BREVARD, N.C. - Senior guard Demari Hopper tallied a career-best 25 points on eight made field goals and a career-high six made 3-pointers as the Brevard College men's basketball team (3-13, 2-7 USAS) fell 97-73 in a USA South Conference matchup to Piedmont College (8-9, 3-7 USAS) on Tuesday night at the Boshamer Gymnasium.
Hopper shot 8-of-15 from the field and knocked in 6-of-11 from beyond the arc to pass his previous career-high of five made 3-pointers set on December 30, 2019, at Oglethorpe University. The Gastonia, North Carolina native also knocked in 3-of-5 from the free-throw line.
Senior Levi Lamb, who was honored in a pre-game ceremony for scoring his 1,000th career point last week, added eight points off two made 3-pointers and a pair of free throws. Lamb stuffed the stat sheet by dishing out a team-high five assists while also tallying three rebounds and three assists.
Messiah Pankey added seven points, three steals, and two assists off the bench while Noah Lea scored eight points in reserve action. Hayden Cassell and Paris Crawford each scored five points, while Colby Parker and Ty Scales each recorded their first collegiate buckets.
Piedmont was paced by extremely hot shooting throughout the duration of the contest. The Lions as a team shot 65.6% from the field while knocking in 11-of-20 3-pointers.
Jordan Foote led Piedmont's efficient scoring night by dropping 28 points on 13-of-15 shooting from the field. Foote's double-double of 28 points and 14 rebounds was accompanied by Will Richter (17 points) and Dalton Meeler (14 points), who also scored in double figures.
Piedmont was able to pound the ball inside on the Tornados for 52 total points in the paint. The Lions out-rebounded Brevard by a 37-25 margin and scored 47 of their 97 points off the bench.
Following a Piedmont bucket, Lamb drilled a 3-pointer to give Brevard a 3-2 lead at the 18:31 mark, which would later prove to be the Tornados' lone lead of the contest. The Lions would go on a game-high 14-0 scoring run to open up a 16-3 lead with 13:24 remaining in the first half. Piedmont led by as many as 20 points before the Tornados clawed their way back with a 13-4 scoring run that cut the Lions' lead to single digits, 41-32, at the halftime intermission.
Both sides traded 3-pointers to open up play in the second half before Piedmont pulled away for good, not allowing the Tornados within single digits again in the second half to coast to the 97-73 victory.
Brevard heads back on the road this weekend for back-to-back USA South matchups. BC will travel to Montgomery, Alabama on Friday, January 24 for an 8:30 p.m. ET/ 7:30 p.m. CT tip-off against Huntingdon College, followed by a Saturday, January 25 matchup against LaGrange College. Tip-off in LaGrange, Georgia is slated for 5 p.m
Levi Lamb was honored with a commemorative ball for his 1,000th career point before Tuesday evening's game against Piedmont.
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