DEMOREST, Ga. – Brevard College men's basketball (3-3) surged out to a double-digit lead and held off a late run from Piedmont (3-2) to earn a big win on the road, 81-77, on Tuesday evening at Cave Arena.
The contest went back-and-forth for the first seven minutes with the Lions holding a 12-10 lead at the 12:28 mark of the first half. Brevard proceeded to score the next 12 points to establish a double digit advantage with 10:11 remaining on buckets from Malachi McLean, Dre'Shaun Brown, and Tyler Baldwin.
Brevard grew the lead to as large as 14 points in the first half after a Jadon Carnes layup, and despite a late surge from Piedmont, a Brown dunk put a stamp on a solid first half for the Tornados, taking a 41-32 lead into the break.
The Lions scored five-straight out of halftime to cut the deficit to five points, but the Tornados kept them at arms length before growing the lead to a game-high 17 points, courtesy of a 10-2 run capped off by a Carnes three, making the tally 79-62 with 3:27 to play.
However, the Lions responded quickly, going on a 15-0 run to make it a two-point game with 30 seconds to play. Piedmont had possession with 22 seconds left, but Brevard forced a late turnover and Malachi McLean netted a pair of free throws to secure the road win.
Five Tornados scored in double figures, led by Carnes with 19 points on 6-of-11 shooting, adding five rebounds, four assists, and three steals. McLean finished with 18 points off the bench with a pair of triples, while Twain Wilson added 14 points, Brown tallied 11, and KK Horton finished with ten. Brown snatched a team-high seven boards for the Tornados.
Piedmont was led by Israel Hall, pouring in 24 points on 10-of-19 shooting. Dylan Patrick was the only other Lion in double figures, scoring 11 points.
Brevard finished the night shooting 48% from the field to Piedmont's 43%, while the Tornados also nailed nine triples to the Lions' five.
The Tornados return home on Friday looking to split the season series with Bob Jones inside Boshamer Gymnasium at 7:30 p.m.
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