The Blackburn men's basketball team lost 118-111 to conference rival Greenville University at H.J. Long Gymnasium on Saturday night.
Karson Hayes (Little Rock, Arkansas / John L McClellan) and Jamaya Wyatt (Chicago, Illinois / Uplift) combined for 37 points on the night to lead the Beavers (now 3-4). Wyatt, who scored a season-best 18 points, grabbed 13 boards while tallying four blocks in 22 minutes. Hayes and Wyatt were just two of six Beavers who scored in double digits. Tim Marston (Murphysboro, Illinois / Murphysboro) also had a big contribution posting eight points to go along with eight rebounds.
Adam Warren kicked off the scoring for Greenville with a jumper 23 seconds into the game. After which, each team would match each other point for point with multiple lead changes only reaching a maximum of four points.
With 2:26 minutes to go in the first half and the score at 50-all, the Panthers recorded back-to-back layups by Kieshaun Young-Jones and Eric Williams to take an 8-4 advantage going into halftime.
Blackburn shot 22 of 42 (52.4 percent) from the field while Greenville went 18 of 46 (39.1 percent). The major difference came in the shooting percentage from the charity stripe as the Panthers led the way with 16 of 20 (80 percent) compared to the Beavers 3 of 8 (37.5 percent). Williams led all scorers with 15 points for the Panthers.
The Beavers went on a 7-3 run to start off the second half until Williams set up Warren for a jump shot to push the Panthers up two, 63-61, with 16:26 remaining in the game.
With just under 15 minutes to go in the game, Greenville managed to go on a 23-11 run to put themselves up 91-76.
Despite Greenville keeping a double-digit lead through much of the second half, Blackburn fought back in the final minutes after Nigel Ferrell (St. Louis, Missouri / Lift for Life Academy) cut the deficit down to five with 4:08 remaining.
In the final minute of the game, a 3-pointer by Marvin Bateman put the Panthers lead back up to ten, 115-105. The Beavers would try their best to come back but with not enough time left to mount a strong enough comeback, the game ended with the score being 118-111 to Greenville.
The Beavers shot 22 of 52 (42.3 percent) from the field, 4 of 23 (17.4 percent) from three and 9 of 11 (81.8 percent) from the charity stripe. The Panthers recorded 24 of 47 (51.1 percent) from the field, 6 of 20 (30.0 percent) from beyond the arc and 6 of 10 (60.0 percent) from the line.
Up Next: The Beavers play again this Saturday, Dec. 15, as they play a confident Eureka team at 3 p.m.