The Hampton Crabbers and Bethel Bruins put on a good show for the patient fans who came out to Hampton University Friday night to see the Ronald Curry Christmas Classic’s championship game. Fans were forced to wait nearly an hour for the game to get underway after both the Hampton-based teams came out in their all-black jerseys. The Crabbers were listed as the home team, and changed into their white and red jerseys.

Both teams seemed to show effects of the delayed start as the first quarter featured several turnovers from both teams in an overall sloppy first quarter, with the Bruins struggling to a 14-10 lead going into the second. In the second quarter, the turnovers and sloppy play was replaced by great defense on both ends. The score at halftime was Crabbers 26, Bruins 25.

Bethel’s Aaron Bacote, who was recognized for going over 1,000 points in his career before the game began, finished the first half with seven points and three rebounds. The Crabbers’ top player Anthony “Big Cat” Barber finished the half with 11 points and five rebounds.

In the second half the game remained tight with neither team’s lead reaching more than five points. The Bruins Raheem Brown carried Bethel the rest of the way, and connected on a three-pointer with less than a minute remaining to tie the game at 51 apiece. While Hampton tried to let the clock run for a final shot, the Bruins had a foul to give. This forced the Crabbers to in-bound the ball with just 1.5 seconds left in the game. The in-bound pass to Anthony Barber gave him a good look at the basket and his jumper was good to win it for the Crabbers, avenging their only loss of the season against the Bruins. Barber also received the tournament’s Most Valuable Player award following the game.

The Hampton Crabbers and Bethel Bruins will meet again on January 13^th at Bethel High School.

Online Photo Gallery: Bethel vs. Hampton     Photos by Larry Dringenberg