PULASKI, Tenn. – Brewton-Parker Men's Basketball continued its weekend road trip with a tough challenge at No. 18-ranked Tennessee Southern on Saturday afternoon.

The Barons (8-13, 4-9 SSAC) fell to the Firehawks (19-2, 13-0 SSAC) in a 73-59 defeat in Pulaski, Tenn.

How It Happened | First Half

The Firehawks came out hot with a four-minute, 11-0 run to knock the Barons into a deep hole early. Tennessee Southern added to the tally by moving to an 18-1 lead with 15:23 left on the clock.

After a scoreless few minutes, Brewton-Parker found the first field goal of the game with a layup from Lance Smith at the 12:44 mark to lead a 7-0 run to cut the UTS lead to 10 with 11:25 to play. Dre Burroughs assisted the run with a trey as did Ferlin Joseph Jr. with a layup.

Tennessee Southern moved to a 20-8 lead at the 10:13 mark before Zailan Blue and the Barons were able to respond at 6:34 with a shot from beyond the arc. After a pair of free throws from Smith at the 5:34 mark, UTS took the next few minutes to advance to a 27-13 lead.

Brewton-Parker answered with a strong closing performance within the final three minutes. The Barons pieced together a 10-2 run down the stretch to cut the deficit to 29-23 at the break. Smith led the first half with seven points, four boards, and two assists and was followed by Blue with six points.

How It Happened | Second Half

Tennessee Southern opened with a jumper 30 seconds in but Brewton-Parker was able to respond well with a 6-0 run to begin the second half, cutting the lead down to 31-29 with 17:15 on the clock. After a free throw and a jumper from the hosts, Blue hit a trey at the 14:08 mark to cut the BPC deficit back down to two.

A layup from Domanic Betancourt pushed BPC within a one-point game with 13:16 on the clock, but that would be the closest the Barons would get for the remainder of the contest. The Firehawks answered with an eight-point swing over the next couple of minutes.

Two free throws from Jordan Johnson, and five points from Burroughs in response made the contest a two-possession score, but the Barons were unable to take advantage of the shift in momentum. The Firehawks eventually took a chunk of time off the clock and advanced to a 51-41 lead with seven minutes to play.

Brewton-Parker was battling hard with the final few minutes on the clock ticking away. Tennessee Southern was able to outscore the Barons 22-18 throughout five and a half minutes to keep control of the double-figure advantage and eventually secure a 73-59 victory.

Inside The Statistics

• BPC shot 38% (19-of-50) from the floor, 33.3% (7-of-21) from three, and 77.8% (14-of-18) from the foul line.
• Burroughs led BP with 16 points which was the second-highest scoring effort in the contest.
• Blue notched 12 points and was followed by 10 points apiece from Smith and Joseph Jr.
• Smith also dished out five assists while snagging seven rebounds.

Next Up

• Brewton-Parker returns home for a midweek SSAC matchup against Dalton State (Ga.) on Wednesday at 6:00 p.m. ET in Gillis Gymnasium.