Pioneer Lose Tough Battle Against Cape Fear

SPARTANBURG, SC –  SMC poured it on Thursday, but the injury-stricken Pioneers could not keep pace with the No. 1 ranked team in NJCAA Region X and walked away with a 61-68 loss to the Cape Fear Sea Devils (9-1).

"In the first 20 minutes we had a great start and we played with a sense of urgency," says head coach Rob Burke.

With 10 minutes left in the first half, SMC freshman Bennie Mozingo went down with an ankle injury from then on the Pioneers offensive attack suffered. Defensively the Pioneers forced the Sea Devils into turning the ball over early in the game which allowed the Pioneers to increase the lead.

Freshman Desmond Haygood worked strong on defense stealing the ball right from the Sea Devils leading to a crowd pleasing slam dunk by CJ Gleaton.SMC went into the half leading 38-33.

After returning to the court, Gleaton soon succumbed to the same fate as Mozingo had earlier in the game and went out with an ankle injury.

With two key players down, the Pioneers found their ability to execute offensively severely limited.

"When you lose both Bennie and CJ, who had played such big roles the first half, and you have to go eight to nine deep in your bench, it is hard to keep up that intensity that those six starters brought to the court," comments Burke.

Cape Fear came out in the second half with a strong pressure defense which made it difficult for SMC to run their offense – and ultimately won the game 68-61.

CJ Gleaton led SMC's scoring run for the night with 15 points and four rebounds. Darion Canty added 13 points and six rebounds, while Jonathan Jones posted 10 points and six rebounds.Desmond Haygood put up 12 assists and four steals for the Pioneers.

"I was pleased with us overall because we know how good we can be when we are healthy, so now we have to get our mindset ready for playoff basketball. That's the next step," says Burke.

He adds, "I want to thank our fans for creating a true college basketball atmosphere. That is what makes it fun to coach here at SMC."

The men's next home game is Monday Feb. 22 against Denmark Technical College at 7:30 pm. Tournament play starts March 4 at Rock Hill, SC hosted by Clinton Junior College.

Spartanburg Methodist College is in its 99th year of providing quality education to students in a Christian environment.  More than 90 percent of SMC graduates continue their education at other institutions of higher learning.   

For more information contact sports information director Susie Williams at (864) 587-4008.