Dragons Hold On to Defeat Paine College

Jackson, Tenn.

The Dragons had to wait until the last second before starting their victory celebration. To the delight of over 500 fans at J. F. Lane Gymnasium, the Dragons held on for a 77-76 victory over the Lions. The Dragons jumped out to a 10-point lead at the 13:55 mark of the first half before the Lions took over the lead 32-30 at the 6 minute mark. Over the last six minutes of action, the Dragons outscored the Lions 12-11, highlighted by a Kendarius Ash slam-dunk with 34 seconds left to play in the first half. Just as the large crowd had started to settle down, Jean-Marc Lucien connected on a 3-pointer from downtown with fourteen seconds left to bring the Dragons to within one point 43-42 going into halftime.

The second half action was fast and furious as the Dragons came out with a 13-4 run for a 55-47 lead at the 15:32 mark. The Lions would not go away as they regained the lead for a short period of time. With under a minute left to play, the Dragons held a 77-73 lead when the Lions Denzel Dillingham drained a three-pointer as time expired for the 77-76 Dragons victory.

The Lions were led in scoring by Denzel Dillingham with 23 points, and Arnis Libazs adding 19. For the Dragons, Jean-Marc Lucien led the scoring with 17 points while Kendarius Ash and Joseph Cooper both collected double-doubles with 13 points and 16 rebounds, and 12 points 10 rebounds, respectively.

The Dragons will compete in the Miles College Classic on Dec. 11 & 12 in Birmingham, AL. They will play the University of Montevallo on the December 11 with a scheduled tip-off at 5:00 PM. On Dec. 12, they play Columbus State University with a 3:00 PM tip-off in Birmingham.