The Southwestern Pirates won their third straight game Saturday night against Birmingham-Southern College, 62-56 in Birmingham, Alabama.
The Panthers and Pirates traded buckets for most of the first half. Southwestern took the early lead after BSC missed an opening layup and gave away the breakaway on the other end. A four-point lead was as much as the Pirates would mount.
The score was tied at 29 with just under three minutes and the Panthers scored their last field-goal with 4:10 left on the clock which allowed the Pirates to close the half on a 4-0 run, taking a 33-29 advantage into the second half.
The Pirate rally continued well into the second half. Southwestern held the Panthers scoreless for a nine-minute stretch straddling both halves. Birmingham-Southern broke the run at the 15:45 mark with a free-throw, but the Pirates held an 11-point lead, 41-30. The Panthers would not lead again.
BSC continued to chip into the deficit for the remainder of the game. With the minutes ticking away, the Panthers furiously tried to claw back even. A three-point play from Aaron Parr with 1:15 left cut the Pirate lead down to three, 57-54. The Pirates' Andrew McDonald hit the second of two free-throws to put the Pirates back up four.
The Pirates were led by junior guard Anthony Cox who was a perfect 3-3 from three-point range and 6-6 from the free throw line. Cox was followed by senior forward Andrew McDonald who contributed 12 points on the night. Junior guard Travis Barber and sophomore guard Nick Caputo chipped in 11 and 10 points respectively. Barbar also recorded a team season high 6 steals.
The Pirates will be home again next week as they take on Oglethorpe on Friday night and Sewanee on Saturday night. Tip-off is slated for 6:00 p.m.
