JANUARY 12, 2004

The Stallions of ABAC returned to action this past week facing national Division II power Parkland College of Illinois.  The game was hard fought with the Cobras of Parkland emerged victorious by a final score of 65-71.  ABAC was again led in scoring by John Beugnot who had 17 points and Erick Fisher added 12.  The Stallions are without the services of Byron “Slim” Conoway who suffered a head injury while playing in a pick-up game over the break.  He will go back to the doctor on January 15^th and will hopefully be cleared to play at that point.  The 6’8 freshman has been a big boost coming off the bench and will be missed until his return. 

The next night saw ABAC fall in overtime to Seminole Community College in Sanford, Florida.  The Stallions fought extremely hard to erase a 9 point halftime deficit but could not win the extra period falling by a final score of 86-81.  The Stallions lost Rafael Burford to a bad ankle sprain early in the second half and he is listed as day to day.  The Green and Gold of ABAC were led in scoring by Warren Beaulah with 21 points followed by Nick Brabham with 19 points and 7 assists.  Erick Fisher again added 12 followed by Kevin Armstrong with 10 points.

The Stallions then rebounded with a much needed victory over Fort McPhearson.  The ABAC Men never trailed and were up by as many as 28 points and cruised to an 82-65 victory.  ABAC was led in scoring by John Beugnot with 18 points while Nick Brabham added a career high 13 assists.  Also in double figures scoring were Warren Beaulah with 15 points, and Chris Brown with 12 points.  Erick Fisher sat out the game with back spasms and is listed as day to day. 

The walking wounded of ABAC Men’s Basketball will take on Conference rival Atlanta Metro on Tuesday January 13^th at 7:30.  This is the first conference game and the 11-6 Stallions will look to begin league play on a positive note.

DECEMBER 12th

The Stallions finished the Pre-Christmas schedule this past week and currently have a record of 10 wins and 4 losses.

 On Wednesday the team hosted Hiwassee College of Madisonville TN.  The Stallions were able to avenge an earlier loss but it took them overtime to accomplish the task.  Defensively the Tigers of Hiwassee were held to 43 % shooting overall and zero three point field goals made.  The victory marked the third one point victory of the year for the Stallions.  Rafael Burford led the charge with 17 points followed by Chris Brown who scored 13 points and added 5 rebounds and 6 blocks.  John Beugnot had another solid performance scoring 9 points and grabbing a game high 14 rebounds. 

 The following night saw the home team Stallions lose for the second time this season to Enterprise State Community College.  The game was close until the 10 minute mark when Enterprise went on and 13-0 run.  The lead proved to be too much to overcome as the Stallions fell by a score of 59-77.  Warren Beaulah led the way for ABAC scoring 14 points and Erick Fisher added 13 points.  John Beugnot was again in double figures rebounding grabbing a game high 13 rebounds. 

 The next game for the Stallions will be January 5^th at 6:00 in Gressette Gym on the ABAC campus.

NOVEMBER 24th

The ABAC Stallions Men’s Basketball team ran its overall record to 9 wins and 3 losses following a tough Chipola Classic this past weekend.

In the first game the Stallions were matched against the host Chipola College Indians.  ABAC started slow and could not get back on track and eventually lost the game 64-82.  The Stallions were led by Chris Brown.  The Colquitt native registered 16 points, 7 rebounds and 3 blocked shots.  Warren Beaulah added 14 points.

The next night saw the men rebound from the loss to beat a talented St. John’s River Junior team.  The lead see sawed back and forth with the Stallions eventually winning the game 91-85.  On this night the Stallions were led in scoring by Ben Davis who had the hot hand connecting on 7 of 8 three point baskets.  Ben would finish with a game high 25 points while recording 3 assists.  Chris Brown dominated the inside just as Davis dominated the outside and registered 18 points and 7 rebounds.  Nick Brabham was again excellent scoring 8 points while dishing out 10 assists.  Ray Burford added 12 points, and blocked 2 shots.  Warren Beaulah added 11 points in another solid effort.

