Published: October 31, 2009 11:52 pm      

BC Rams overcome sloppiness in home opener

BLUEFIELD, Va. — All eyes in the Bluefield College Dome were on new men’s basketball coach Richard Morgan as he coached his first home game with the Ramblin’ Rams.

Morgan’s debut was anything but scary on Halloween. Despite first-half struggles, the Rams found their rhythm and rolled to a 98-53 win over Barber-Scotia College Saturday night.

“I think it was just like I planned it,” said Bluefield College head coach Richard Morgan. “If you write a book, that’s the way you want it to be. Tonight I thought they were in their comfort zone. They’re in their home. They gave the fans what they wanted.”

The Rams looked sloppy at times, turning the ball over as the young group on the floor tried to connect with each other.

Junior Jewuan Wynn and senior Omar Reed fueled the Rams in the first half, each scoring eight points.

“We’re going to go through our ups and downs this year, this team here because it’s so young,” Morgan said. “Anytime the kids you lose and the kids you’re bringing in is the same number, you’re always going to have letdowns at some point. My whole goal is to get the most potential out of this team.”

But the Rams found themselves in the final 20 minutes and their talent quickly overwhelmed the Sabers. Borgia M’Bala led the night with 20 points, but he was trailed closely behind by Wynn with 16, Carlton Shumake with 12, Alvin Board with 11, and Reed and Brian Daniels with 10 each. Reed and Marcus Jackson dominated the boards, snagging 11 rebounds each.

“It’s important to get as many guys out there with touches,” Morgan said. “I’ve got a lot of guys over there and guys I’ve got to get worked into the program, too. Right now, I’m getting (the starters) some playing time and quality minutes so they can stay in some type of shape. I think that’s going to help us down the road.”

Barber-Scotia’s Michael Hinton led all scorers with 23 points, but he was the only member of the Sabers in double figures. Nicholas TeNeyck added 12 rebounds.

Bluefield (1-1) will see a team on the other end of the competitive spectrum on Thursday, paying a visit to Tennessee Tech University.

“It’s going to be different for them,” Morgan said. “But I know the rims are still going to be 10 feet and it’s going to be 15 feet from the free-throw line. So we’ve just got to go in and do what we do. We’re not going to do anything special. We’re going to go in there and play the same way we always play, give great effort and hopefully come out of there with a win.”

— Contact Jed Lockett

at jlockett@bdtonline.com