Faulkner rallies past pesky Boll Weevils
Faulkner State
1/11/09
By LARRY WHITESports Correspondent

BAY MINETTE ? A strong second half proved decisive for the Faulkner State men as they rallied to defeat visiting Enterprise-Ozark 65-55 Thursday in Bay Minette.

The Sun Chiefs trailed by as many as seven points early in the second half but outscored the Boll Weevils 37-20 in the final 14 minutes to take the win in the Alabama Community College Con ference opener for both teams.

The victory moved coach Jack Robertson's FSCC squad to 4-8 overall on the season.

"It was a big confidence-building win for us," Robertson said. "We had gained some confidence with a win in our final game of 2008 but I was concerned about the long layoff. We dug down deep and with the help of some strong bench play, got the victory."

FSCC fell behind by seven at 35-28 early in the second half but then began to take charge. Baskets from Brian and Brady Lacey, a 3-pointer from Brandon Hubbard and a strong inside move from Tommy Grisham tied it at 37-37.

Hubbard hit two free throws and another 3-pointer in a 13-5 run and the Sun Chiefs stretched it out before eventually winning by 10.

Brian Lacey led Faukner with 15 points and nine rebounds while Hubbard had 14 and Grisham added 12 points and eight boards.

"The Lacey twins, Brian and Brad, both played well and Mike Washington had a good night at the point guard position. Tommy Grisham is also getting better and better and Brandon Hubbard had some key baskets for us," Robertson said. "I thought we handled their press well. Brandon Hubbard's big three at the buzzer to end the first half was one of the key moments of the game and provided us with a big lift heading into the halftime break."

Daphne's Wendell Maye led Enterprise-Ozark with nine points while Michael Abbott also netted nine for the visitors.

Terrence Mitchell's 3-point play inside, a Grisham jumper and a Jeff Lewis bucket pushed Faulkner out to a quick 7-2 lead.

FSCC remained in front until the Boll Weevils went on an 8-2 run to go in front by a 14-13 margin.

Brian Lacey's rebound basket and a three from Washington gave Faulkner a 19-16 lead but then Enterprise responded with a 9-1 run to take a 25-20 advantage. The Boll Weevils led 27-21 with less than two minutes left but Lewis dropped in a pair of free throws and then Hubbard took a full-court pass with less than a second left and tossed in a long 3-pointer to make it 27-26 at intermission.

The Sun Chiefs return to action against Alabama Southern on Monday in Monroeville.