TIFTON - The ABAC Stallions made a big second half run in their conference matchup with Blue Mountain College from Mississippi Saturday before falling just short in an 82-76 loss at Gressette Gym.

The Stallions were down by 13 midway through the second half but rallied to keep it close late in the game. BMC led 61-48 with 12 minutes left to play before Xavier Boyd scored a layup and Matthew Mairena drained a 3-pointer to cut the lead to eight points. Mairena, a freshman from Miami who had the best game of his young ABAC career, followed that with two free throws for a 61-55 margin with 9:55 left. The teams were even for the next five minutes when Nate Mobley scored inside to make it 72-68 with 3:48 left. But the Toppers made enough stops late to seal the win.

Blue Mountain's Jason Hunt showed why he's one of the best shooters in the conference as he led the way with 33 points and 10 rebounds. ABAC's Mairena led the Stallions with 19 points and 7 assists, both season highs, while Boyd added 18 along with Bryce Wimberly's 16. The visitors capitalized on ABAC's mistakes, scoring 24 points off Stallion turnovers and outscored ABAC 40-24 inside.

ABAC was playing its second straight game without leading scorer T.J. Smith, who missed the game with a back injury. Coach Calvin Sinkfield is hopeful the freshman from Columbus will return for the Stallions' next game, a conference matchup with Dalton State College on Thursday night.