MARIETTA, Ga. – Brewton-Parker men's basketball returned to conference play on Saturday afternoon with a road contest at Life (Ga.) in Marietta.

The Barons (4-13, 2-7 SSAC) dropped a hard-fought battle against a tough Running Eagles (13-4, 6-4 SSAC) in a 66-58 defeat in the Eagles' Nest.

How It Happened | 1st Half

• Chance Hatcher opened the game with a fastbreak score off a steal and assist from Lance Smith nearly two minutes into the game before Smith boosted the Barons to a 4-1 lead at the 14:52 mark.
• Life leveled the score a minute later with a trey before Corey Thomas connected on a jumper to give BPC the 6-4 lead.
• The Running Eagles quickly answered with a deep three to take the lead.
• After a layup from Smith, Life utilized the deep ball yet again to lead 10-8 with 11:47 on the clock.
• BPC responded with a dunk from Thomas and a lay from Aaron Udell to reclaim a two-point lead.
• Life produced an 11-2 run over the next three minutes of play to lead 21-15 with just over seven minutes remaining in the half.
• Zailan Blue connected on a jumper to bring down the deficit to just a two-possession game, but the Running Eagles knocked down another deep ball to take an eight-point lead.
• Brewton-Parker moved to just four points behind the hosts with two free throws from Damarcus Johnson Jr. and a layup from Hatcher with five minutes left.
• The Barons closed out the final five minutes of the half with an 11-5 run to lead 31-29 at the break.

How It Happened | 2nd Half

• The Barons jumped out to a six-point advantage with back-to-back scores from Johnson Jr. before the Running Eagles produced two points from the charity stripe and another trey to pull within one point.
• Hatcher put three in the basket to give BPC a four-point edge with 15:49 on the clock, but Life remained within reach from the Barons.
• After a jumper from the hosts, Brewton-Parker moved back to a two-possession lead nearly two minutes later.
• BPC then moved to a six-point advantage with Dane Fisher converting three free throws at the 11:51 mark.
• Life knocked down a trey fifty seconds later, but Hatcher and Johnson Jr. gave BPC a 48-41 lead with just over nine minutes left in the game.
• The Running Eagles surged to a 16-2 run over the next five minutes of play to pull out to a 57-50 lead with four and a half minutes remaining.
• Unfortunately for Brewton-Parker, Life was able to narrowly outscore BPC 9-8 in the final minutes of the game to hold on to their advantage and secure the 66-58 win.

Inside The Statistics

• Brewton-Parker finished the afternoon shooting for 37.7% (23-of-61) from the field, just 8.7% (2-of-23) from three, and 55.6% (10-of-18) from the charity stripe.
• Hatcher led the efforts for BPC with 19 points and 11 rebounds followed by Smith and Johnson Jr. with 11 points each.
• Defensively, both Hatcher and Smith produced three steals each with Johnson Jr. gathering two.
• Life held a narrow 43-40 edge on rebounds while also winning a tight 21-20 turnover battle.

Other Notables

• Brewton-Parker produced 34 points in the paint while Life produced 20.
• BPC produced 12 points off turnovers while notching 11 steals on the day.

Next Up

• Brewton-Parker hosts Dalton State (Ga.) on Monday at 2 p.m. ET to start a four-game homestand.