Brevard, N.C. – The Brevard College men’s basketball team was at home on Wednesday night for the first time in a little over two weeks, as they fell to the Eagles of Carson-Newman, 77-70, in what was a close game from start to finish.

 

The Tornados tried to overcome 28 turnovers and 79 shot attempts from the Eagles, but game up just short falling by seven.

 

In the first half both teams traded baskets for the entire 20 minutes, as there were nine lead changes and five ties, with neither team trailing by more than six points at any time.  At the 4:19 mark of the first half, a made free throw by Cameron Sharp gave the Eagles the lead at 29-28, which they would hold on to for the remainder of the game.

 

The Tornados trailed 34-31 heading into the half, as BC kept it close in the opening frame by way of the three-point line. The Tornados shot 54.5 percent from the three-point arc in the first half, hitting 6-of-11 from long distance.

 

In the second half the Tornados cooled down from long range, going 3-of-12 from behind the arc, however, keeping the Eagles lead in single digits until around the four minute mark. A made free throw shot by Bobby Guyton at the 4:12 mark gave the Eagles a 10 point advantage at 65-55.

 

The Tornados would not give up, battling back to cut the Eagles lead to five points, 75-70, with 11 seconds remaining in the contest. Yet time would run out on the Tornados, as Carson-Newman’s Darren Williams hit two foul shots with only 8.9 remaining in the game to seal the 77-70 win.

 

The Eagles had 19 offensive rebounds and forced 28 BC turnovers which allowed them to take 79 shot attempts on the night, firing up 25 more shots than the Tornados for the game.

 

The Tornados, who shot 42.6 percent from the field for the game, had a balanced scoring attack on Wednesday night, as five different players scored in double-figures. Junior forward Joseph Chilton had a season-high 17 points, connecting on 4-of-7 from behind the three-point line for the game. Sophomore Jonathan Whitson had 12 points, while fellow classmates Andrew Freeman and Shane Galloway had 11 and 10 points, respectively. Junior Sean Ferretti had 10 points on the night. 

 

On the boards, Chilton, Ferretti and Whitson all had nine rebounds on the night.

 

The Eagles had four players in double-digits in scoring, as sharp shooter Jesse McMurray had a game-high 18 points, while Darren Williams added 17 points off the Carson-Newman bench. Also scoring in double-figures for the Eagles was forward Bobby Guyton with 12 points and center Andy Tipton with 10 points.

 

Coach Jones’ squad will be back out on the road this Saturday afternoon, when they will travel to Tigerville, S.C. where they will meet the Crusaders of North Greenville University. The game is the second part of a double-header and will begin around 4 p.m.

 

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