The Brevard College’s men’s basketball team (1-5, 1-0 USAS) burst onto the scene fast in Saturday afternoon’s conference-opening contest against the Berea College Mountaineers (4-3, 0-1 USAS), outscoring the visitors 27-4 in the game’s first eight minutes to propel the Tornados to their first victory of the season, 76-68 at the Boshamer Gymnasium.
Brevard started out hot and withstood a fierce Berea rally, as the Mountaineers battled back from a deficit as much as 24 points and eventually tied the contest with 6:32 left in the second half. Brevard’s resilience paid off, however, as the Tornados outscored the Mountaineers 20-12 down the stretch with big shots and defensive stops to claim the victory.
Saturday’s win marks the first victory in a conference-opener for Brevard men’s basketball since the 2010-11 season, when the then-NCAA DII Tornados dropped the Anderson University Trojans, 85-84, on December 4, 2010.
“We’ve been close a lot this year, so I am happy for our guys,” said Head Coach Lee Burgess following his team’s first victory of the season. “They’ve stuck with it – the start to the season wasn’t what we were envisioning, and that can take its toll on you – but our guys stuck with it and I am proud of them.”
BC Women’s Basketball Secures First USA South Conference Win this Season
The Brevard College Women’s Basketball team (3-6, 1-2 USA South) earned a decisive 78-58 win over Wesleyan College (0-10, 0-3 USA South) on Saturday afternoon at the Boshamer Gymnasium. The win marked Brevard’s first USA South Conference win this season and snapped a four-game losing skid for the Tornados.
Junior forward Deja Riddick led the Tornados with 14 points and a team-high five assists. The Norfolk, Virginia native also pulled down six rebounds, blocked a shot and went a perfect 4-for-4 from the free-throw line.
Junior forward Destiny Williams and senior center Krysta Davis also scored in double figures with each player registering 11 points.
Sophomore center Avery Lockwood led the Tornados on the glass with 12 rebounds, while freshman Mekindia Martin came off the bench for an all-around performance of five points, seven rebounds, four assists, two steals and one blocked shot. Shakirah Thompson (eight points), Victoria Green (seven points) and Taryn Ledford (six points) also made scoring contributions.
Playing in her second career game, freshman Hannah Lovett made her first collegiate field goal with a three-pointer to go along with her first career rebound.
Brevard never trailed in the contest, opening the game on a made three-pointer by Riddick. The Tornados then stretched their early lead to 14-3 on two made free throws by Riddick with 5:12 to play in the first quarter. Led by eight points from Riddick in the opening period, BC would go on to take a 23-9 lead through one quarter.
BC maintained its advantage in the second quarter, outscoring the Wolves 17-15 in the stanza to take a 40-24 lead into intermission. At the 6:32 mark of the second period, Lovett drained her first career field goal, a deep three-pointer off an assist by Ledford. The Brevard bench and a lively Boshamer Gymnasium erupted in celebration of the first career points by the freshman from Atlanta, Georgia.
In the third quarter, Williams served notice to the crowd at the Boshamer Gymnasium with an energetic stretch where the junior scored five points and pulled down four rebounds including three offensive boards. Through the end of three quarters, the Tornados continued to lead the Wolves by 16 points.
BC closed out the contest by outscoring Wesleyan 21-17 in the fourth period to take the 20-point victory. The win marked the largest margin of victory this season for the Tornados and also marked team season highs in points (78), field goals made (25), free throws made (18), rebounds (50), assists (18) and blocked shots (six).
Brevard College is consistently recognized as one of the best liberal arts colleges. The College’s focus on experiential learning, small class sizes, and location in the mountains of Western North Carolina near Asheville make Brevard a top choice college for students around the world.