TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Stillman College's hope of sweeping its Gulf Coast Athletic Conference schedule came up short Tuesday night in a 90-88 loss to Rust College at Birthright Alumni Hall.
Antonio Jones scored 10 points in the first six minutes of action and finished with 34 points on 65% shooting in a complete game. He also had seven rebounds and five assists.
Justin Minter followed with 14 points, and the Tigers had a dozen points from both
Bailey Talley and
Tyler Martin.
Rust shot 58% with three players producing 20-point games: Khalil Brown (29), Jordin Jackson (20) and Xavier Evans (20).Â
Stillman trailed for the first five and a half minutes before a Jones defensive rebound and layup put the Tigers in front, 12-11. The Bearcats regained the lead with nine minutes left in the first half until a late jumper by Jones put the Tigers up, 35-33. Brown hit a pair of free throws and Jackson hit a jumper to close the half with Rust leading 37-35.Â
There were six early lead changes in the second half, before Rust built an 11-point lead, 76-65, with eight minutes to play. A fastbreak steal and dunk by Minter stopped the Bearcats' rally and sparked an 11-0 run run to tie the game at 76.
Khalil Johnson and Jones hit back-to-back 3s to move the game even with 6:37 remaining.Â
After swapping leads, a Martin 3-pointer put the Tigers up by four, 84-80, with 3:45 to play. Stillman led 87-84 with a minute left, but an Evans jumper followed by a steal and fastbreak dunk by Kalub Hunt flipped the lead to Rust, 88-87, with 23 seconds to play.
Bailey Talley hit 1-of-2 free throws to tie the game, but fouled Christopher Hood on the rebound sending Hood to the line, where he sank both shots with 10 seconds to play.
Stillman College falls to 6-5 on the season. The Tigers will return to Southern States Athletic Conference action on Saturday, when No. 15 University of Mobile visits Tuscaloosa for a 2 p.m. game. Admission is reduced to $10 for the rest of December. Fans who donate a new toy will be admitted at $5.