BMC Athletics
Brett Fowler, Sports Information Director
PARAGOULD, Ark. – It took Blue Mountain a half to heat up, but when they did, they did enough to handle Crowley’s Ridge in the season opener Monday night, winning 89-83.
The Toppers were without renowned scorer Brandon Williams (JR/Dyersburg, Tenn.), but it didn’t seem to matter as BMC spread the scoring love around seeing four players hit double figures.
In the first half, Blue Mountain found themselves down 19-11 before going on an 11-0 run with two threes by Aleksa Vujadinovic (JR/Niksic, Montenegro) and Micah Powers (SR/Holly Springs, Miss.), along with buckets in the paint by Nikola Radovic (SR/Belgrade, Serbia).
Nathan Caldwell (JR/Hardin, Tenn.) would hit a three late for Blue Mountain in the first half, followed by a basket in the lane by Exavian Young (SR/Memphis, Tenn.) to give the Toppers a 40-39 halftime lead.
Four minutes deep into the second half, BMC turned up the heat going on a 10-0 run.
The Toppers grabbed their biggest lead of the game at the 8:29 mark, up 71-54 on a two by Vujadinovic.
Caldwell would lead Blue Mountain with 20 points, followed by Powers with 16. Radovic and Young both chipped in 11. Crowley’s Bo Roberson led all scorers with 26 points.
“It’s always good to get a win under our belt when you open the season, especially on the road,” Topper head coach Jermael Bingham said. “We had several guys step up tonight, and I’m just really proud of how they fought. We got out to a fast start in the second half, stalled a bit, but answered their runs. It was a good win.”
BMC (1-0) returns to the court Thursday in McKenzie, Tenn. against former SSAC powerhouse Bethel University with a 7 p.m. tip.