Game Summaries

Sides, Landers, Terrell Play Big in Flames Win

Free Will Baptist Bible College 75; Georgia Northwest Tech 62

January 30, 2012.  The trio of Kendred Sides, David Landers, and Steven Terrell put on quite a show Monday night in a 75-62 Flames’ win over visiting Georgia Northwest Tech. 

Sides and Terrell did the damage early as they scored 28 of FWBBC’s first 33 points, while Landers grabbed rebounds and dished off assists.  Landers’ first field goal came on an offensive rebound and put-back at the 5:12 mark of the first half.  That put the Flames up by 10 points.  The Bobcats dug into the FWBBC lead and cut it to 41-37 at intermission.

Jabbar Grayson hit a quick three-pointer to open the second half.  Landers and Sides picked up where they left off in the first half, scoring 18 of the Flames’ 34 second-half points to ice the game.

“We played a solid game, overall,” said Flames’ Coach Nathan Willhite.  “We shot pretty well in the first half and played tough defense the second half.  It was a good win for us.”

Sides led team scoring with 25 points.  Landers, in addition to his 15 points, was a monster on the boards, pulling down a game-high 16 rebounds and dishing out four assists.  Terrell scored 15 points and grabbed nine boards.  The Flames had a season-low six turnovers.

Flames Come From Behind for Regional Win

Free Will Baptist Bible College  63; Boyce College 59

Louisville, KY.  The first half of Tuesday’s game against Boyce College was an offensive struggle for FWBBC, and they trailed by 17 points going into the locker room at half-time.  But the Flames stormed back in the second half to beat the Bulldogs, 63-59.

Trailing 39-22, the Flames couldn’t seem to find the basket and struggled to score with two starters on the bench with two fouls each.  But FWBBC came to play in the second half, outscoring Boyce by 21 points.

Several players came up big for the Flames late in the contest.  Jake Manning hit three big treys in the last eight minutes, Kendred Sides hit back-to-back jumpers to take the lead for good, and Steven Terrell hit a free throw with 3.5 seconds left to make it a two possession game and seal the win.

“At half-time I told the guys to execute, that’s it,” said Coach Nathan Willhite.  “We did not do that the first half, and it hurt us.  We played a great defensive game in the second half, holding Boyce to just 20 points.”

David Landers had a big night scoring 23 points and pulling down six rebounds before fouling out with five minutes left in the game.  Sides added 12 points and six rebounds, while Terrell chipped in 10 points, seven rebounds, and three assists.

Flames Win on Senior Day

Free Will Baptist Bible College 98; Appalachian Bible College 59

It was “Senior Day” on Saturday as FWBBC hosted Appalachian Bible College and came away with a 98-59 victory.  Prior to the game, James Bradford, Chris Davenport, Adam Gardner, David Landers, and Stephen Nelson were honored (along with their parents) in recognition of the years as members of the Flames. 

The game started out with both teams exchanging buckets the first eight minutes.  From that point, it was all Flames, as they reeled off 16 unanswered points and the rout was on.  FWBBC had balanced scoring with 45 first-half points and 53 for the second 20 minutes.

“It was a good game that gave all our seniors significant minutes to play,” said Coach Nathan Willhite.  “Once the game was in hand, I tried to keep them in the game as much as possible.”

All the Flames scored, and five were in double figures, led by David Landers’ 17, followed by James Bradford with 13, Jake Manning and Steven Terrell with 11 each, and Kendred Sides with 10.  Landers and Cody Truett pulled down eight and seven rebounds, respectively.  Terrell led the team with five assists, and Bradford had three blocked shots.

Flames Come Up Short

The Crown College   78; Free Will Baptist Bible College 70

Down 21 points with less than 10 minutes to go, it looked like the Flames would get blown out.  But FWBBC started a 14-0 run and chipped away at the Royal Crusaders lead, cutting it to four with three minutes left.  Unfortunately for the Flames, they needed more time on the clock.

With under a minute left, they started fouling to get the ball back.  Crown made its free throws to seal the game.

“We played too soft the first half,” said Coach Nathan Willhite.  “They pulled down a number of offensive rebounds, giving them more possessions, and it killed us.  We played a nice second half (outscoring the Royal Crusaders by three), but you have to play the entire 40 minutes.”

