NEWBERRY — The Newberry College men’s basketball program (0-2) fell to the Golden Bulls of Johnson C. Smith (1-1) by a score of 76-73 on Saturday, Nov. 13, as Marcus Ford’s game-tying three-point attempt rims out.
The Golden Bulls started the game out swinging, going on an 8-0 run before a layup from Malakhi Stremlow stopped the bleeding. After going down 24-17, a pair of clutch three-pointers from Jalen Johnson and Devario Sheppard cut the lead to one. The Golden Bulls answered with free throws, but a Tai Giger three-pointer and a layup from Ford tied the game at 28. Shortly after, Newberry ran an inbound play that resulted in QuanDaveon McCollum tying the game at 30 with two seconds remaining in the half..
After going down by five points in the second half, the Wolves answered with an 8-0 run behind three-pointers from Malik Joseph and Ford. A few minutes later, Sheppard hit a three that pushed the Wolves’ lead to six, their largest of the night. However, the Golden Bulls went on a 12-0 run to take a 65-59 lead with just under five minutes remaining. TJ Brown hit a three to cut the lead to three points. After more Golden Bull free throws put the Wolves down by three points with four seconds left, Ford took the inbound pass and tried a three at the buzzer the shot rimmed out, ending the game.
Strong performances by the trio of Ford, Brown and McCollum helped to carry a majority of the workload. Ford finished the game with 15 points and seven assists. Meanwhile, Brown contributed a strong 16 points and seven rebounds. McCollum led the way on the glass with 13 rebounds, eight offensive, while scoring 11 for the double-double.