Clarksville, Arkansas was the backdrop for the Barclay College Bears Men’s Basketball team this last weekend. On Friday night they played NCAA Division III host University of the Ozarks and then on Saturday afternoon they took on Rhema Bible (Broken Arrow, OK).

The Eagles of the Ozarks threw a full court press and a variety of half court zone defenses at the Bears Friday evening but the Bears seemed unfazed early on. Even though they calmly broke the Eagle’s press and patiently worked offense, a dismal 6-13 mark from the charity stripe along with some untimely misses from the interior, had the Bears trailing by 12 at the halfway point.

Low and behold, the Eagle’s pressure finally go to Barclay in the second half. As they forced three turnovers within the first four minutes of the second half to fuel a 9-3 run to stretch their lead to 50-32. The Bears only managed to score 14 points over the last 16 minutes as the turnovers piled up and they managed to connect on only 35 percent of their shots in game. The final score was a 55-89 loss for the Bears.

On a quick turn around, the Bears had to face a tough, athletic Rhema Bible team on Saturday afternoon. In the first 8 minutes of the game, the Bears only showed three points on the scoreboard, but held Rhema to just 8 over that same stretch. Finally, Sophomore Andre Barnes (Conroe, TX) ignited the Bears offense in the first half with strong play in the paint. He connected on 8-9 from the free throw line to help the Bears take a 36-32 lead into the locker room.

The Bears dominate play inside finally caught up to Rhema as the fouls piled up for them. Their two biggest offense threats fouled out with nearly ten minutes left in the game and the Bears took full advantage. They sliced through their full court pressure and dissected the Eagle’s zone to run away with an 80-57 win. It was the Bears second win of this young season.

Senior Antonio Graham (Baltimore, MD) led the Bears with 25 points, Barnes chipped in 14 points, and Junior Charles Brodhead (Lompoc, CA) recorded a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Tuesday, November 25th, the Bears (2-4, 0-1) will host Hillsdale Free Will Baptist (Moore, OK) at 7:00 PM CST. It is the Bear’s second Southwest Region match of this semester.