Kendred Sides was a dominant force for the Flames scoring a game-high 22 points and pulling down nine boards.  David Landers was the only other Flame in double figures with 16 points.

Flames Enjoy Home Win

Free Will Baptist Bible College  86; Johnson University 73

Using all 13 players liberally, Coach Nathan Willhite coached his Flames to an 86-73 victory over visiting Johnson University.  It didn’t start out that way as the Preachers took the lead midway through the first half.  But the Flames ended their shooting woes with a season-high 65% from the floor, scoring almost at will, to take a nine-point half-time lead and cruise to the win.

“We finally found our shooting touch,” said Willhite.  “The last few games we have struggled with our shots, so I was relieved to break the slump.  I hope we continue to shoot well the rest of the season.”

Even though they only played half the game, Jake Manning and David Landers scored 25 and 21 points, respectively.  Kendred Sides chipped in 18 points.  Adam Gardner had a game-high eight rebounds, and Chris Davenport dished out four assists.

Flames  Drop Heart-Breaker

Kentucky Christian University  80; Free Will Baptist Bible College   76 OT

Missed free throws and turnovers down the stretch cost the Flames a win Friday night as they fell to fourth-ranked Kentucky Christian University in overtime, 80-76.

The Flames led by 10 points with nine minutes left in regulation when the Knights caught fire from beyond the arc and knocked down three consecutive treys.  That seemed to rattle the Flames, and they missed free throws and made a couple of key turnovers.  With less than 10 seconds left in regulation, KCU tied the game.  FWBBC couldn’t get a good shot off, and the game went into overtime. 

In the extra frame, the Knights used their momentum to outscore the Flames, 9-5, and steal a four-point win.

“We have got to make our free throws,” said a discouraged Coach Nathan Willhite.   “We played so well until late in the game, and we let it get away from us.”

David Landers led the Flames with 27 points and 10 rebounds.  Kendred Sides added 19 points, and Adam Gardner pulled down 10 rebounds.

Flames Fall to OCU

Ohio Christian University 90; Free Will Baptist Bible College  67

Too bad the Flames didn’t play the first half of Saturday’s game like they played the second half. They trailed by 20 at intermission en route to a 90-67 loss to Ohio Christian University.

The Trailblazers jumped out to an early lead and built on it throughout the first half, but the gritty Flames didn’t go away.  They became more aggressive and played even with OCU, but were unable to chip away at the deficit and went down in defeat.

“We played scared the first half,” said Coach Willhite.  “It wasn’t until the second half that we figured out we could play with them.  We needed to start the game that way.”

David Landers led the Flames with 14 points and six rebounds, and Jabbar Grayson added 10 points.

Flames’ Terrell Shines in Big Win!

Free Will Baptist Bible College 56; Sewanee 54

January 10, 2012.  Before the start of last night’s game, it looked like FWBBC was in big trouble, having lost earlier to Sewanee (The University of the South) by 46 points.  But the Flames clamped down on defense and pulled out a thrilling 56-54 overtime win at Picirilli Activity Center.

The first half was a defensive battle as FWBBC held the visiting Tigers to 20 points while scoring 17, thanks to the play of Steven Terrell and key steals by reserve guard Kenny Foster.

Terrell continued his outstanding play in the second half, dazzling the crowd with spin moves, layups, and quick jumpers.  His spin move with 13:35 to play gave the Flames their first lead at 27-26.  From there the game went back and forth, and there was never more than a four-point spread the rest of the game.

With 35.1 seconds left in regulation, Jake Manning’s two-pointer gave the Flames a 46-43 lead.  A big trey by the Tigers knotted the game with 12.6 seconds remaining.  Terrell took the ball, worked the clock down, and launched a shot at the buzzer that fell short.

The overtime went scoreless for almost two minutes before Terrell knocked down a free throw.  Then he hit Kendred Sides who scored a layup under pressure from three Tigers.  David Landers was fouled with 2:52 remaining and made one of two free throws to put the Flames up 50-46.  A Lewis Affronti trey pulled the Tigers within one point.

On the next possession, Sides was fouled at the two-minute mark and drained both free throws to push the lead up to 52-49.  A pair of Tiger free throws and a three-pointer by Trent Williams gave Sewanee a 54-52 lead at the one-minute mark.