The last game of the classic would prove to be the Stallions’ best as the Tifton team led “wire to wire” beating a very talented and well coached Jefferson Davis team.  The final score was 91 – 71.  Chris Brown again dominated the paint.  He was phenomenal recording his first career triple double.  He ended the game with 12 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 blocks.  The Stallions had balanced scoring placing 6 players in double figures and blocking a team high 20 shots.  John Beugnot recorded a double-double with 16 points and 14 rebounds.  Rafael Burford scored 15, Erick Fisher 13, Nick Brabham 12 points, 8 assists and Warren Beaulah added 10 points.

The Stallions will take the next ten days to practice and prepare as well as rest after playing 12 games in 21 days.  They return home to face Hiwassee College on Wednesday, December 3^rd and Enterprise the following night.  This will be an opportunity to avenge two of the three losses recorded on the year as both teams defeated the green and gold earlier in the season.  Game time is 6:00 pm on the 3^rd and 7:00 pm on the 4^th.

NOVEMBER 19^th

The Stallions were handed their 2^nd loss of the season on November 13^th at Enterprise, Alabama.  The Stallions trailed by no more than 10 and stayed in the hunt throughout the game.  Nick Brabham had one of the best games of the young season as he battled to keep the Stallions close.  His line on the night was an impressive one… 11 points 5 rebounds and 11 assists.  Others in scoring were Erick Fisher with 12, Warren Beaulah with 9 and John Beugnot with 8 points and 9 rebounds.

Rebounding from a loss is always tough and to do it on the road is even harder.  The ABAC Stallions faced a tough task with only one day of rest and then 3 games in 3 days (all on the road). 

The first night of the 3 game stretch came at the South Georgia Tech Classic against a much improved Oxford College Team.  Previously Oxford had been defeated by Middle Georgia but only by 4 points.  They were showing signs of an improved program, and at halftime the Stallions only led by 7.  The second half; however would prove to be the difference as the Stallions exploded on Oxford College early and coasted to a 97-55 victory.  Warren Beaulah led the Stallions in scoring with 15 points and 4 rebounds in his first collegiate start.  John Beugnot had 13 points, Erick Fisher had 12 points Nick Brabham had 10 points.  Every player played at least 6 minutes in the game and all 13 Stallions scored.

The next night would prove to be a tremendous test for the battle weary Stallions as they faced Gulf Coast Community College from the tough “Pan Handle Conference”.  The Commodores of GCCC are coached by former Mississippi State Head Coach Jim Hatfield.  It was a match-up of speed versus size as Gulf Coast’ post players both measured over 6’8 and weighed 270 and 250.  The Stallions again had another face lead the Charge.  This time it was reserve guard Ben Davis that came in with the “hot hand”.  Ben scored 16 points, all in the first half, and was 4 of 5 from behind the arch in the first half.  The Stallions had solid play all around and posted 6 players in double figures for the game.  Chris Brown had a monster game playing against the much bigger players scoring 14 points and grabbing 9 rebounds and blocking 3 shots as well as dishing out 3 assists in 32 minutes of play.  John Beugnot also proved to be too tough in the post scoring 11 points and grabbing 9 rebounds.  Rafael Burford added 12 points Nick Brabham, 11 and Byron Conoway 10 as the Stallions upset the Commodores by a score of 91-71.  A total team effort was needed and the 2-0 Classic finish would inspire the team to take care of business against Brewton Parker College on the next night.

ABAC 88 Brewton Parker College 55:  The Stallions played every player at least 13 minutes and every stallion scored as they continued the balanced attack that has been the formula for success this season.  A reserve, Brandon Ingram led the team with 12 points followed by Erick Fisher with 11, Byron Conoway 10, Ahmad Farley 9, Ben Davis and Kevin Armstrong each added 8, Marquette Northington 7, John Beugnot 6, Rafael Burford 4 and Jordan Smith with 4.  

The Stallions have 2 days off and then travel to Chipola for three extremely tough games at the Chipola Classic.  The ABAC Men are 7-2 currently.

