Box Score MEMPHIS-The Christian Brothers University Bucs wrapped up a perfect home record in Gulf South Conference play for the first time Saturday afternoon with a 77-67 win over West Florida.
The Bucs (18-8, 13-5 GSC) never trailed as they used a 10-0 burst early in the game to take a 13-3 lead on a
Drew Hildreth (Memphis, Tenn./Bolton HS) triple with 14:19 remaining in the half. The Argos trimmed the lead to six points before another Hildreth trey sparked a 16-3 run that put the game out of reach. When
Sidy Sall (Dakar, Senegal/Seeds Academy) capped the run on a bucket with 5:23 remaining in the half, the Bucs led 35-16. CBU led by as many as 25 points, and the Argos never came closer than 13 points again until the final seconds.
Ryan Fleming (Cincinnati, Ohio/La Salle HS) led the Bucs with a career-high 20 points to go with six rebounds and four assists.
Pat Graham (Bowling Green, Ohio/Bowling Green HS) scored 18, making six three-pointers, and Hildreth scored 16 with three blocks in 28 minutes off the bench.
Michael Drake (Little Rock, Ark./Catholic HS) celebrated Senior Day with a milestone, scoring 15 points with seven rebounds and three steals as he became the 39th member of the 1,000-point club at CBU when he made a three-pointer early in the second half.
Ellis Young led the Argos with 27 points. Terrance Beasley scored 18, and Nate Johnson scored 12 points with game-highs of 11 rebounds and five assists.
The Bucs shot 49.2 percent (29-of-59) for the game to the Argos' 49.1 percent (27-of-55). The Bucs shot 40 percent (10-of-25) from beyond the arc to the Argos' 35.7 percent (5-of-14). UWF out-rebounded the Bucs 39-24, including a 16-9 edge in offensive rebounds, but the Bucs forced 21 Argo turnovers while committing nine.
The Bucs head to next week's Raymond James Gulf South Conference Tournament at the Pete Hanna Center in Birmingham, Ala., as the No. 2 seed. The Bucs will take on seventh-seeded West Alabama Thursday night at 5:30 p.m. in the first quarterfinal.
Before the game, CBU honored four seniors: Drake, Graham, student assistant coach Brian Vinson,and
Austin Johnson (Cabot, Ark./Cabot HS).