But the Flames were not to be denied, as Terrell hit a huge three-pointer to retake the lead at 55-54 with 45 seconds left in overtime.  He added a free throw at the end to make the final score 56-54.

“It was an amazing game,” said Coach Nathan Willhite.  “After the beating we took at their place, I thought we might be in big trouble, but we did a great job shutting down their offense.  It was a total team effort.”

Although the Flames shot a dismal 27% from the field, the team had a number of contributions that aren’t in the scorebook.  Landers didn’t shoot his normal percentage, but his presence altered what the Tigers wanted to do offensively.  Sides was aggressive on both ends of the floor and was double-teamed on offense much of the game, yet still led the team in rebounding.  Adam Gardner was in foul trouble most of the evening but still pulled down nine rebounds.

Terrell had a game-high 20 points.  David Landers had 12 points and five blocked shots.  Sides had a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.  Jake Manning chipped in 10 points.

Flames Drop Pair

Trinity Baptist College 68   Free Will Baptist Bible College 61

November 12, 2011.  Coming off two season-opening wins, the Flames appeared to have a lot of confidence going into Friday’s game against Trinity Baptist College.  But FWBBC dropped a 68-61 decision to the visiting Eagles before a packed crowd at Picirilli Activity Center.

The Flames came out in the first half and held a seven-point advantage going into the locker room.  The second half was a different story as their shooting cooled off, and they only scored 24 points in the second frame.

David Landers led FWBBC with 22 points.  Jabbar Grayson added 13 points and Kendred Sides chipped in 11.  Adam Gardner was big on the boards, pulling down 14 rebounds.  Jake Manning dished out six assists and Steven Terrell had five assists.

Champion Baptist College 71   Free Will Baptist Bible College 58

Saturday, the Flames couldn’t find the rim all day and were defeated by Champion Baptist College, 71-58.   FWBBC could only muster 18 points in the first half.  The second half went much better, but it was too little too late as CBC pulled away for the win.

Kendred Sides had an outstanding game and led the team with 21 points and 11 rebounds.  Jake Manning had five assists to lead the Flames.

“We couldn’t throw it in the ocean if we were in a boat,” said Flames’ coach Nathan Willhite.  “You have games like that where there seems to be a lid on the basket.  But we will bounce back next week.”

Flames Open With Two Big Wins

Jacksonville, FL.  The 2011-12 edition of the FWBBC Flames opened with a pair of big wins in the Trinity Baptist College Classic.  They defeated Macon State 65-62 in the Thursday opener, then won a one-point thriller over the host, 72-71, on Friday.

Sophomores Jabbar Grayson and Kendred Sides led the Flames with 22 and 17 points, respectively.  Both had strong games at both ends of the floor.  They and David Landers each had nine rebounds to lead the Flames.  Sides also led the team with six assists.

"I was pleased with our effort and our execution in our first game of the season,” said Flames’ head coach, Nathan Willhite.  “We still have many things we need to improve, but 1-0 is always a good place to start.  Jabbar and Kendred played extremely well for us, and I expect them to do so throughout the season.”

In game two against Trinity Baptist, the game was tight, but the Flames held a narrow lead most of the contest.  It was back and forth for the last 15 minutes.  Then, with under a minute left in regulation, Landers brought the Flames within one, 71-70.  After the bucket, he fouled (his 5^th) to stop the clock.  TBC missed both free throws, and FWBBC got the ball back with 18 seconds remaining.  Running down the clock, the Flames were looking to take the last shot.  With three seconds left, freshman Steven Terrell hit the game-winning basket.  Trinity was unable to get off another shot.

“We had a balanced attack tonight on offense and our defense was good enough to hold on,” said Willhite.   Steven (Terrell), playing in his first game, gave us a big lift at the point guard position.  David Landers, Jake Manning, and Kendred Sides all played well tonight. Adam Gardner played solid defense and rebounding."

Terrell finished with 18 points and seven rebounds.  Manning and Sides each chipped in 14 points.  Sides led the team in rebounding with eight.

Now, 2-0, the Flames host Champion Baptist College and Trinity Baptist College this weekend.