LAGRANGE, Ga. - Sophomore Hayden Cassell dropped a career-high 16 points off the bench, however, the LaGrange College Panthers (4-13, 3-7 USAS) used a hot shooting performance to down Brevard College (4-14, 3-8 USAS) by a final score of 93-64 on Saturday evening in LaGrange, Georgia.
Cassell's 16-point performance came by way of an efficient 6-of-8 shooting from the field and four made free throws in the game. Seniors Demari Hopper (15 points) and Levi Lamb (11 points) joined Cassell in double-figures, while Noah Lea added nine points off the bench. Hopper wrangled in a team-high seven rebounds and swiped two steals in addition to Cassell and Qadhafi Turner, who each also recorded a pair of steals.
LaGrange's Ronald Youngblood led six Panther players that reached double-digit scoring totals, as he tallied a game-high 18 points alongside 10 rebounds for a double-double. Julian Cameron, the leading scorer in the USA South Conference, added 14 points while the Panthers scored 42 total points from bench contributors.
An early layup by Cannon Lamb tied the contest for the only time of the evening, as the Panthers held the lead from that point on. BC kept LaGrange's lead within single-digits through the first 11 minutes of play before an Arthur Jones 3-pointer pushed the Panthers' lead to 26-15 at the 8:34 mark.
With the score 28-17 in favor of LaGrange, the Panthers used a 9-0 scoring run to stretch their lead to a 20-point, 37-17 advantage. The hosts would take a 44-25 lead into the halftime intermission.
LaGrange would go on to shoot 63% (17-of-27) from the field in the second half, as the Panthers took the 93-64 victory.
Overall, the Panthers shot 51.7% (30-of-58) from the field and knocked in 44.4% of their 3-pointers. Brevard shot at a 40.3% clip from the field, but could only muster 2-of-22 from long distance. LaGrange was able to out-rebound BC 42-33 and scored 23 points off turnovers.
The Tornados are back in action at home on Tuesday, January 28 for a doubleheader with the women's team. BC women's basketball will host Covenant College at 5:30 p.m., followed by the men's squad who welcomes Maryville College to the Boshamer Gymnasium for a scheduled start time of 7:30 p.m.
Brevard College Basketball encourages fans to wear black for its "Black Out" promotion, where there will be special edition BC basketball shirts available to fans in attendance. Tuesday's doubleheader, which is the last home doubleheader of the 2019-20 campaign, will also serve as Special Olympics Night.
To follow the latest news and updates surrounding Brevard College Athletics, follow the Tornados on Twitter and Instagram @bctornados, subscribe to 'Brevard College Tornados' on YouTube, follow 'Brevard College Tornados' on SoundCloud, or like 'Brevard College Athletics' on Facebook. In addition, follow "brevardcollege" on Flickr for the latest photos from all Brevard College events.
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