The Landrum men’s basketball team played its first half and second half on opposite ends of the spectrum Wednesday night.
Landrum played arguably its worst half of the season against Broome before pulling away for a 62-58 victory.
Down 33-24, the Cardinals turned up the heat and by the end of the third quarter Landrum was up 42-37.
What turned the momentum?
“Defensive pressure,” Landrum Coach Lyn Smith said. “We switched to a man-to-man defense.”
That pressure was definitely what turned the tide, Centurion coach Ben Martin said.
“We didn’t react well to that,” he said.
The Centurions lost starting point guard Tyler Shippy for the year with a knee injury and they unveiled a packed 1-3-1 zone Wednesday. That zone gave the Cardinals fits in the first half.
“With our size, I like the options this zone gives us,” Martin said.
The Cardinals had the ultimate zone buster tonight, however. Senior guard Mark Wilson hit eight threes and scored 26 points to lead the way for Landrum.
“My team was just giving me the ball and I was hitting shots,” Wilson said. “God just blessed me tonight.”
He led the charge in the first  and second half. In the second half, however, he got help. Alex Bryant turned it on in the paint and finished with 14 points. He played angry in the second half, energizing his team.
“I was proud of the effort in the second half,” Smith said. “We were fortunate enough to come back and win the game.”
Landrum played Chapman at 8:30 p.m. Thursday night. See www.tryondailybulletin.com for results from the rest of the Battle at the Border tournament.