Joseph Marvin: Assistant Sports Information Director
ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. - Junior forward Levi Lamb led all scorers with 22 points, however, the Brevard College Tornados Men's Basketball team (4-8, 1-4 USAS) fell to first-place N.C. Wesleyan (12-2, 5-1 USAS) by a final score of 81-68 on Sunday afternoon.
The defeat concludes a stretch of back-to-back USA South Conference road games for the Tornados.
Lamb racked up 22 points on 9-of-14 shooting, which included 2-of-4 from downtown. This scoring total marks Lamb's seventh-straight double-digit scoring total (11th of 2018-19), and the fifth time this season that he has scored 20 points or more.
Freshman guard Messiah Pankey earned his second-straight starting nod for Brevard, stuffing the stat sheet on Sunday with 10 points, seven rebounds, and four steals, all of which were career highs for the Durham, N.C. native.
Regular starters Demari Hopper and Ke'Vel Kingsberry contributed to the Tornados' efforts, as Hopper tallied nine points and three rebounds, while Kingsberry recorded eight points on 4-of-9 shooting.
Jakob Bergen earned his first start of 2018-19 for Brevard, recording six points and five rebounds.
N.C. Wesleyan was led by Damon McDowell and Robert Wilson. McDowell recorded a team-high 18 points to go alongside three rebounds and two steals, while Wilson tallied 15 points and eight rebounds.
The Battling Bishops were carried by an extremely efficient 33-of-56 (58.9%) shooting performance, alongside a 40-25 rebounding advantage.
Brevard kept things close for a majority of the first half, holding a slim 21-20 lead with 7:22 left. N.C. Wesleyan then sparked a game-changing 14-0 scoring run to end the first half with a controlling 40-25 lead.
The Tornados spent most of the second half attempting to cut into the lead that the Battling Bishops built in the later parts of the first half. Brevard cut N.C. Wesleyan's lead to single-digits three separate times, however, were unable to string together a large enough scoring run to change momentum, as the Battling Bishops prevailed 81-68.
Brevard will turn its attention to home contests against Huntingdon (6-6, 3-2 USAS) and Pfeiffer (5-6, 0-4 USAS) this upcoming week. The Tornados host the Hawks of Huntingdon on Wednesday, January 9 at 6 p.m. before a Friday night showdown against the Pfeiffer Falcons on January 11 at 7:30 p.m.
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