BREVARD, N.C. – The Brevard College men's basketball team (9-14, 5-7 USA South) hit a season-best 14 3-pointers and held off a late rally to defeat Methodist University (1-22, 1-11 USAS), 77-72, on Saturday afternoon at the Boshamer Gymnasium.
The victory gives BC its most single-season wins since the 2014-15 campaign when the Tornados won 12 contests.
LB Boyette led all scorers with 20 points off the bench, making 5-of-7 three-point attempts to lead all players in the game, as the junior from Charlotte, North Carolina posted his third 20-plus point performance of the season. Carson Evans scored 13 points that included three made shots from long-distance and a pair of key buckets down the stretch. Garrett Sutherland turned in an all-around performance with 13 points, five rebounds, and a career-best seven assists as the sophomore has scored in double figures in five of his last eight games, while Kavan Horton scored nine points and added a team-high six rebounds. Horton, a sophomore from Asheville, North Carolina, has hauled down six or more boards in BC's last three outings.
Methodist was led by Brone Brinson who scored 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the field. Montell Moore added 13 points and T.J. East hauled down a team-high six boards.
Brevard edged Methodist from the field 51% to 48%, but BC's biggest advantage was from long-range as the Tornados hit 14 threes compared to six from the visitors. Of Brevard's 26 made field goals in the game, 22 of them came by way of the assist which matched BC's season-high for assists set on November 16, 2022, vs. Warren Wilson.
Methodist took its only lead of the game after an and-one bucket made the score 3-2 in the game's first minute as the Tornados led nearly wire-to-wire in the contest. The Tornados started 6-for-6 from the field to open up an early 14-7 lead ahead of the first media timeout. With the score 27-14 in favor of BC midway through the first half, Boyette hit his first of four three-pointers in the first stanza. Methodist pulled to within six, 32-26, but Boyette caught fire with three-consecutive buckets from long distance to give the Tornados a 41-28 advantage at the 3:15 mark in the first half. BC used that momentum to open up a 45-30 halftime advantage.
The Tornados continued to surge early in the second half, taking a game-high 54-35 advantage at the 16:02 mark. The visiting Monarchs were able to cut the deficit to five points, 66-61, with six minutes left to play as the contest entered crunch time. Methodist cut the lead even further after a 3-pointer and free throw made it a 75-72 game with just 47 seconds left to play. However, the Monarchs were unable to find the game-tying bucket and Boyette hit a pair of clutch free throws with eight seconds left to ice the contest as Brevard held on for a five-point victory.
The win marked the third consecutive victory for the Tornados, with all three wins coming in USA South Conference play.
Brevard will honor its five-member senior class of Quincy Carter, Paris Crawford, Eli Kessinger, David Sealy, and Chancey Watson as well as student manager Timiah McGhee on Sunday prior to a matchup with NC Wesleyan University beginning at 2 p.m. at the Boshamer Gymnasium.
To follow the latest news and updates surrounding Brevard College Athletics, follow the Tornados on Twitter/Instagram @BCTornados, subscribe to 'Brevard College Tornados' on YouTube and SoundCloud, and follow 'Brevard College Tornado Athletics' on Facebook. In addition, follow 'brevardcollege' on Flickr for photos from BC events.
-BC-
