Junior forward Cannon Lamb tallied a career-high 21 points in Brevard's narrow defeat to Bob Jones (Photo courtesy of Thom Kennedy '21).
Posted: Nov 19, 2019
BREVARD, N.C. - The Brevard College men's basketball team (0-3) dropped a nailbiter to Bob Jones University, 80-78, on Tuesday night at the Boshamer Gymnasium.
The incredibly competitive game featured 18 lead changes and 13 tied scores. Neither team led by more than six points at any point in the contest.
Cannon Lamb came off the bench to score a career-high 21 points on 9-of-14 shooting to lead Brevard. Lamb dished out a team-high four assists, blocked two shots, and grabbed two rebounds.
Demari Hopper (13 pts), Levi Lamb (12 pts), and Mike Williams (10 pts) also scored in double figures for the Tornados. Hopper hit 3-of-4 3-pointers, while Levi Lamb scored nine of his 12 points in the second half. Williams, a sophomore transfer from Newberry College, hit two three-pointers and set his new scoring high in a Tornado uniform.
Jayson Barnhart led the Bruins with a game-high 24 points on 11-of-13 shooting.
The two teams played a back-and-forth first half, with Bob Jones taking a slight 40-39 lead into intermission.
The Tornados came out of halftime with an electric steal by Qadhafi Turner which resulted in a fast-break layup by Levi Lamb off an assist by Hopper. Less than a minute later, a steal by Hopper set up a fast-break dunk by Lamb off an assist from Turner.
BC held Bob Jones scoreless for the first 2:32 of the second half en route to a 7-2 scoring run that was capped off by a 3-pointer by Hopper.
The lead seesawed back and forth throughout the second stanza, with BC taking its last lead of the night on an "and-one" layup and made free throw by Cannon Lamb for a 75-74 lead with 1:47 to play.
Following a made three-pointer and two made free throws, the Bruins retook the lead, holding a slim 79-75 advantage with 15 seconds remaining.
On BC's penultimate possession, Cannon Lamb made a three-pointer to cut the deficit to 79-78 with 1.8 seconds remaining.
After a quick foul by BC's Ja'Michael Boone, Bob Jones missed the first of two free throws to give the Tornados one last chance.
A potential game-winning half-court attempt by Levi Lamb, however, missed the mark at the buzzer as the visiting Bruins left the Boshamer Gymnasium with the victory.
Both teams shot particularly well, with Bob Jones hitting 54.4% of its field goals and the Tornados shooting 51.7%. Brevard set team season-highs in total points (78), three-pointers (10), assists (20), points-in-the-paint (40) and bench points (46) to go along with season-best field goals made (30) and field goal percentage.
Brevard returns to action with a road trip to Ferrum, Virginia to play Ferrum College on Saturday, November 23 at 4 p.m. Following an exhibition game at NCAA Division I The Citadel on Tuesday, November 26 at 7 p.m., the Tornados will face off with the Bruins in a rematch on Tuesday, December 3 on the campus of Bob Jones University in Greenville, South Carolina.
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