Spartanburg Methodist College Rallies for Conference Win Over Fisher

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Spartanburg Methodist College men's basketball team erased a 14-point first half deficit and shot a blistering 65.5% (19-for-29) from the field en route to a 104-94 win over Fisher College on Friday night.

The Pioneers (6-10, 3-1 CAC) were paced by Bryan Bayonne, who scored 22 of his 29 points in the final 20 minutes to go along with 12 rebounds and three assists for his fourth double double of the season. Kenny Burns and Richard Rojas had 19 and 15 points, respectively. SMC had a significant advantage in bench points, with 45 compared to 22 for Fisher.

The Falcons (5-11, 2-4 CAC) were led by the 29-point effort from Ke'Andre Penceal, who had 19 of his 29 as the Falcons took a 51-43 lead and led for 34 minutes in the loss. Penceal led four Fisher players in double figures. He was joined by Justin Covington, who had 18, Keith Rupert, who added 16 and Mekhi Dedrik scored 11.

Fisher held a 10-point lead, 76-66, with 12:01 left to play and at the ensuing media timeout, SMC head coach Blake Jackson told his team that they were going to need stops. 

The Pioneers responded to the challenge before them from the first-year head coach as they scored 19 of the next 26 points to take their first lead punctuated by a corner 3-pointer buried by Hunter DeCuir for an 85-83 lead with 5:25 to play. Bayonee sparked the spurt, scoring 12 of the 19 for the Pioneers. 

SMC stayed in front for the rest of the contest, scoring eight of the final 11 points for the 10-point victory. 

Next, SMC will host Washington Adventist on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. at Bridges Arena

Photo courtesy of Danny Kambel, SMC Sports Communications