BREVARD, N.C. – The Brevard College men's basketball team (3-9, 2-3 USAS) used season-best shooting performances in 3-point shooting (13-of-27, 48.1%) and free-throw shooting (18-of-20, 90%) to power past the visiting NC Wesleyan Battling Bishops (5-7, 1-3 USAS), 83-79, on Sunday afternoon inside the Boshamer Gymnasium.
Senior forward Levi Lamb led Brevard's hot-shooting charge by totaling a new career-high 25 points on 8-of-16 shooting from the field. The Atlanta native had the hot hand from distance, draining a game and season-high 5-of-10 3-pointers in the victory. Demari Hopper added 18 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field and a flawless 7-of-7 from the free-throw stripe to continue an impressive stretch of offensive production for the Gastonia, North Carolina native.
Sophomores Mike Williams (13 points) and Joshua Wilson (6 points) made key baskets for BC down the stretch, while freshman Ja'Michael Boone racked up seven points on a 3-pointer and four made free throws. Brevard's Cannon Lamb led all players in Sunday's contest with five assists.
Brevard newcomers Luke Bleynat and Paris Crawford scored their first points as members of the BC men's basketball team on Sunday and contributed to BC's offensive efforts off the bench. Bleynat - a native of nearby Asheville, North Carolina - went 2-of-2 with a 3-pointer for five points in 18 minutes of play, while Crawford – a freshman hailing from Atlanta – drained a long-range jumper for his first collegiate points and hit two free throws.
NC Wesleyan was led offensively by A.J. Frye who totaled 19 points. Frye helped lead the Battling Bishops to a staggering 56 points-in-the-paint on Sunday.
Sunday's competitive affair featured eight ties and 13 lead changes.
The Battling Bishops kicked off the contest with a fast 10-0 start the game through the first three-plus minutes of action. However, Brevard responded by cutting NCWC's lead in half prior to the under-16 media timeout. With the score 15-7 in favor of NC Wesleyan, The Tornados mounted a 15-2 scoring stretch that was capped by a Williams 3-pointer to take a five-point lead, 22-17, with 9:05 left before halftime.
Four total lead changes took place from that point on before intermission. The Tornados would take a 39-37 lead into the break thanks to a Hopper long-range jumper with 44 seconds left in the first half.
NC Wesleyan scored the first four points of the second half to retake a lead that it would either hold or share until the 13:27 mark when Levi Lamb capped off a stretch of seven-straight points scored for the senior with a long-range bucket to put Brevard up 57-54.
A Williams' 3-pointer gave Brevard its largest lead of the contest, a six-point cushion of 64-58 with 10:25 left to play.
The Battling Bishops were able to come back thanks to an and-one layup that helped NC Wesleyan regain a three-point lead. Both sides jockeyed back-and-forth, leaving the score tied at 77 with 2:05 remaining in the game. After a pair of NC Wesleyan free throws, Brevard's Wilson knocked down a clutch long-range shot – Brevard's 13th of the contest – off a Cannon Lamb assist to award the Tornados with a one-point, 80-79 advantage.
Brevard made a crucial defensive stop with Cannon Lamb and Williams applying pressure that forced a turnover from NC Wesleyan's Josh Covington, giving Brevard the ball back with a one-point cushion.
On the ensuing Tornado possession, Wilson dished the ball off to Levi Lamb, who capped off his career performance with a spin move and a rising finish that pushed Brevard's lead to three points, 82-79, with just 18 seconds left to play. The Tornados were tasked with making one last defensive stop, which Brevard executed, forcing a missed 3-pointer. Fittingly, Levi Lamb was fouled and sent to the line to sink the game-clinching free throw and send Brevard to its conference victory, 83-79.
Next up for Head Coach Lee Burgess' crew is a USA South rematch against Berea College on Wednesday, January 8 on the road in Berea, Kentucky. The Tornados will be seeking a season sweep over the Mountaineers, who Brevard upended 76-68 on December 7, 2019, at the Boshamer Gymnasium. Wednesday's battle will tip-off at 7:30 p.m.
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