MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- Lee McCloud scored a game-best 19 points as the Berry College men's basketball team earned its first win of the season, 69-61, on Saturday.

The win improved the Vikings to 1-3 overall. The loss dropped the Hawks to 0-3 on the season.

HC got off to a 12-0 lead before Berry made a basket. However, BC began to rally back, and by halftime the Vikings trailed 36-28.

Berry answered back even stronger the second half, quickly putting up five unanswered points to bring the score to 36-33. Finally, with a little over eight minutes left in the game, McCloud secured the first BC lead of the day with his 3-point jump shot to put the Vikings ahead, 50-49.

The momentum propelled the Vikings for the rest of the second half, and they ended the game eight points ahead of HC to secure their 69-61 win.

McCloud was 3-5 from 3-point range and 6-11 at the free throw line. Freshmen Nick Marder and Coleman Ellingsworth both had 11 points for the Vikings. Freshman Caleb Johnson was the fourth BC player with double digit points on the afternoon, adding 10 as well.

Berry made 18-22 free throws in the second half and 22-31 for the game. The Hawks were 6-8 from the charity stripe.

"With four road games to start the season--and having for a very young team--we've battled throgh a great deal of adversity," said BC Head Coach Jeff Rogers.  "I thought our guys did a great job of fighting today and we grew as a team. For us right now it's about embracing the process, learning from setbacks, and continuing to grow. We are excited about the opportunity to play our first home game Tuesday night."

The men's team looks to extend their winning streak to two as they host Emory & Henry College at the Cage Center on November 25, at 8 p.m.

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