WARRIORS SOAR 90-65 OVER RHEMA EAGLES; SAGU HERE DEC. 3

The second half was the deciding factor as Bacone (1-1) downed Rhema Bible College 90-65 Nov. 7 before a home Palmer Center crowd.

Bacone Head Basketball Coach Alan Foster said the home debut was a “good win.”

“We had to battle early and they [Rhema] came out making shots,” he said. “We made some adjustments on their shooters and really dug in and played.”

Foster said post game stats showed Bacone shot over 50 percent in the win, while holding the Eagles (0-1) to just 30 percent.

Rhema opened the game on a 9-0 run scoring three times from behind the arc, thanks to Kasey Bird who finished the night with 23 Rhema points.

Bacone junior forward Charles Gordon said Rhema’s offense was “excellent.”

“They executed very early, and made some very big shots,” said Gordon.

The Warriors came within 11-10, before taking their first lead 12-11 on TaMarcus Miles’ layup at the 12:57 mark.

After seven lead changes and two ties, Bacone pulled ahead 40-32 on a three-point shot from junior guard Roland Barbaza, enroute to a 45-38 halftime lead.

Rhema opened the second half coming within 47-42 of the Warriors, but would not come any closer as Bacone went on a 25-10 scoring spree and never looked back.

Senior guard Alfred Davis said the Warriors did not want to lose the first home game.

“The fans helped us out cheering and we wanted to make this a good game,” said Davis. “We played a bad first half, but got it together in the second."

Foster credited his team’s rebounding throughout the game.

“We had 45 rebounds and out rebounded our opponent by ten,” the 13-year coach said. “We played hard.”

Leading Bacone in rebounds were freshman forward Alex Stanley and Miles with seven each.

“They [Stanley, Miles] really pursued the boards and were really active chasing down the ball,” Foster said.

Junior guard Kwame Bates (15), Stanley (15), and Gordon (20) lead Bacone's scoring attack.

Gordon called the Rhema game "only the beginning" with a trip to John Brown University (Siloam Springs, Ark.) 7 p.m. Nov. 8 next.

“We are only getting better, our chemistry is getting better," the Houston native said. "it’s just a matter of time."

Bacone returns to Palmer Center play 7:30 p.m. Dec. 3 against Red River Athletic Conference opponent Southwestern Assemblies of God.