No. 2 Hawks Use Big First Half To Bounce Rams

ROME, Ga-- The 2nd-ranked Shorter University Hawks bounced the University of Mobile from the quarterfinals of the 2012 SSAC Men's Basketball Tournament with an 85-64 decision Thursday.

The Hawks used a dominant first half to get the win, outscoring Mobile 55-32 in the opening 20 minutes of action. Shorter out shot Mobile 63% to 36% in that period. They also drained 9-of-13 3-pointers.

The score was actually tied at 22-22 8:54 into the period thanks to a Christian Salinas 3-ball, but Shorter went on a 28-8 run over the next 8:23. Shorter nailed five 3-pointers in the stretch. Mobile went 4-for-14 from the floor in that time. CJ Davis hit is 5th 3-ball of the half with 29 seconds left to make it 55-32.

In the second half, the Rams could get no closer than 16 and Shorter led by as many as 24.

Antonio Hester led the Rams with 19 points and 7 rebounds, Ji Kimbrough added 12 points and 4 assists and Matthew Turner finished with 6 points and 6 boards.

CJ Davis led Shorter with 23 points, going 5-of-7 from 3-point range and Anthony Banks added 18 points, going 8-of-8 from the free throw line.