The men’s basketball team dominated the Cobras of Virginia Intermont College (Bristol, Va.) 81 – 48 Monday night in Virginia. The victory put the Lions a mere two wins away from securing first place in the AAC this season and being eligible to host the post-season tournament scheduled to begin Feb. 24. It’s been nearly 10 years since the team has finished first in the conference, according to Head Coach Don Rekoske.

The win Monday was prefaced by a substantial victory against Montreat College (N.C.) last Saturday. However, the team stayed cautious going into Monday’s game, not taking anything for granted despite Virginia Intermont’s current ranking of seventh in the AAC.

Junior power forward Astral Guerrier soars passed for a layup during Saturday's game against Montreat College. Photo by Billy Findley.

“They’re very dangerous on the road,” Rekoske said Saturday after the game against Montreat. Junior forwards Scott Newton and Derrick Batt both concurred with Rekoske’s statement Saturday, and both said the team would need to stay focused in order to accomplish their overarching goal of finishing out the season on top. After Monday night’s performance, the Lions may do just that.

There was not a time during the game that the Lions trailed the Virtinia Intermont Cobras. Players of the game for Bryan included junior guard Xavierian McCall who finished with 14 points and junior power forward Astral Guerrier who dominated the boards with 14 points and 18 rebounds. The rest of the team followed suit, particularly three players off the bench, according to Rekoske – senior guard/forward Andrew Slikker, sophomore guard Jeremy Haley and freshman guard Tyler Clark, who, according to Rekoske, played his best game of the season Monday night.

“We really went out and took care of business,” McCall said. McCall said he really respects his teammates for not taking anything for granted against Virginia Intermont. He also expects Bluefield College (Va.) to come out strong Wednesday night.

“They’re going to be ready for us,” McCall said.

Bluefield is currently ranked third in the AAC and will be a challenge, particularly with junior starting forward Keith Bauer still injured and junior point guard Demond Craig, who is still recovering from a sprained ankle. Craig’s status is uncertain going into Wednesday’s game. However, win or lose, Rekoske said he has high hopes for the future of team.

“In all my years of coaching, this is a very special group of players,” Rekoske said. “This year has been great, and I think it’s just going to get even better.” The Lions are currently only half a game behind the first place team in the conference: the University of Virginia at Wise (Va.). If the Lions are able win Wednesday against Bluefield College as well as defeat UVA on Saturday, they will finish the season first place in the conference.

The Bryan Lions’ men’s basketball team cut short a three-game skid and won both away games last week, tying for first place in the AAC with the Tennessee Wesleyan Bulldogs (Athens).

The highlight of the week was Saturday night’s game at Milligan (Tenn.) College  where the Lions took an early lead and held it the rest of the game for a decisive win 69-54. Head Coach Don Rekoske credits the win to many players who stepped up in the second half and made shots.

One highlight of Saturday night came early in the game when, as described by junior student assistant John Cannon, “Coach Rekoske took a gamble and put in Jeremy Haley,” who hasn’t played all season.

Rekoske said, “We put him in a key situation and he came in and knocked down a three-pointer.”

Cannon went on to say that sophomore shooting guard Haley’s “deep NBA three-pointer” lifted the team’s spirit. It seems as if that set the momentum for the rest of the game as only minutes later junior point guard Demond Craig made an assist to senior Scott Newton who “slammed a three-pointer at the halftime buzzer [putting the team] up by nine points.”

In the second half, it was sophomore power forward Astral Guerriers’ dunk that sealed the game, according to Cannon. Guerrier described the play leading up to his dunk with Craig penetrating the opposing team’s offense toward the basket and passing to Guerrier just before Milligan’s defense crashed on him.

With 15 wins overall, eight conference wins—seven with a lead of at least 15 points—and only four games to go, it’s safe to say that our men’s basketball team has had a good season.

“We’ve not only won a large number of games,” said Rekoske, “ but have done so impressively and sometimes in a dominating fashion.”

However, the season isn’t quite over yet., according to Rekoske. He hopes to continue building the “big-time momentum” created at the Milligan game and win the AAC conference. This will qualify the Lions to host the conference tournament, giving them a huge advantage.

“That’s the goal,” said Rekoske, “with only four games to go and a chance to win the conference, what else do [we] need for motivation?”

“We have great chemistry. We’re tough and we play hard,” said Rekoske, who added that the Lions are in the top five in the nation defensively and in rebounding statistics.

Rekoske said he hopes this momentum continues into this week’s games at Virginia Intermont College on Wednesday and against Montreat College on Saturday, which is a “big home game,” he said. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.