BY: Randy Dunn
AUM’s men’s basketball team kicked off their 2019 season against the Tars of Rollins College. The gymnasium went into an uproar as the Warhawks took the court and formed their pre-game lay-up line, and as the shot clock wound down, the excitement continued to grow. This was the second matchup between the Warhawks and the Tars— in 2018, the Tars defeated AUM (86-76). The Warhawks started the first half off strong, putting up 32 points up to Rollins’ 26, with a strong showing from senior Darrion Taylor (19 points, 4 assists, and 2 rebounds) and redshirt junior Stanley Davis (21 points, 2 assists, and a rebound).
Although the Warhawks’ first half was strong, they came a little lackluster in the second half, scoring only 39 points. Rollins scored 50 points, which gave them a strong finish for the victory (76-71). The Warhawks showed a lot of potential for the upcoming season and played as a solid unit, but some mental breakdowns gave the edge to the opposing team, which didn’t please Coach Cheaney in any form.
The Warhawks didn’t look happy, as they knew they let the game slip out of their grasp, but they fought all the way until the buzzer sounded zero. They knew the game was theirs from the beginning to the end because they controlled the glass with 36 rebounds to Rollins’ 31, but late game fouls ended the Warhawks’ run and landed them their first loss of the year.
To keep up with the Men’s Basketball team simply search www.aumathletics.com