It was as if the Angelina College Roadrunners found a switch reading “Defense” and switched it on long enough to fuel a big home win.
AC forced six turnovers leading to a 17-0 second-half run in taking down the Southwestern Christian College Rams 91-79 in Friday’s first day of the Guy Davis Thanksgiving Classic at Shands Gymnasium.
The Roadrunners’ Shaq Gainey forced three of those turnovers, helping AC rally from seven points down to take their final lead. Vic Bell turned in a pair of big defensive plays, altering Rams shots and grabbing the defensive boards to help extend the run.
Isaiah Bailey led AC with 28 points, followed by Corinthian Ramsey with 18, Gary Blackston with 17 and Gainey with 13. Ramsey and Gainey combined to go 7-for-7 from three-point range in the first half. Rontrell Hills and Joseph Mitchell each scored 18 points for the Rams; Jontavius Littles added another 17 points.
In the day’s earlier action, No. 8 Odessa edged Panola College 73-70 when Sammy Barnes-Thompkins sealed the win with a pair of free throws with 11 seconds to play. Panola’s Tyonte Robertson just missed a game-time desperation heave at the buzzer to allow the Wranglers to survive.
Saturday’s schedule includes Panola College vs. SWCC at 2 p.m. and the Roadrunners vs. Odessa College at 4 p.m. The ‘Runners’ game with Odessa will be available on live stream by logging onto the Angelina College web site and clicking the Athletics link. The e-mail address for AC’s Sports Information Director is gstallard@angelina.edu.
