By By BRUCE HIXON Sports Editor
Even though the Jefferson Davis Community College Warhawks were behind at half-time in Monday's game at Faulkner State, they were still very much in the game. Yet the warning signs were there.
"With the personnel we had available, we needed a tempo where the game would be in the 50s or 60s," JDCC coach Allen Gainer said.
Needless to say the 39 points the host Sun Chiefs racked up was in the first half was not what Gainer had in mind. Neither were the 93 points Faulkner State racked up for the game in its 93-54 victory against a heavily under-manned JDCC team.
The Warhawks had only eight players available for the game. The two most notable absences from the roster were JDCC's top two scorers, Greg Dickinson and Norvell "Junior" Coleman. That took an average of nearly 40 points a game out of the Warhawks lineup.
"I still think we had the ability to win with the people we had available, but we had to slow things down. You can't get into a fast pace game with only eight people or else you'll get worn down," Gainer said.
JDCC (2-6 in the Alabama Community College Conference and 7-14 overall) was able to hang with Faulkner State (4-4 in the ACCC and 14-9 overall) in the first half.
The first 10 minutes featured eight lead changes and neither team had more than a three-point edge. After the Warhawks had a 6-4 advantage two minutes into the game, JDCC would not lead again until Randall Burno hit a three-pointer six minutes later to put the Warhawks back on top 16-15.
Brandon Montgomery provided the Warhawks with their final lead a minute later on a dunk after a steal by Burno. That play put JDCC up 18-17.
See JDCC Page 7
The next seven minutes would be a critical stretch in the game. Faulkner State went on a 20-5 run, which included a 12-0 blitz, that put the Sun Chiefs up 37-23.
Faulkner State built that lead from both the inside where Jermaine Searles and Krisner Green each had two field
goals and the outside where Green, Ryan Powell and
Ronald Robinson hit three-pointers.
Thanks largely to the free throw line where JDCC was 11-for-13 in the first half, the Warhawks were able to cut that gap in half before half-time arrived.
John Madison hit four charity tosses, Chris Owens had two and Jeff Foster added a three-point play that brought the Warhawks within 39-32 before the half ended.
The first four possessions of the second half pretty much took JDCC out of the game. At the same time the Warhawks went scoreless during that time frame, Faulkner State got two field goals from Kenny Holms, a basket by Searles and a three-pointer by Jesse Carlin. Just like that the Sun Chiefs' lead had grown to 48-32.
It would only get worse for the Warhawks from there. JDCC went more than seven minutes at the start of the second half without a field goal. Faulkner State turned that dry spell into a 22-2 run and a 61-34 lead. It was just the start of 53 points the Sun Chiefs would rack up in the second half.
JDCC will make the journey to Tuscaloosa to face Shelton Thursday at 7 p.m.
At Faulkner State
JDCC 32 22 – 54
Faulkner State 39 54 – 93
JDCC (2FG-3FG-FT-TP) Foster 5-0-6-16; Burno 1-3-2-13; Madison 1-1-4-9; Drakeford 2-0-1-5; Montgomery 2-0-1-5; Thompson 1-0-2-4; Owens 0-0-2-2 (Totals: 12-4-18-54)
FAULKNER STATE (2FG-3FG-FT-TP) Evans 8-0-0-16; Robinson 4-2-0-14; Searles 6-0-1-13; Holms 5-0-0-10; Green 2-2-0-10; Grant 2-0-3-7; Carlin 0-2-0-6; Powell 0-2-0-6; Suitts 3-0-0-6; Burden 0-1-0-3; Dodd 1-0-0-2; Burns 1-0-0-2 (Totals: 34-7-4-93)