Joseph Marvin: Assistant Sports Information Director
BREVARD, N.C. - Freshman Tornado Noah Lea exploded for 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting and Qadhafi Turner stuffed the stat sheet with 14 points, seven rebounds and 7 assists as the Brevard College Tornados (2-3) won their home-opener against the Bob Jones University Bruins (0-5) by a final score of 74-61.
The Tornados won their first home game of the season on Tuesday evening at the Boshamer Gymnasium behind a 34-2 bench scoring advantage.
Lea, a guard hailing from Durham, N.C., played well in his first career game in the confines of Boshamer Gymnasium. He led all reserves with 22 minutes of action, and showed his prowess from long range, knocking in a game-high four three-point shots.
"Noah is a very talented player and is going to be very good for us going forward," said Head Coach Lee Burgess about Lea. "He has great size and explosiveness and along with his shooting ability, that's something that isn't common in our league. We are very excited for Noah's future."
Turner turned in a solid performance for BC, distributing the ball well for a game-high seven assists.
Levi Lamb and Demari Hopper tacked on nine points each, while Ke'vel Kingsberry got the starting nod and added seven points.
Freshmen Messiah Pankey and Drew Mosley helped BC's reserve scoring effort. Mosley recorded eight points while Pankey tallied six points.
Brevard fell behind early as Bob Jones opened the contest up on a 10-3 run. However, sparked by a 10-point run, Brevard battled back. Lea's three-point basket with seven minutes remaining in the first half gave the Tornados their first lead of the evening, 18-15.
Both squads would jockey back and forth, but it was the Tornados with the hot hand late in the first stanza. Brevard ended the period on a 9-0 run to hold a 33-27 advantage at halftime.
The Bruins kept things tight early in the second half, however, the Tornados would manage a double-digit lead for a good portion of the period.
Brevard withstood Bob Jones despite a breakout performance from Bruin forward Jayson Barnhart. Barnhart recorded a game-high 30 points on 11-of-18 shooting, including 7-of-8 from the free throw line. Barnhart's nine rebounds were one shy of a double-double.
The Tornados return from the Thanksgiving holiday on Wednesday, November 28 as part of a doubleheader against Toccoa Falls College at the Boshamer Gymnasium. The BC Women's Basketball team will tip-off at 5:30 p.m., while the Men's team follows shortly after at 7:30 p.m.
To follow along with all the latest news and updates surrounding Brevard College Athletics, please follow the Tornados on Twitter and Instagram @bctornados, or like Brevard College Athletics on Facebook.
