Single Season Record Broken On Sophomore Night

It was an eventful night for the Bishop State Men's Basketball team as they entered tonight's matchup with a lot at stake. One was, defeat Lawson State, and move one game closer to clinching the regular season championship. Another was to eclipse the school record for most regular season wins in men's basketball history. Finally, it was sophomore night and the Wildcats knew a victory was much needed to send the four sophomores off right.

The previous game versus Lawson State was a tough one on the road, as both teams were undefeated and at the top of the league. With a lot of back and forth action all game, the Wildcats prevailed in a nail biter with a three point victory in Birmingham. Knowing what was on the line and facing an opponent that pushed them to the limit, the Wildcats knew what was in store facing one of the best scorers in the league.

Most of the first half went in favor of the Wildcats as they led the entire way. Bishop State was able to stretch the lead to 12 behind a good start from sophomore Joseph Frazier as he attacked the rim strong finishing with 10 first half points. It was a well balanced attack as all four sophomores scored in the first half.

In what looked like it was going to be an early blowout, Lawson State made a huge run to tie the game at 39 before a pull-up jumper at the buzzer by Kedar Bodie pushed the lead back to 2, 41-39. The Wildcats were on a 3-minute scoring drought before that made basket by Bodie. Every statistical category was rather close at the half. Third leading scorer, Frosh Marvin McGhee IV was in foul trouble, and only played 4 minutes.

The second half started in favor of the Cougars as they carried their first half momentum with them. They held the Wildcats scoreless for the first four minutes and led by 8, 49-41. A Seth Grandberry layup broke the scoring drought and led to a 6-0 run cutting the deficit to just 2 points. Kev Kogbara eventually tied the game at 51 on a layup assisted by Grandberry. At the 10:24 mark, another layup from Kogbara gave the Wildcats their first lead since the start of the half as they went up 60-59. There was only one more lead change as the Cougars went back up 64-63 after a made free throw from Michael Jacobs but, that was the last time Lawson State would see a lead. The Wildcats full court defense eventually wore the Cougars down as the last field goal Lawson State made was at the 2:54 mark. The Wildcats finished the last three minutes on a 15-4 run to move their record to 22-3 overall and 9-0 in conference.

22 regular season wins is a school's best for men's basketball as they eclipsed a 30-year record which was held by Coach J.D. Shelwood's 1993-94 squad. That team finished 21-7 overall and 10-2 in conference as they won the ACCC South Conference Division Regular Season.

Kedar Bodie stole the show on sophomore night as he put the team on his back late in the game finishing with 20 points (8-14 FG) and 5 rebounds. Although Bodie is a frosh on the court, he's a sophomore in the classroom. Sophomore Kevin Kogbara came off the bench with a burst of energy and some huge baskets finishing with 15 points (5-10 FG) and 8 rebounds. Sophomore's Joseph Frazier and Michaell Kinnard were big in the victory as well. Frazier battled with cramping most of the second half but managed to finish with 12 points (6-11 FG). Kinnard wasn't great in the scoring column with only 6 points (3-11 FG) but was big on the glass with 12 rebounds (6 off, 6 def). Frosh Seth Grandberry came off the bench and contributed 13 points (4-11 FG).

The Wildcats will travel to Southern Union on Thursday with a chance to clinch a share of the ACCC Division-I Regular Season Title. A victory, with some help from other teams around the league, will also secure a top 2 spot which will give the Wildcats a bye in the conference tournament and will automatically advance to the semifinal game.