HICKORY, N.C. - Despite a second-half comeback in which the Brevard College Men's Basketball team (1-6, 0-2 SAC) would gain the lead in the final minutes, the Bears of Lenoir-Rhyne (3-4, 2-2 SAC) would take the SAC match-up, 69-58 on Saturday afternoon.
Senior Omar El Diraoui (Beirut, Lebanon) would lead Brevard with 14 points. El Diraoui would go 5-8 from the field while grabbing seven rebounds for the blue and white. Stevie Williams (High Point, N.C.) and Evan Dunham (Marietta, Ga) each scored 13 points for the Tornados. Dunham would go 3-5 from the perimeter, while Williams completed 5-7 from the foul line. Shelby Parris (Burlington, N.J.) was also in double-digits with 10 points for Brevard as the junior was 4-9 from the field and 2-4 from behind the arc.
D.J. Bostick (Marietta, Ga.) controlled the boards for the Tornados. The junior grabbed a season-high ten rebounds for Brevard.
The Bears were led by Lucas Reed, who scored 25 points, sinking 5-10 from three-point range. Jalen Variste was the only other Bear to score double-digits. Variste scored 10 while grabbing five rebounds.
Lenoir-Rhyne got off to a 4-0 lead as Lucas Reed and Ben Zemonek would each score to put the Bears ahead 4-0. Omar El Diraoui converted a three-point play, as the senior was fouled on a layup, and then would make the free-throw to put BC within one.
Brevard would take the lead in the first half, after Stevie Williams would sink both of his foul shots, to put the Tornados ahead 8-7 following a media timeout.
The Bears would go on a 13-0 run as Lucas Reed would hit back-to-back three pointers with eight minutes remaining in the first half.
Shelby Parris hit a jumper to make the score 17-31 at halftime. Brevard would be down 14 points to the Bears going into the second half of play.
Evan Dunham scored four points to open up the second half of play, as the junior made a three-point shot, and then hit his foul shot, after Lucas Reed fouled Dunham on the shot.
The Tornados cut the lead to single digits off an Omar El Diraoui layup. The Tornados tied the game as JaMarquis Johnson (Minneola, Fla.) hit a three-point shot at the 10-minute mark.
Johnson would then hit both free-throws to give Brevard the two-point lead with seven and a half minutes left to play.
Lenoir-Rhyne regained the lead as Lucas Reed and Billy Bales connected from behind the arc as the Bears would go on a 9-0 run in the final minutes of the half.
Omar El Diraoui cut the Bears' lead to six with three minutes left to play, but Lenoir-Rhyne would convert 5-6 from the foul line to secure the conference win.
Brevard will be back in action on Monday at Lincoln Memorial University to take on the No. 23 team in Division II beginning at 8 pm.
