Box Score By Jim O'Hara
 
ROME, Ga. – It was simply one of "those" nights.

Hampered by having a cold night shooting the ball against a team that didn't have one, the Shorter Hawks were handed a rare defeat on their home floor at Winthrop-King Centre on Thursday night when Christian Brothers handed the Hawks a 79-55 Gulf South Conference loss.

The defeat gives the Hawks an 8-10 overall record and a 5-8 GSC mark heading into another conference showdown at WKC on Saturday when they host Delta State at 4 p.m.

The visiting Bucs (12-7, 8-5) wasted little time establishing the tone for the game as CBU – they led from start to finish – roared out to a 40-24 halftime lead thanks to an accurate 57 percent shooting touch from the floor.

At the same time, the Hawks had trouble finding the range from the field as they hit just 9 of their 29 shots in the opening 20 minutes.

Christian Brothers kept up the pace after the break, gradually extending its lead and with 15:52 to go, built up a 23-point margin, 51-28, when Trey Casey scored on a layup and with just over nine minutes left the Bucs took their biggest lead of the game, 65-39, when Cory McArthy hit a three-pointer.

The Hawks, who finished the night hitting just 35 percent of their shots, had just two players end the game in double figures as Jordan Jacks  had 14 points and Travis Jones added 11.

Shorter's leading scorer, senior Dedric Ware, who entered the game averaging 19.4 points for the game, was held scoreless in the first half and didn't score until the 13:40 mark of the second half. He ended the game with just six points.  Brandon Pullman, who was also averaging in double digits, was held to five points after finding himself in foul trouble early.

The Bucs, who wound up converting 54 percent of their shots, was led by McArthy's game-high 19 points, Drew Hildreth had 17, Casey added 16 and Ryan Fleming finished with 10.