BREVARD, N.C. - The Brevard College Tornados (2-13, 0-9 SAC) capped off Wednesday nights South Atlantic Conference showdown with the Carson-Newman University Eagles (9-6, 6-3) by posting three players with 20 points in a 86-71 loss.
Freshman guard JaMarquis Johnson (Minneola, Fla.) lead all scorers for the game with 24 points, breaking his previous career-high 23 points set against North Greenville University on December 30. The true freshman tied his record with six three-pointers, while adding two rebounds and one steal for the game.
Juniors Shelby Parris (Burlington, N.J.) and Stevie Williams (High Point, N.C.) each finished with 21 and 20 point totals, respectively. Parris finished the night 5-6 from behind the three-point arc, while Williams shot 9-19 from the floor, adding four rebounds and four assists. Senior Harry Singh (Hanover Park, Ill.) lead all players with a game-high six assists, while fellow senior Omar El Diraoui (Beirut, Lebanon) added a game-high eight rebound, additionally adding four assists.
Carson-Newman's Sawyer Williams finished with a team-high 21 points as the Eagles finished the conference matchup with six players with double-digit point totals.
The Eagles opened the contest on a 9-4 run, before Parris connected on back-to-back Tornados three-point field goals to give the blue and white their first lead of the night at 12-11.
Parris would add another three-point field goal at 11:40 to even the game at 17-17, while Johnson would connect for his first points of the night from behind the three-point line to answer a Carson-Newman three at 20-20.
Following a three by Williams to give the Tornados a 27-26 advantage, Carson-Newman would capitalize on a 9-3 run to regain the lead at 35-30 with just over three minutes remaining in the half.
Brevard would pull back within two points following a three-point basket by Johnson and a steal by El Diraoui that turned into a 1-2 opportunity for Johnson at the free throw line cutting the Eagles lead 40-38.
Carson-Newman would add two more points just before the half to take a 42-38 advantage into the break.
Coming out of the break, the Eagles would benefit from a 21-6 run that saw Carson-Newman increase their lead by as many as 19 points.
The Eagles would manage to extend their lead to as many as 28 points in the second half, but the never die Tornados managed to slowly chip away at the Carson-Newman lead over the last six minutes of play. As Brevard would benefit from two Parris three-pointers and Johnson's sixth triple of the night to narrow the lead down to 15 points before the final buzzer sounded at 86-71 Carson-Newman.
The Tornados are set to return to Boshamer Gymnasium this Saturday, January 14, as they host the fast paced Newberry College Wolves with tip-off set for 4 p.m.
