Paine sweeps Lane

Paine coach Ron Spry is still concerned about his team's lack of a third scorer.

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It didn't matter Thursday night, though.

Willie Adkinson scored a season-high 30, Yari Scott chipped in 23, and the Lions came back for a 79-66 conference win over Lane College at Carter Gym.

"We're not consistent," Spry said. "That's one of the things I'm deeply concerned about. We have to get some scoring out of someone other than Yari and Willie."

In the women's contest, the Lady Lions held the Lady Dragons to 24 percent shooting in a 76-48 victory.

Paine's men trailed by as many as 15 points in the first half and were losing, 43-35, at halftime. A switch to a full-court press in the second half provided the turnaround the Lions needed.

Although Paine (3-3, 1-2 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) got burned several times, the Lions prevented Lane's inside game from taking over. The press forced the Dragons (1-5, 0-3) to rush their shots. They shot 51 percent in the first half, but shot 28 percent after halftime.

"We're a fast-paced team," said Adkinson, who had a game-high 13 rebounds. "We just have to come out, make shots and be aggressive."

The Lions tied the game at 62 on Antonio Ruth's tip-in late in the second half. They took their first lead at 64-62 on a layup by Adkinson with 5:50 remaining.

Adkinson made a pair of layups in a 48-second span to give the Lions breathing room at 70-65 with 2:02 to play.

In the women's game, Paine (4-1, 3-0) led 20-16 with 5:50 left before halftime, but the Lady Lions ended the first half on a 14-1 run and went into the break with a 34-17 lead.

"One of the things I told my team in the first half was that I wanted to hold (Lane) to 23 points," coach Selina Kohn said.

Melissa Andrews and Germaletta Dyson combined for 11 points during a 17-4 run to open the second half as Paine broke out to a 51-22 lead.

"We came out with a lot more intensity tonight," senior guard Tiffany Isaac said. "The first time we played them it was our first game of the season. We were still looking for chemistry."

Dyson and Akia Stanton each scored a team-high 13, while Andrews had 11 and Isaac 10. Dyson had a game-high 13 rebounds.

Reach Chris Gay at (706) 868-1222, Ext. 114.