to face Faulkner University in a key conference showdown. Tip-off in Montgomery is set for 7:30 p.m.
