By Les Dixon / Sports Editor
Despite leading by as much as seven points in the fourth quarter, the Lynn Camp Wildcats didn’t have an answer for Berea’s Ben Miller down the stretch, as the sharpshooting sophomore led the Pirates to a 66-63 win on the road.
Lynn Camp’s defensive pressure limited Miller to only two points during the game’s first 30 minutes, but his two three-pointers with less than two minutes remaining in the contest is what sealed the deal for Berea.
“Those two three-pointers were huge,” Lynn Camp coach Anthony Pennington said. “We led by as much as seven points during the fourth quarter, but they kept coming back and when they got to two three-pointers, that pretty much gave them the momentum.”
Berea coach Bill Smallwood agreed.
“To come back and win this game in a hostile environment is big for this team,” he said. “We knew we had to get Ben some shots and we were able to do that. Those two three-pointers proved to be huge for us.
“Bottom line, we hadn’t been able to get the ball to him, but once we did, he was able to hit the shots,” he added. “He’s got ice water in his veins and those two plays to give him the ball were designed just for that.”
It looked as if Lynn Camp was going to pull away in the second half after limiting the Pirates to only three-of-18 from the floor, but Berea kept hanging around.
“We had a lot of chances to put them away, but we didn’t,” Pennington said. “You never want to lose, but this game will serve as a wake-up call for us. I think the guys now realize that they need to play as a team and good things will happen.
“I know we’re a good team, but we’ve got to play as a team,” he added. “I believe we played better on defense, but I also realize we’ve got a lot of work, too.”
The Wildcats could never get into the flow of the game offensively. Lynn Camp shot a dismal 20-of-59 from the floor, along with a 20-of-36 performance from the free-throw line. The Wildcats also turned the ball over 26 times, including 10 of those coming in the game’s final eight minutes.
“There is no doubt about it, we have a lot to work on,” Pennington said. “But I would rather have a game like this now compared to later in the season. We just need to get everyone on the same page. We rushed the ball too many times when we had the ball on offense.”
There were some positives in the loss for Lynn Camp. Brad Bargo dished out a game-high 18 points, while teammate Josh Silas put on a highlight show at times with his defensive play and finished the game with 17 points and five steals. Cody Mosley also turned in a 17-point effort.
“We had some guys step up their play, but like I said before, we all need to get on the same page,” Pennington said.
Lynn Camp will be back in action Thursday at home against Middlesboro.
Berea 66, Lynn Camp 63
Berea 11 18 11 26 66
Lynn Camp 10 18 18 17 63
Berea (66) - Ambrose 3, Arvin 18, Hamilton 15, Miller 11, Riddle 2, Shearer 7, Vaughn 10.
Lynn Camp (63) - Bargo 18, Wagner 1, Smith 8, Silas 17, Faulconberry 2, Keith 0, Garland 0, Mobley 17.
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