MOUNT BERRY, Ga. - The Berry College Vikings started the season off right, dominating the home opener against the Centenary College Gents 77-55. Nile King came to play for the Vikings, posting a double-double in his first performance, finishing with 17 points and 10 rebounds.
The Gents won the tip to get things going, but the Vikings set the tone, getting handsy on defense to force the Gents to take a shot clock violation. With the first possession of the season, Nile King received the ball and drove it down the lane, dumping it off to freshman Bennet Frazer for an uncontested layup for the first basket of the season. The Vikings hung their hats on defense in the first half. Canon Armstead made his presence known early, infiltrating the passing lanes and making the Gents uncomfortable whenever they tried to set up their offense. On the other end, the Vikings punched the Gents in the mouth, pushing it towards the basket whenever they had the chance. Isaac Plavich punctuated the opening effort by getting out in transition from a steal by Canon Armstead for his first bucket of his career and forced the Gents to take a break.
The Centenary timeout iced the Vikings' run, and the Gents swung the pendulum in their favor, shrinking the deficit to two points. Before they could take the lead, Nile King came back in and snapped the cold spell by drawing a foul and kicking off a run for the Vikings that brought the lead back up to 8. The Gents responded with a run of their own, tying the score at 25 with a minute left in the half.
Cameron Pope didn't allow Berry to go down, getting himself to the line to put the Vikings up by one. With fifty seconds left, the Gents brought it up with a chance to take the lead, Nile King stepped up and disrupted the play. With nothing between him and the rim, the crowd held their breath anticipating a rim rocker, but the Gents got back and sent him to the line to make him earn it. He managed to bring the lead up to two.
The Vikings once again had the ball with 5 seconds left. Drew Winegarden drove to the rim and missed the layup off the back iron, but Mason Lawrence cleaned up the shot, giving Berry a four-point advantage going into the half.
Exiting the break, the Gents had the ball first and looked poised to remain within striking distance, driving the lane for a layup. Unfortunately for the Gents, the Vikings had some secret stuff in the locker room and opened the second half hot. Drew Winegarden drained a quick three to kick things off, and Canon Armstead activated his takeover, cashing in three straight threes. The Vikings quickly got themselves to 50 points, making the advantage an imposing 19 points. Despite there being 14 minutes left in the half, it was never in doubt. The Vikings poured it on and completely slammed the door in the face of the Gents, sending the fans home happy with a blowout win to open the season, the score 77-55.
The men continue through the Viking tip-off in an exciting matchup against the 21st-ranked Maryville College Scots tomorrow, November 8th, at 3:00 p.m.