NOVEMBER 11^th

The Stallions had a busy and productive weekend winning 2 of 3 games and improving their overall record to 4 wins with only 1 defeat.  Coach Todd Sheppard was pleased with his team’s performance.  “Playing 3 games in 4 days is always a difficult challenge, but I thought our team played very well at times and continued to improve throughout the weekend.”

On Friday night the Stallions opened the home season with a win over a very tough Spartanburg-Methodist team that was receiving pre season top 25 votes.  The men of Tifton struggled offensively early, but were excellent defensively allowing only 14 first half points.  The second half saw the stallions eventually pull away to win 73-62.  Three players scored in double figures for ABAC led by Erick Fisher’s 14 points, Rafael Burford’s 12 points and John Beugnot’s 12 points.  Nick Brabham played very well running the team and contributing 9 points while Byron Conoway had another solid performance also netting 9 points.

The following day brought different challenges as the ABAC men traveled north 6 hours to play Hiwassee College in Madisonville, TN.  The guys fought hard but eventually lost the game 83-91.  The Stallions were again led in scoring by Erick Fisher as he netted 21 points.  Byron Conoway continued to improve coming off the bench to score 15 points and grab 7 rebounds.  Rafael Burford added 16 points to the losing cause.

Monday’s Game pitted the Stallions against Brewton Parker College Junior Varsity.  Again, defense was the theme. The Stallions only allowed 52 total points and went on to win the game by 18.  A team effort was the key, as it has been each night, with 4 players scoring in double figures.  Rafael Burford had 16 points, Chris Brown had 11 points and both John Beugnot and Erick Fisher each scored 10 points.  John Beugnot recorded his first double-double of his young career grabbing 12 rebound to go with his 10 points.

The ABAC Men travel to Enterprise Alabama to face Enterprise State Community College on Thursday night.  Game time is 8:00 CST.  Then on Saturday and Sunday the Stallions will be in Americus to participate in the South Georgia Tech Classic.

NOVEMBER 4^th

The ABAC Men’s Basketball Team grabbed two wins to begin the 2003-2004 Season and captured the Santa Fe Community College Tip-Off Tournament Championship.  It was the first two games of the season and the first two games under new head coach Todd Sheppard.  The Stallions faced an uphill battle as they played Santa Fe Community College in the first contest.  Santa Fe is ranked 18^th in the country in the pre-season poll and is loaded with highly touted performers.  It was a very hard fought game with both teams making plays and representing their schools in a first class manner but in the end it was the men from Tifton that took the victory 80-79.  ABAC had several players step up to the challenge with every participating player scoring and contributing to the win.  Freshman Ahmad Farley led the Stallions with 18 points on 7 for 9 shooting from the perimeter.  Sophomore Rafael Burford added 15 points and grabbed 8 rebounds while fellow sophomore Erick Fisher added 11 points for the green and gold.  Freshman John Beugnot turned in a solid performance grabbing 8 rebounds and scoring 11 points using this effort to propel him to a career high in the next contest.

The next night the ABAC Stallions faced Broward Community College in the championship game.  Broward advance by defeating a tough Spartanburg Methodist Team 82-70.  The Stallions fought from as many as 10 points down in the second half to earn a one point win 67-66 and run the season’s record to 2-0.  This night the team was paced by John Beugnot.  The Frenchman netted 24 points on 4 of 5 shooting from behind the 3 point line and grabbed 7 rebounds for the Stallions.  Sophomore Chris Brown showed why he is considered one of the best post players in the conference recording his first double-double of the season scoring 12 points and snagging 10 rebounds.  Nick Brabham the Stallions sophomore point guard scored 7 points and dished out 7 assists in the victory.  The tournament championship is the first of the season and the first for Head Coach Todd Sheppard.  “I am very proud of our team’s effort this weekend.  I believe we represented our school and community in a first class manner and had a lot of fun.  It is always great to win, but this is extra special because it was my first game as a college head coach.  I will remember this for a long time.”

The Stallions next game is this Friday night against a very tough Spartanburg-Methodist Team in the friendly confines of Gressette Gym.  The game will tip-off at 7:30.  This game’s theme is “Feed the Hungry”.  All people that bring a canned good will be admitted to the game free with the proceeds benefiting the local community.