#MustangsWin! CBC Opens Season With Wire-To-Wire Win Over Philander Smith

Erik Holth, CBC Sports Information Director

            Conway, Ark. – Opening the 2023-24 at home tonight, Central Baptist College men's basketball hosted the Panthers of Philander Smith University inside A.R. Reddin Fieldhouse. CBC (1-0) never trailed, leading 42-34 at halftime time and hanging on to a 77-70 win over PSU (0-1).

            Wade Williams led the way in scoring with 17 points and he was joined in double figures by Deshawn Corprew, who had 11, Kyle Harding, who put up 11 off the bench, and Sage Borbon, who scored all 10 of his points at the free throw line. CBC won the rebounding battle and outshot the Panthers from deep to secure a season-opening win for the second year in a row.

GAME FLOW

            The Mustangs made three-pointers on each of their first three possessions by Devin Foster, Corprew and Williams. Another Corprew three made it 12-2 and a layup by PSU followed by a Foster layup made it 14-4 and PSU never got closer than eight the rest of the half with CBC stretching the lead to 19 at one point.

            A pair of Borbon free throws extended the lead back to 10, 44-34, with 19:15 left and from there, the Panthers began a 14-5 run over the next 6:53 to cut CBC's lead to one at 49-48. A layup by Ike Moore with 12:27 left stretched the lead to 51-48, and following a free throw by the Panthers, Christian White's two handed flush with 11:33 left gave CBC a four-point cushion. After a three from the Panthers, a three from Harding deflated the PSU bench with 10:51 left and the Panthers never got within striking distance again. Borbon and Corprew would close the game out at the free throw line to help CBC go to 1-0 on the season.

MUSTANG NOTES

• CBC is now 6-4 all-time against Philander Smith and avenged a pair of losses last year
• CBC is now 175-40 all-time in games they lead at halftime
• Corprew had a double-double, adding 10 rebounds to his 11 points
• Williams was 7-8 from the floor and 3-4 from three

UP NEXT

            The Mustangs are back at home on Saturday for an early tip off against Blue Mountain Christian University. Tipoff from Reddin is slated for 2 p.m.