LOUISVILLE -- Coming off an emotional, Senior Night win over LaGrange College, Covenant took to the road for their final road trip of the regular season. The first stop was at Spalding University in Kentucky to take on the Golden Eagles. The Scots got out to a 17-point lead in the first half, but let that lead slip away as they fell to Spalding 67-63 Friday night.
Covenant played with the services of forward Sam Bowman and guard Kacey Chambers for the first time in a few weeks as both have been battling injuries. Bowman scored 9 points and collected 8 rebounds in 24 minutes of play while Chambers registered 2 points in 17 minutes.
The Scots, who defeated Spalding 75-62 earlier in the year, got out to a hot start in this one. Covenant led 25-8 at the 7:47 mark of the first half after Bowman converted an old-fashioned three-point play. Shooting was a key to the outbreak as the Scots shot 54% in the first 20 minutes.
Spalding would make a serious run before the half ended, however. The Golden Eagles outscored the Scots 18-2 over the final 7:05 of the half to cut the Covenant lead to a single point at 27-26.
The Golden Eagles would take their first lead of the game on their first possession of the second half with a layup from DeWhon McAfee, making it 28-27. But neither team could put together a sustained run. A three-pointer from Callum Sears put Covenant back into a tie at 45 apiece with 8:45 left in the game. The Golden Eagles responded by going on an 11-2 run to go up 56-47, but Covenant came storming back.
Down 60-51, Covenant went on a 7-0 run of their own with baskets from Jon DeVries and Zarome Lakey. After McAfee hit another jumper for Spalding, Dominique McGaughey drove to the basket and hit a layup to cut the Golden Eagles lead to 62-60 with 40 seconds to go. Spalding made it a 4-point game again with a basket and only 20 seconds left on the clock. DeVries then connected on a three-pointer to make it 64-63 with 8 seconds remaining. DeVries had one more chance to win the game with 2 seconds left, but his three-pointer fell short and Covenant was forced to foul.
Covenant (5-19) was led by Callum Sears who led all scorers with 28 points on 11-18 shooting, including 5 three-pointers. Dominique McGaughey had 8 points and 3 assists while Jon DeVries added 6 points while grabbing 7 rebounds.
The Golden Eagles improve to 15-8 on the season as they were led in scoring by DeWhon McAfee's 15 points. Jamal Bacon also chipped in 13 points.
The Scots will finish the regular season on the road Tuesday, February 22 against Berry College. Tip-off is slated for 8:00pm.
