LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN -- The last meeting between the Covenant Scots and the Sewanee Tigers was decided in the final seconds of play. Last February, Sewanee's Brett Bouldin drilled a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the visiting Tigers a 55-52 win.
On Tuesday night, Covenant made sure that Sewanee would not get another chance like that.
Five players scored in double figures led by Jon DeVries' 15 points and the Scots made 18-for-20 from the foul line in the second half to pull away from Sewanee and win 81-71 at Barnes Physical Education Center.
The win gives Covenant (4-1) its fourth victory of the season and its third straight home win dating back to last season. The loss is the first defeat of the year for Sewanee (3-1).
The Scots came out of the gate firing on all cylinders as they built a 21-point advantage at 33-12 with 7:40 left in the first half. Covenant made 13 of its first 18 shot attempts, including four 3-pointers. Leading the charge for the Scots during this stretch was Callum Sears (10 points) and DeVries (9 points).
Sewanee would not back down, however, and slowly chipped the Covenant lead away. Valentino Bryant's ability to get to the basket and finish was key for the Tigers as they went on a 20-2 scoring run to end the first half. Bryant accounted for 14 points during this time as Sewanee trailed Covenant 35-32 at the break.
In the second half the Tigers kept their momentum alive as they scored the first six points and took their first lead at 38-35 with a 3-pointer from Lewis Affronti at the 17:34 mark. But Covenant would answer right back and score five quick points capped by a Joey Danek offensive rebound and putback to make it 40-38 in favor of the Scots.
The lead would then change hands six times over the next 1:19 as the teams traded baskets. Finally, a 3-pointer by DeVries gave Covenant a 47-45 edge, a lead they would never relinquish. The Scots again stretched their lead out to double digits thanks to baskets from Nate Frierson and Damien Chaney and the Tigers could only get as close as seven points the rest of the game.
Covenant then sealed the game from the free-throw line. Once Sewanee began to foul with 3:16 left in the game, the Scots capitalized on the chance as they hit 14-for-16 from the line in the final minutes led by freshman point guard T.J. Cox's 6-for-6 performance. For the game Covenant went 19-for-23 from the charity stripe.
Besides DeVries' 15 points, the junior also grabbed nine rebounds and had two blocks and two steals. Cox added 13 points, six assists, and went 9-for-9 from the free-throw line. Sears and Rosbie Mutcherson each added 12 points while Damien Chaney came off the bench to score 10 points. All 10 players that saw action scored at least two points for the Scots.
The Tigers' Bryant led all scorers with 25 points with two blocks and four steals. Affronti added 14 points, including four 3-pointers, and Anvil Nelson tallied 12 points and six rebounds in the loss.
The Scots will once again hit the road for their next game. Covenant will take on nationally ranked Emory University on Saturday, Dec. 3 at 8 p.m. in Atlanta. The Eagles are currently no. 10 in the NCAA Division III Top 25.
