Wildcats Win A Nail Biter In Opener

The season kicked off for NJCAA basketball on Friday night and the Bishop State Men's Basketball team were in for a doozy on the road at Reid State. It was a nice Friday evening in Evergreen, Alabama, and the home of Conecuh sausages. 

In front of a packed house, with some dedicated fans, the Wildcats jumped out early on the Lions building a 17-6 lead behind the early production of North Alabama commit Kedar Bodie and frosh Darren McFarlane. It looked like the game would be a blowout for the heavily favored Wildcats. Bodie picked up his second foul halfway through the first half and was benched to avoid getting his third. Things started to take a turn as Reid State turned up the defensive pressure forcing the young Wildcats to turn the ball over. Tyler Mallory and Vophcy Prophete got things rolling for the Lions as they couldn't be contained. After some back and forth action, the Lions took a four point lead, 35-31, going into the half.

As the second half began, the Wildcats came out aggressive but struggled to put the ball in the hole. That led to the Lions taking their biggest lead of the game as they went up seven. Kedar Bodie and Treyveon Broadhead responded. With a barrage of jumpers from Bodie, Broadhead and Jaeden Rush, the Wildcats took the lead and went up by 5 but that was the most they would lead by. The Lions didn't lay down as Tristan Watson got hot from three and it didn't matter if he had a hand in his face. He knocked down a big one in the clutch with a little over a minute to go as the game was tied to go up three. After a timeout by Head Coach Trent Eager, the Wildcats were calm and collected. Everyone knew who the ball was going to and Kedar Bodie handled business by knocking down a corner three in front of his own bench to tie it for his 29^th point in the game. Both teams had one last shot at winning and came up short resulting in overtime.

In overtime, Bishop State took the lead and never looked back as Jucqarie Love finished a tough basket around the rim, followed by a contested pull-up by Bodie. Treyveon Broadhead hit a tough three as they shot clock was low to really ice the game. The Wildcats won 81-78 as this was the first time winning a season opener on the road under the Eager era.

Kedar Bodie led all scorers with a career high of 33 points, 4 rebounds and 3 blocks. Treyveon Broadhead finished with 15 points and 4 rebounds in his return after sitting out last season with an injury. Frosh Jaeden Rush had 12 points and 5 rebounds in his collegiate debut. Darren McFarlane led the Wildcats in rebounding with 10.

Tyler Mallory led the Lions with 19 points 5 assists. Tristan Watson followed with 18 points and 7 rebounds. Vophcy Preophete had 15 points while Tyler Sigers finished with 10.

The Wildcats return home for their second game of the season as they take on University of Mobile JV at 7:00 pm on Friday, November 8^th.