ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. – The Brevard College men's basketball team (10-17) concluded its successful 2022-23 campaign in the 2023 USA South Conference Men's Basketball Tournament Semifinals, falling 77-55 to NC Wesleyan University (19-7) on Thursday evening in Rocky Mount, North Carolina.
Junior guard LB Boyette led all Tornados with 12 points and three made 3-pointers offensively. Sophomore guard Kavan Horton added 11 points and a team-high five rebounds, while Quincy Carter totaled seven points and grabbed four boards.
Every member of the NC Wesleyan starting five logged double-digit scoring totals, led by Marquis Eskew who scored 15 points. Kyron Kelly added a double-double of 12 points and 11 boards, while USA South Men's Basketball Player of the Year Isaiah Lewis scored 13 points with six made field goals.
NCWU shot 48% for the game which included a 59% mark in the first half. Brevard hit six 3-pointers in the contest, but NC Wesleyan outrebounded Brevard 47-28.
NC Wesleyan was able to control the boards 18-13 in the first half and forced BC into nine turnovers that it turned into 12 points. The Battling Bishops also scored 24 of their 40 first-half points in the painted area.
The hosts opened up a 14-4 lead within the game's first five minutes. BC cut the deficit to six after back-to-back buckets from Horton, but NC Wesleyan extended the advantage back out to double-digits for most of the remaining 10 minutes in the first stanza. NCWU took a 40-25 lead into the intermission. Boyette led all Tornados with eight points and a pair of made 3-pointers, while Horton added six points before the break.
BC was able to cut the deficit back down to 12 points early in the second half but was unable to climb back any closer as the Battling Bishops pulled away. BC ended the contest with its all-senior lineup of Carter, Paris Crawford, Eli Kessinger, David Sealy, and Chancey Watson.
The defeat concludes the 2022-23 campaign for the Tornados which included the team's first double-digit winning season since 2014-15 and the program's first postseason victory since the 2010 South Atlantic Conference Tournament, culminating in BC's most successful season since joining the NCAA Division III ranks.
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-BC-