Crumly scores 26, but Covenant falls late at Brevard

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BREVARD, N.C. -- Will Crumly scored 26 points, but the Covenant men's basketball team fell to Brevard, 75-69, on Tuesday night inside Boshamer Gymnasium in USA South action.

The loss for Covenant (13-8, 10-4 USA South) snapped a three-game winning streak. The Scots still remain in first place in the USA South West Division.

Crumly had 26 points on 10-of-17 shooting with seven rebounds, but the Scots could not hold a seven-point lead late in the contest. Brevard (6-17, 5-11 USA South) went on a 13-0 run over the final three minutes to edge Covenant. 

Covenant led for the majority of the second half and took its largest lead of the night on a James Mitchell 3-pointer that gave the Scots a 69-62 lead with 3:12 remaining. Brevard began its final push on the next possession with a Cannon Lamb 3-pointer and the host Tornados grabbed a 70-69 lead with two Lamb free throws at the 1:28 mark.

The Scots had two possessions down by one point, but could not score. The Tornados iced the game at the free throw line going 5-for-6 to hold off any Covenant comeback attempt.

Neither team led by more than seven all night as Covenant and Brevard traded the lead 10 times. Covenant took a 31-30 lead into halftime after Crumly made a layup in the final seconds of the first half.

Crumly was the only Scot in double-figure scoring. Mitchell Hollis had nine points and seven rebounds, while Chris Barnette dished out 10 assists with seven rebounds and five points. Brady Palmer and Jackson Fitzgerald had seven points apiece off the bench, with Palmer adding five rebounds and two assists.

Covenant shot just 39.7 percent (23-of-58) with eight 3-pointers, but managed a 15-of-16 effort at the foul line. The Scots also held a 35-25 advantage in rebounding and limited the Tornados to one offensive rebound.

Lamb scored 24 points to lead Brevard, while Levi Lamb added 17 points and Demari Hopper had 16 points. The Tornados connected on 54 percent (27-of-50) from the floor with five 3-pointers and 16-of-22 at the charity stripe.