THOMASVILLE, Ga. – Thomas went toe-to toe against the Brewton-Parker Barons in the first home game of 2025 on Tuesday night at the TU Gym.
The first half saw both teams be as even as possible, the largest lead held by either team was eight. With 13:34 left in the half, the Night Hawks down three,
Tyson Anderson knocked down a three to tie the game, then a minute later
Ja'Vian Baker drained a three of his own to give them the lead.
Deonta Jones made a layup to go up five before a Baron three cut the lead to two. Then a converted and-one gave Brewton-Parker back the lead.
Armani Thomas answered back with a three to take back the lead. The bucket by Thomas opened up an 13-7 run for the Night Hawks by the under six media timeout. However, the Barons ripped off a 16-8 run to end the half tied at 41.
Coming out of the locker room, both teams began the second half similar to the first, trading buckets left and right until back-to-back threes by
Andre Lightbourne put Thomas ahead by six. Brewton-Parker was not out of it though, with 15:04 to go, they brought the lead back down to two once again, another jumper made by the Barons put them within one until
Christian Nurse responded with a mid-range shot of his own to keep the lead at three. Brewton-Parker responded with an and-one to tie the game at 55, then a deep shot put them back into the lead. The Night Hawks quickly got the lead back, but the Barons made another run to get back out in front. They then went on a 11-4 run where they extended the lead to eight, with 5:42 left in the game, the Night Hawks began to turn up the intensity, Lightbourne hit a layup to bring the lead to five, then Jones got a steal and found a wide-open
Noah Lattin who brought the house down with an emphatic reverse dunk. Another Steal by Thomas set him up to hit a deep three to tie the game with 4:19 to go. Later in the game Lattin came through again, making a layup to give the Night Hawks the lead, they did not keep it for long as a couple of free throws by Brewton-Parker tied the game at 73. From there the two teams traded buckets before a deep three from the Barons gave them the lead with 1:48 to go. On the ensuing possession, Lightbourne answered the call as he made a clutch three of his own to tie the game again. Both teams traded good looks but no one could make a basket so it had to take overtime to settle this match.
The overtime period started with both team trading blows, neither one wanting to give an inch to their opponent. A foul on Lightbourne sent him to the line with the game tied at 80 and he sunk both to give the Night Hawks a one possession lead. Then with 2:25 left, The Barons knocked down a three to give them the lead. With time continuing to go down, the Night Hawks could not find a good look, with the shot clock winding down they need a basket and with two seconds left
Armani Thomas threw up a prayer and it was answered as he made an off balanced three to give them a two-point lead with 45 seconds to go, a turnover and a couple of Lightbourne free throws later, the Night Hawks came out victorious.
Lightbourne finished as the leading scorer for the team with 17 points, two boards and a steal. Thomas had 13 points including the go-ahead bucket, to go along with three steals, Nurse flirted with a double-double ending with 12 points, seven rebounds and two assists, Finally Jones finished with four points, seven rebounds, five assists and four steals.
The Night Hawks will face another SSAC foe at home against Life University on Thursday, January 9th at 7:00pm.
