For the second time in three days, the Sewanee men's basketball team found themselves locked in a fierce battle with the outcome not determined until the closing seconds. And for the second time in three days, the Tigers clawed their way out of a double-digit second half deficit to pull within a field goal in the final moments.
Despite owning a three-point halftime lead, Sewanee found themselves down as many as 13 late in the second half. But the Tigers used a 12-0 run over a two-minute span to cut the Berry lead to one with just over two minutes left to play. The Vikings hit a pair of free throws with just 19 seconds left on the clock to make it 65-62 but Sewanee was unable to get a shot to fall in the waning seconds and Berry walked away with the three-point win in the third game of the Lon Varnell Classic this afternoon.
Berry's Kendall Gadie opened the scoring early on with a short jumper off the glass to put the visiting Vikings up 2-0. Sewanee freshman Anvil Nelson (Brentwood, Tenn., Brentwood) quickly responded with a lay in of his own to tie things at 2-2 just one minute in. After Nelson got the Tigers on the board, fellow freshman Valentino Bryant (Hendersonville, Tenn., Beech) dropped in five quick points, a basket in the paint and a 3-pointer, to put Sewanee ahead by five, 7-2.
The Vikings didn't let Sewanee own the lead for long, as Cass LeBlanc nailed a pair of free throws after being fouled by Bryant and Gadie scored three straight points to even the ballgame at 7-7. The Tigers used a quick 7-2 run, with baskets from Trent Williams (Lawrenceburg, Tenn., Lawrence County High School) and Sam Martin (Ringgold, Ga., Lakeview-Ft. Oglethorpe), to take the lead back, 14-9, before the Vikings scored five of their own to tie the score at 14-14.
After LeBlanc evened things at 14, the back-and-forth battle picked up steam as the teams approached the midway point of the first half. Berry took a quick 14-16 lead on a lay up by big man David Holloman before Lewis Affronti (Virginia Beach, Va., Norfolk Academy) knocked down a trey for the Tigers to regain the lead, 17-16. Viking Jonathan Abrams hit one of two free throws to even things at 17-17 with 6:47 left in the half before Sewanee senior Tony Marelle (Atlanta, Ga., Mt. Pisgah) nailed two from the charity stripe to give the Tigers a 19-17 lead.
Tim Miles tossed in back-to-back field goals for the Vikings before Holloman dropped in a jumper to give Berry a 19-23 lead with four minutes remaining in the stanza. Bryant responded with a 3-pointer to cut it to 22-23 and Marelle connected on one of two free throws to tie it at 23-23. Twenty seconds later, sophomore Tyler Brown (Goodlettsville, Tenn., Beech) hit one of two from the line to regain the Sewanee lead, 24-23, but Gadie, who had 13 in the first half, hit a long jumper to give Berry the 24-25 lead.
After Gadie gave Berry the one-point lead, the Tigers took it back in a quick sequence that saw a jumper by Bryant fall, followed by a Berry tip-in by Gadie and a lay up by Sewanee's Nelson, giving Sewanee the 28-27 lead with just 30 seconds left in the half. Holloman missed a lay up at the other end before Trent Williams connected on a driving lay up as time expired to give Sewanee the 30-27 lead heading into the locker room.
Just moments into the second half, the Tigers extended their lead to six with a 3-pointer by Matt Cowan (Goodlettsville, Tenn., Beech), giving Sewanee what would be their largest lead of the contest. Berry chopped the Tiger lead to 33-32 behind a three-point play by Holloman and a basket by Gadie. Affronti, who went 3 of 5 from beyond the 3-point line in the second half, knocked down a trey to push Sewanee's lead back to four but Berry got two straight baskets to tie the game at 36-36 early in the second half.
The two squads traded baskets to push it o t38-38 before Holloman and Miles each scored to take a 38-42 Berry lead. Sewanee responded with two baskets of their own, one 3-pointer apiece from Affronti and Williams, to take back a 44-42 lead. One minute later, the two teams found themselves tied again, 46-46, the tenth tie of the contest, before Berry opened things up.
The Vikings went on a 10-0 run, spanning nearly four minutes, before Sewanee was able to find the basket again. Nelson connected on a short jumper to cut the Berry lead to 48-56 before Miles responded with a 3-pointer to make it 48-59 Berry. Bryant picked up a quick basket before the Vikings scored four more to take their largest lead of the contest, 50-63.
But as soon as Berry took the 13-point lead, the Tigers started to tear away at it. Bryant went on a 7-0 run of his own, nailing a trey and four free throws to make it a six-point ballgame, 57-63, with 3:26 left to play. Bryant forced the Vikings into a turnover and Marelle converted, knocking down a 3-pointer to make it 60-63 with just under three minutes left. Things were quiet for nearly a minute before Nelson grabbed a rebound on miss by Berry and turned it into two points, cutting the difference to one, 62-63 with 2:07 left to play.
Berry was able to run time off the clock before Sewanee was forced to foul Cass LeBlanc with 19 seconds left. LeBlanc connected on both free throws to push it back to a 62-65 Berry lead. The Tigers had two chances at the end, as Affronti and Marelle both got looks from beyond the arc, but neither attempt fell and the Vikings walked away with the three-point win.
With the loss, the Tigers fall to 4-4 on the year as Berry moves to 6-3. Sewanee's Bryant and Berry's Miles led all scorers with 19 points each. Bryant was 6 of 9 from the field, including 3 of 4 from beyond the 3-point line and 4 of 5 from the free throw line. He also picked up five assists, three rebounds, and three steals in the effort.
Affronti, Nelson, and Williams all finished in double figures for the Tigers. Affronti went 4 of 8 from 3-point land to finish with 12, while Nelson and Williams each picked up 10. Nelson led the Tigers with seven rebounds.
LeBlanc led the Vikings with a perfect afternoon, tallying a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds and going 4 of 4 from the field and 4 of 4 from the free throw line.
As a team, the Tigers shot 43.1% from the field and an even 40% from the 3-point line. Berry held the edge in rebounds, 32-25,
Sewanee returns to action on December 31st, when they travel to Birmingham-Southern for an SCAC match up.