BEREA, Ky. – Junior guard Ladji Samoura and sophomore guard David Sealy poured in career-high scoring totals, but the Brevard College men's basketball team (1-6, 1-5 USAS) fell in heartbreaking fashion, as the Berea College Mountaineers (1-8, 1-8 USAS) came back in the late stages of regulation before earning a two-point victory in double overtime on Sunday afternoon at the Seabury Center in Berea, Kentucky.
Samoura, a junior transfer from Fayetteville, North Carolina, posted his first 20-plus game as a Tornado, dropping 22 points off the bench in a season-high 44 minutes on the court. The junior knocked in seven shots from the field, with five of those makes coming from beyond the arc. Sealy added a career-best 17 points with five-made 3-pointers. Hayden Cassell added 10 points, while Alex Wesig posted a nine-point, eight-rebound effort. LB Boyette added seven points and eight rebounds off the bench, while Charles Reed grabbed eight boards in his first career start.
Berea was paced by four double-digit scoring efforts, including a dominant 26-point performance from Terique Miller. Miller drained eight shots from long-distance and grabbed 13 boards for a double-double. M.J. Embree added 21 points and a game-best 14 rebounds, while DeAndre Lightfoot scored 19 points and snagged nine rebounds.
Berea held a slight edge in field goal percentage, shooting 38% to Brevard's 35% mark. The Tornados held a 30-24 edge on points-in-the-paint while dishing out 21 assists on its 29 field goals and converting 11 second-chance points. Berea's ability to get to the free throw stripe and convert at an efficient clip proved the difference maker in the contest, as the Mountaineers knocked in 22-of-28 from the charity stripe compared to Brevard's 8-of-21 mark (38%). Berea also got out in transition, scoring 19 fastbreak points. The Tornados poured in 40 points off the bench in the contest.
Eight ties and three lead changes highlighted the competitive contest, as both sides traded punches through the first 12 minutes of action. A Boyette free throw paired with a Michael Peters layup tied things up at 16-16 with 7:33 left to play in the first half. Carson Evans drained a 3-pointer that gave Brevard a three-point edge and a lead it wouldn't relinquish until the latter stages of action. The Tornados extended their edge to a 10-point halftime lead over the Mountaineers, as Samoura led all Tornados with seven points at the intermission.
Brevard extended its lead to as many as 14 points through the early stages of the second half, as the Tornados maintained close to a double-digit margin through the first 13 minutes of the second stanza.
A pair of Embree free throws drew the Mountaineers to within 3 points, 61-58, with 4:11 left to play before Sealy hit a 3-pointer that pushed the Tornado lead back up to six points.
Berea's Minter scored its next five points, while an Embree free throw tied the contest at 64 points apiece. A Boyette 3-pointer was blocked in the final seconds, forcing overtime in the season finale.
Brevard scored six points to take a 70-64 advantage and held a five-point, 72-67 lead with 2:05 left to play. Lightfoot hit a long-distance bucket followed by an Embree jumper, tying the contest at 7-2-2 with 1:03 left in the first overtime period. Samoura and Sealy each got good looks to win it in the final minute, however their attempts came up short, forcing the game to double OT.
Brevard once again jumped out to a five-point advantage that dwindled down to a 79-79 tie score with 2:42 left to play. Cassell knocked in a free throw, giving Brevard an 80-79 lead before a Miller 3-pointer proved the game-winner, as the Tornados were unable to find a bucket on their last two possessions.
Brevard concluded its abbreviated 2020-21 campaign on Sunday less than 24 hours after securing its first victory of the season, a 79-67 triumph over Berea on Saturday afternoon. The Tornados finish the season with a 1-6 mark in seven games played.
Samoura led the way for Brevard, seeing action in each contest this season while starting in six games for the Tornados. The junior averaged a team-best 13.3 points-per-game, shooting at a 39% clip from the field. David Sealy averaged 11.2 points over the course of six contests, shooting 46% from the field which ranked second on the team amongst qualified players.
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-BC-