BREVARD, N.C. - Cannon Lamb posted a game-high 26-point effort, however, the Brevard College men's basketball team (5-17, 4-12 USAS) couldn't keep pace in a 95-74 defeat to the LaGrange College Panthers (6-14, 5-8 USAS) on Saturday afternoon at the Boshamer Gymnasium.
Honorary Tornado Russell McKay from Cherokee, North Carolina was honored before and during Saturday's game as part of Team IMPACT Day at Brevard. Before last season, the Tornado men's basketball program signed McKay through Team IMPACT to become an honorary member of the basketball team.
Team IMPACT is a national nonprofit headquartered in Boston, MA that connects children facing serious or chronic illnesses with college athletic teams, forming life-long bonds and life-changing outcomes. Since 2011, Team IMPACT has matched nearly 1,600 children with more than 500 colleges and universities in 49 states, reaching over 50,000 participating student-athletes. The child joins the athletic team and the student-athletes join the child's support team. Throughout the journey, the child gains strength, camaraderie, and support while the student-athletes experience lessons of courage, resiliency, and perspective.
Cannon Lamb led the way for all scorers in Saturday's battle, as the Tornado junior dropped 26 points on 11-of-19 shooting from the field. The Marion, North Carolina native racked up a season-best three blocks on the defensive end of the floor and added four rebounds, two steals, and two assists to his total.
Sophomore point guard Mike Williams joined Cannon Lamb in double figures, hitting a team-high three 3-pointers en route to an 11-point performance. Senior forward Levi Lamb scored 10 points and grabbed four rebounds in 22 minutes of action.
LaGrange had five players reach the double-digit plateau, including Lincoln Anderson who led all Panthers with 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting. Julian Cameron notched a double-double effort of 13 points and 11 rebounds, while Drew Shepherd (15 points), Ronald Youngblood (15 points), and Kyle Brown (10 points) also scored in double figures.
The Panthers used extremely hot shooting to vault themselves into the win column. LaGrange shot 54.3% from the field to Brevard's 38.6% and hit 6-of-17 shots from long distance. The visitors held a dominant 49-29 advantage on the glass and pounded the ball inside for a grand total of 58 points in the painted area.
A 6-6 tie at the 15:28 mark in the first half proved to be the only time that LaGrange didn't have the lead in the contest. The Panthers quickly retook the lead with a 10-0 scoring run and kept the lead at double-digit distance for a majority of the first half. LaGrange extended its lead to a 23-point margin, 53-30 at the intermission. Cannon Lamb led all scorers at the half with 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the field.
The Panthers enjoyed more of the same in the second half, as their efficient shooting led to a game-high 82-49 lead at the 8:51 mark in the second half.
The Tornados were able to outscore the Panthers by a 25-13 margin down the stretch, however, it proved too-little-too-late as LaGrange wrapped up its sixth victory of 2019-20 by a 95-74 margin.
Brevard returns home on Tuesday, February 11 in a newly-rescheduled 6 p.m. start time against Covenant College at the Boshamer Gymnasium. The contest marks Jameson's Joy Night for BC. To read more about the Jameson's Joy Memorial Service Foundation, please click here.
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