February 14, 2006 — ATLANTA – Head coach Grady Brewer shook up the Morehouse lineup, inserting untested freshman Paul Williams at point guard against the Fort Valley Wildcats. Whether Williams was the catalyst could be debated, but the result was a much-needed Maroon Tigers victory.
In his longest outing of the season, the 5’-10” Atlanta native ran an effective offense and pulled down five rebounds. The key however was that the promising reserve played 21 minutes without a turnover. As a team Morehouse turned the ball over only 13 times, compared to 20 turnovers for the visitors.
The 79-72 win snapped a two-game Morehouse skid and avenged a 76-70 loss at Fort Valley last week.
Except for a brief two-point deficit midway in the first half, the Maroon Tigers led from start to finish. A 37-29 halftime lead blossomed to a 14-point lead midway through the second period and the Maroon Tigers seemed on cruise control. A final surge by the Wildcats closed the gap, but the outcome never seemed in doubt.
Most of the Morehouse scoring came from three Maroon Tigers.
Brandon Childs registered game-highs in points, with 24, assists, with seven, and steals, with five. Oddly he had no rebounds. The SIAC’s third leading scorer shot 8-of-17 from the field and 8-of-10 from the free-throw line.
Peter Price who had a torrid series of double-double games in January, but had cooled somewhat off lately, brought high energy and his A-game to the arena tonight. The 6’-6” power forward had a team-high eight rebounds and threw in 14 points, 12 of them in the first half. Price led a Morehouse block party, swatting away three Wildcat shots and anchoring a tough inside defense.
Seven-foot center James Beasley, who had two blocks of his own, also bought his A-game, matching his season–high 17 points, to go with six rebounds.
Kendall Ruffin led Fort Valley with 23 points, seven rebounds, four assists and four steals. Three other Wildcats scored in double figures.
Fort Valley dropped to 11-12 (8-10 SIAC).
Morehouse improved to 13-10 (10-8 SIAC) and will face Albany State Thursday at Forbes at 7:30 p.m. and Clark Atlanta at Forbes on Saturday. That game, which is a home game for the Panthers, has been changed from 7:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. to avoid a scheduling conflict with the annual Morehouse Candle in the Dark gala.
