LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN -- The Covenant men's basketball team won its third straight game, and remained unbeaten in conference play, after an 84-78 win over Huntingdon inside Barnes PE Center on Saturday afternoon.
Covenant (3-3, 3-0 USA South) is 3-0 in conference play for the first time in the NCAA era of the program, and it is the first occurrence since the Scots were 3-0 in the TVAC during the 1995-96 season.
Will Crumly posted over 20 points for the fourth time this season, leading Covenant with 22 points and eight rebounds. Bailey Spragg added 17 points, seven assists, and five steals while Mitchell Hollis scored 15 points with five rebounds.
Covenant led for over 36 minutes of the contest and built a double-digit first half lead for a third straight game. After a 10-10 tie score at 15:52, the Scots pulled ahead on a Hollis 3-pointer at the 13:40 mark of the first half to secure the lead for the rest of the game.
A pair of Crumly dunks later in the first half gave the Scots the largest lead of the period at 41-30 with 1:41 on the clock. The Scots held the lead at 43-32 entering the half after shooting 61.5 percent (16-of-26) from the floor with seven 3-pointers.
It marked the third straight contest that the Scots have held a double-digit advantage at halftime.
In the second half, Covenant took its largest margin of the game came after a Spragg 3-pointer made it 46-32 with 19:35 remaining.
Huntingdon (2-3, 1-1 USA South) slowly cut into the Scots' lead and an 8-2 Hawks trimmed the margin to two at 59-57 with 10:19 left. Covenant forced back-to-back turnovers and converted both possessions as Crumly and Hollis made layups. Another Hollis layup expanded the gap to eight creating a 65-57 edge with 8:57 to go.
Huntingdon fought back to get within two again with 2:28 to go. The teams traded baskets until there was less than a minute left. In the final 30 seconds, Covenant went 4-for-4 from the free throw line to take an 84-78 advantage and seal the win.
Crumly went 9-of-11 from the field for his 22 points and Spragg went 6-for-7 from the field for his 17. Henry Gage scored a career-high 11 points, while William Bryan and Noah Oetjen had eight apiece. Covenant shot 60.4 percent (32-of-53) from the floor with 11 3-pointers.
Huntingdon made 54.4 percent (31-of-57) from the field. The Hawks received 14 points from both Kyante Pines and Isaiah King, and another 12 points from James Harris.
UP NEXT
Covenant will face Piedmont on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. inside Barnes PE Center.
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