Brian Mobley ended the evening with a game-high 19 points against Bluefield in an 80-50 win
Bluefield, WV – The Johnson C. Smith University men's basketball team pounded Bluefield State College 80-50 Saturday evening inside Ned Shott Gymnasium. JCSU improves to 4-3 overall, while the Big Blues drop to 0-5 overall.
Head coach
Stephen Joyner, Sr. executed a brilliant five-man substitution strategy throughout the game to take advantage of Bluefield's lack of depth. The Golden Bulls utilized a similar strategy against Bluefield in the season opener that resulted in a 92-58 victory. In this contest, 14 played, 10 scored, and four finished with double digit point totals for JCSU.
J.C. Smith took a 13-11 lead at the 10:57 mark in the first half off a lay-up from senior forward
Brian Mobley (Charlotte, NC). The Golden Bulls did not trail again for the remainder of the game. In fact, by halftime JCSU had a 37-23 cushion.
Mobley had a game-high nine points at the break, followed by senior forward
Jerry Hollis (Charlotte, NC) with eight. JCSU outscored Bluefield 28-14 in the paint and shot an impressive 61% from the floor (17-28) in the first period.
The onslaught continued in the second half with the Golden Bulls eventually closing the door 80-50. JCSU finished with a 62.5 field goal percentage (35-56) on the night, compared to just 34.7% (17-49) for the Big Blues. Bluefield loss the rebounding battle 35-24 and were beat 54-24 off points in the paint.
Mobley ended the evening with a game-high 19 points. Senior forward
James Dillard (Apex, NC) scored 10 of his 14 points in the second half. Junior guard
Ronald Thornhill (Alberta, VA) was 4-of-8 from the field, including 3-of-7 shooting from the three-point line for 11 points. Hollis had 10 points and six rebounds, while senior forward
Dante' Drummer (Norfolk, VA) almost closed in on a double-double with eight points and eight rebounds.
Rico Thompson was the top scorer for Bluefield with 12 points, followed by Raylon Almon and Stephen Neal with 10 each.
“We still have a long way to go in order to compete at an elite level within the CIAA,” said Coach Joyner. “We played better as a team tonight, showed much more control on the court, but the team is still a work in progress.”
The Golden Bulls return to action on Tuesday, December 15th when they host St. Paul's College in CIAA competition. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 pm inside Brayboy Gymnasium. The Tigers, led by head coach Edward Joyner, Sr. (brother of Stephen Joyner), pulled a season sweep last year over JCSU. This game has the potential to be a momentum builder for Johnson C. Smith.
