MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Despite four players in double figures, the No. 3 seed Martin Methodist Men's Basketball team was unable to come up with shots down the stretch in a 98-87 loss to No. 1 William Carey (Miss.) University in the Southern States Athletic Conference semifinals at the Multiplex at Cramton Bowl Friday night.
Despite the loss, however, the RedHawks (18-11) are ensured of at least one more contest in Montgomery as they will meet No. 2 Belhaven (Miss.) University Saturday afternoon in the tournament's third-place game with an automatic berth in this month's NAIA National Tournament on the line.
In a game that featured 11 ties and 11 lead changes, the RedHawks went back and forth with the SSAC West Division's regular season champ until the game's closing minutes.
After leading by as many as six points midway through the first half, the RedHawks found themselves trailing 46-40 at halftime, but surged ahead in the second half thanks to an aggressive, attacking offense and strong rebounding.
With just eight active players, however, depth proved to be an issue for the RedHawks, who saw two players foul out in the game's closing minutes.
Darius Woods, who scored a career-high 28 points in the club's quarterfinal win Thursday, notched 24 points to lead the RedHawk attack. The junior finished 8-of-16 from the floor and added six points at the free throw line in the defeat.
D'Angelo Tucker, who sank six triples in Thursday's victory, continued his sizzling shooting with a 5-of-11 performance from beyond the arc and 17 points.
Brandon Hunter also finished in double figures, scoring 14 points to go along with five rebounds and four assists.
Between Woods, Tucker and Hunter, the RedHawk starting backcourt accounted for 55 of the team's 87 points and over half (18) of the club's 28 made field goals.
RedHawk forward John Taylor scored 12 points and secured nine rebounds for the RedHawks, before fouling out of the contest with 3:22 remaining in the ballgame.
Fellow forwards Andrei Hall and Kadijon Townsend added nine and eight points each down low for the RedHawks, who shot 48.3 percent from the floor and 84.0 percent in their 25 attempts at the free throw line.
"I am extremely proud of the way our guys battled tonight," RedHawks head coach Scott Combs said. "They gave it their all tonight against an outstanding William Carey squad. We were right there at the end, but the ball just didn't bounce our way. We are playing our best basketball of the season, but it's awfully tough to beat a squad like William Carey."
Donovan Walker sank seven triples and added four points at the free throw line for a game-high 25 points for the Crusaders (26-2).
SSAC Conference Player of the Year Daron Bell scored 11 of his 20 points in the second half to flank Walker while Demarcus Lewis added 19 points off the bench.
Saturday's third-place game would not have been a possibility for the RedHawks, if not for a second half collapse by Belhaven (14-6), who fell 76-72 to SSAC East Division champ Emmanuel (Ga.) College in Friday's opening semifinal.
The loss opened the door for the RedHawks, who could have punched a ticket to the national tournament with a win over the Crusaders, but will instead need a victory in Saturday's consolation game to advance to Kansas City for a fourth consecutive season.
The RedHawks and Blazers split the regular season series, with the Blazers claiming a narrow 67-64 victory on March 1 in Pulaski. The RedHawks picked up a 73-59 victory when the clubs met in Jackson, Miss. on Jan. 16.
"Belhaven is an outstanding team and they are playing some of their best basketball of the season," Combs said. "It will take a terrific effort to beat them, but I like the way we are playing and I like the guys that we have. We are going to come out and leave everything out on the court tomorrow. It should be a great ballgame."
Tipoff in Saturday's contest is set for 4 p.m. at the Multiplex in Montgomery.
