DEMOREST, Ga. - The Brevard College Men's Basketball team (5-16, 4-10 USAS) dropped a road USA South matchup 65-61 to host Piedmont (11-9, 6-7 USAS) Wednesday night in Demorest, Georgia.
Four Tornados scored in double figures in the defeat, led by senior guard Demari Hopper who registered 16 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field. Cannon Lamb scored 14 points, draining three 3-pointers. Qadhafi Turner hit four 3-pointers en route to 13 points, while Levi Lamb added 11 points.
Hopper and Levi Lamb each pulled down a team-high eight rebounds to go along with their double-digit scoring outputs. Lamb also registered four steals and two blocked shots.
Piedmont opened the contest with a 6-5 lead before the Tornados exploded with an 11-0 scoring run over a five-minute stretch to take a 16-6 lead with just over 11 minutes to play in the first half. Hopper started the run with a jumper off a Turner assist which was followed by a Levi Lamb 3-pointer. After scores by Cannon Lamb and Joshua Wilson, Hopper then concluded the scoring outburst with a layup following a steal by Turner.
The Lions answered with a 17-3 run to take a 23-19 lead with 3:27 until intermission. Cannon Lamb hit back-to-back shots from beyond the arc to cut the deficit to 31-30 at the break.
The lead see-sawed back and forth for much of the second half, yet Piedmont stretched its lead to double digits late taking a 59-49 lead with 2:23 to play.
Trailing by ten points, 61-51, the Tornados stormed back with a 7-0 run aided by forced turnovers and capped by a 3-pointer by Turner.
The Lions sank two free throws to take a 63-58 lead before Turner drained another long-range shot from beyond the arc to cut the deficit to one with 46 seconds remaining. BC had another chance late following a Piedmont turnover with time running down. However, following a missed three-pointer, the Lions secured the rebound and made two free throws with six seconds left to ice the game.
Brevard made nine 3-pointers as a team, yet shot 31% overall from the field. Piedmont out-rebounded BC 53-38 with 12 offensive rebounds to give the Lions a 15-3 advantage in second-chance points.
The Tornados will return to action on Saturday with a home USA South contest vs. LaGrange. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. at the Boshamer Gymnasium. The game will represent this season's Team Impact game, celebrating Honorary Tornado Russell McKay.
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