Berry Holds Off Men’s Basketball in NCAA Tournament Opening Round
Farrar matches career-high with 36 in defeat
from Bryce Johnson, Director of Athletic Communications
ATLANTA, Ga. – The Guilford College men’s basketball team (22-7, 12-4 ODAC) saw their season come to a close, falling to Berry College (20-8, 10-2 SAA), 80-77, in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament in the Woodruff PE Center on Friday evening.
“I mean Berry, great, great gameplan,” Head Coach Tom Palombo said. “I mean, it’s not like we gave it to them. I mean, they just took it to us, like they just really played well, had a great gameplan, executed.”
The Quakers eighth National Tournament appearance in program history was halted prematurely, with just their second opening round exit, the other coming in 2008. For the Vikings team, meanwhile, a milestone, securing their first NCAA Tournament victory in program history.
Berry had a brilliant gameplan on this night, with GC locked in on the high-efficiency, high-volume three-point attack, they instead got downhill, with 32 of their 52 shots being two-point attempts as their drives also effectively created space for their shooters. As a result, they shot a superb, .577 from the field and .400 from three while also getting to the line 15 times, making 12 of them. The cardinal and grey shot well too, going .455 overall and .375 from deep, but an 8-of-14 performance at the stripe at the stripe proved costly.
Nick Farrar (Apex, N.C.) finished his brilliant single season in Greensboro by matching a career-high with 36 points on 14-of-22 while also going 8-of-9 from the stripe and leading all players with nine rebounds. Gabe Proctor (Apex, N.C.) was effective, going 7-of-14 overall and 6-for-11 from range to net 20 points. Luke Proctor (Apex, N.C.) paced the Quakers with seven helpers and added two steals while Caleb Farrish (McLeansville, N.C.) secured eight caroms, five of them on the offensive end.
SAA Player of the Year, Braxton Benham was outstanding, headlining the Viking attack with 24 points on 10-of-16 while distributing ten assists. Freshman Nile King was an X-factor on both ends with 14 points on 7-of-13 to go with a team-leading seven rebounds and a game-high two blocks. Drew Winegarden pitched in ten points for BC.
The first half of play would live within two scores. Evenly dividing the first eight baskets of the contest, Benham would end that trend for the Vikings six-and-a-half minutes in with consecutive hoops only for another five-hoop stretch trading blows after. Five-straight points from Luke Proctor ensued, giving Guilford their first lead since Farrar opened the game with a two, as the Quakers held a 18-17 edge through nine minutes of action.
The Proctor trey that put GC in front ended up being the first of nine-straight baskets that featured a lead change as the offenses got going. Gabe Proctor halted the trend, cashing in a near-midcourt three, but it also sparked the best run by either side as BC rattled off ten-straight, including four thanks to Quaker fouls 90-feet from their basket, taking a 37-31 edge to the locker room.
Out of the break, Parker Godwin hit a three for Berry right away, but then GC started chipping away with Farrar enforcing his will on the interior. He rattled off the next 11 Quaker tallies on an 11-6 stretch, then Chase Ellis (Douglasville, Ga.) buried a three, with Farrar assisting out of the double-team and suddenly Guilford had cut it to a one-point game. The fifth-year transfer then took a breather and the Vikings capitalized, swiftly creating distance with an 11-2 spurt to seize a double-digit advantage at 57-47 with 11:05 remaining.
When Farrar checked back in, Guilford made headway, lowering the deficit as he led the charge. They leveled the score at 69 with a difficult reverse from Farrar with 3:21 to play. Then they got even once more at 74 apiece with 1:32 on the clock but a three by Isaac Martin and a Benham free throw gave the Vikings the lead for good, and GC’s potential game-tying shot with seven seconds went airy as the score finalized at 80-77.
This concludes the 2024-25 season for the Guilford College men’s basketball team.
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