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Albany State's Ayman Hunter, left, tries to get a grip on a loose ball against Paine's Kevin Daniels, middle, and Willie Adkinson during basketball action at Paine College Monday evening.
MICHAEL HOLAHAN/STAFF |
With Paine head coach Ron Spry serving the second game of a two-game suspension, Monday's game against Albany State was supposed to be an uneventful one for assistant Willie Adams.
It wasn't.
Four Paine players were ejected in the first half, Yari Scott and Willie Adkinson had off nights and the Lions fell, 65-57, at Carter Gym.
"They still played with heart," acting head coach Adams said of his team. "It's that Paine College tradition. Never give up until the end."
In the women's contest, Paine nearly squandered a 21-point lead but held on for an 80-73 win. With the victory, the Lady Lions (11-6, 6-3) eclipsed its win total from last season (10).
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Paine's Melissa Andrews, left, battles for a rebound against Albany State's Shernika Powell.
MICHAEL HOLAHAN/STAFF |
"We've just got a lot of fighting power," Lady Lions coach Selina Kohn said. "My girls are determined to prove they're for real."
Nine minutes into the men's game, players from Albany State and Paine scrambled for a loose ball. A fight soon erupted and officials took 10 minutes to sort things out.
Five players were ejected from the game: Paine's Cervantes Boddy, Gus Griffin, Nate Lewis and Evander Spann and Albany State's Ayman Hunter.
As a result of the altercation, Albany State's John Davis shot six straight free throws, making four of them to give the Rams a 14-11 lead. The game went into intermission tied at 30.
"Lewis and Griffin, those are two guys who come through for us (offensively)," Adams said. "With those four guys gone it was tough."
Add to it the night Scott and Adkinson had, and it was a recipe for disaster. Scott hit five of 22 shots (2-for-15 from behind the arc) and Adkinson made six of 19 field-goal attempts. Still, Scott led Paine with 16 points, while Adkinson added 13.
The Lions (6-11, 3-7) shot just 31 percent from the field. Also, Albany State (5-13, 5-5) shot 20 more free throws, making 22 of 37 foul shots to Paine's 9-for-17 effort.
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Assistant Coach Willie Adams chats with the referee after a brawl broke out during Paine's game against Albany State Monday evening. Adams was filling in for Head Coach Ron Spry who was serving a two game suspension.
MICHAEL HOLAHAN/STAFF |
"We'll live to fight another day," Adams said.
In the women's game, Charvika Wyche drilled a 3-pointer and Melissa Andrews added a free throw to give Paine their biggest lead of the game at 56-35 with 13:14 remaining.
Albany State (7-12, 6-3) pulled within nine with three minutes left in the game and then went into a full-court press. The Lady Rams got three turnovers and converted them into six points in an 11-second span. Paine's lead was down to 70-67.
But the Lady Lions converted eight of 10 free-throw attempts down the stretch to seal the win. Germaletta Dyson scored a game-high 26 points with 13 rebounds, while Akia Stanton added 12 points.
Reach Chris Gay at (706) 868-1222, Ext. 114.
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