Columbia, SC – The Bryan College Lions withstood a furious second-half rally to defeat Columbia College 81-78 on Saturday evening, improving their record to 5-8 overall

The Lions' reserves made the difference in this hard-fought conference battle, outscoring Columbia's bench 40-14. Trey Morrow led the second unit with 18 points on an efficient 7-of-10 shooting, including 4-of-6 from beyond the arc. Izaiha Bredwood added 17 points and dished out four assists, while also converting all six of his free throw attempts in crucial late-game situations.
"I am proud of our team for sticking together today," said Head Coach Jason Laatsch. We had 19 assists on 27 made shots which shows the unselfishness of our group," he continued. "It is extremely challenging to win road games in this league and our team showed a lot of fight and heart to get a huge road win," he added.

Senior Dalen Gales paced the starters with 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting, adding three rebounds and two assists in 32 minutes. Point guard Kole Torres contributed 14 points, including four three-pointers, and facilitated the offense with five assists. Terrell Reeves chipped in nine points despite foul trouble that limited him to 24 minutes.

Bryan built its victory on a strong first-half performance, shooting 59.3% from the field and 58.3% from three-point range to take a 41-36 lead into halftime. The Lions hit seven of their first 12 attempts from beyond the arc, with Morrow going a perfect 4-for-4 in the opening period.

Columbia mounted a serious challenge in the second half, trimming Bryan's lead to as few as one point on multiple occasions. The Koalas were led by Chandler O'Bannon's game-high 23 points, while Tae Burton added 14 points and seven assists.

The game came down to free throw shooting in the final minute. With Bryan clinging to a 77-75 lead, Bredwood calmly sank two free throws with eight seconds remaining to extend the advantage to four. After Burton hit a three-pointer with 14 seconds left to cut the deficit to 79-78, Bredwood again stepped to the line and converted both attempts to seal the victory.

Bryan's superior shooting from beyond the arc proved decisive, as the Lions connected on 47.8% of their three-point attempts (11-of-23) compared to Columbia's 33.3% (9-of-27). The Lions also capitalized on turnovers, scoring 18 points off Columbia's 15 miscues.

Despite being outrebounded 34-30, Bryan protected the ball better in the first half and received timely contributions throughout the rotation. Jerry Taylor Jr. added five points and five assists off the bench, while the Lions' balanced attack saw five players score in double figures.

The road victory keeps Bryan's conference tournament hopes alive as they continue to build momentum in the second half of the season. The Lions will look to carry this balanced offensive performance and bench production into their next contest as they push toward a .500 record.

They will hit the road to take on Samford University in an exhibition game on Monday at 1:00 pm EST to wrap up the year and head into Christmas break.