Adekale Ande, Campus Carrier Reporter
Led by senior center Owen Jacobs’ 20-point and 12-rebound effort, the Berry men’s basketball team defeated Rust College 84-71 in the Cage on Monday.
The Vikings’ record is now 6-8, while the Rust College Bearcats fell to 4-13.
Berry led Rust at halftime 39-36. Berry started off slow offensively, but picked up the pace with a few easy baskets by sophomore guard Alton McCloud and Jacobs. Rust cut the Vikings’ lead to three points in the last seven minutes of the first half, due in part to Carlos Holmes, who scored all 11 of his points in that stretch. The Vikings’ biggest lead was 13 points during the first half and the leading scorer was Jacobs, with 10 points. The Vikings shot a 14-33 in the first half.
The Vikings were led by Jacobs’ double-double with 20 points and 12 rebounds, hitting all six of his free throws. Freshman guard Blake Scherrman and sophomore guard Caleb Johnson both added 15 point and 14 point performances respectively.
The Vikings switched gears and stepped up their game in the second half.
“A lot of it was just effort,” Johnson said. “We came out playing lazy and slow in the first half. We weren’t playing like we usually play. That was our emphasis in the locker room going into halftime, and we came back in the second half and just played hard and just brought it together as a team.”
Scherrman agreed that the Vikings’ performance improved significantly in the second half.
“We took better shots,” Scherrman said. “We came out scoring the ball, and we gave the ball to [Jacobs] and he did his thing in the post like he always does, and that really helped us in the second half.”
Head coach Jeff Rogers said the team’s efforts in the second half helped them secure the win.
“The second half, Jacobs and [sophomore guard] Nick Marder did a great job of keeping everybody settled down,” Rogers said. “That let us come out with a win, but I don’t think we played very well.”
The Vikings play again on Friday at Hendrix College in Conway, Ark, and their next home game will be on Sunday against Rhodes College.
