JACKSON, Miss. -- The Covenant men's basketball team earned their first win of the 2020-21 season, topping East Texas Baptist 81-76.
Covenant (1-1) had four players in double figures. Chris Barnette led with 19 points, and Luke Touliatos had 14. Zack Allen contributed 16 points, and Will Crumly posted his 20th career double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds.
The Scots came out strong in the first minutes of the game, opening the competition with a 6-0 run. The Tigers soon responded though, and a 3-pointer by Aaron Gregg at the 11:07 mark gave ETBU a lead of 12-11.
The following minutes contained lots of back and forth action, with three ties and four lead changes.
Covenant struggled early from the 3-point line, going 0-for-10 in the first half. ETBU capitalized and went on a 15-0 run in the last few minutes of the half and took a 33-25 lead into halftime.
Despite the shooting difficulty in the first half, though, it was the Scots' red-hot second half that propelled them ahead of the Tigers.
The behind-the-arc drought was soon ended by a Touliatos 3-pointer at the 18:32 mark of the half, cutting the Tigers' lead to five. Two minutes later, Brady Palmer hit another one from downtown, giving the Scots much needed momentum.
Allen's 3-pointer at the 15:34 mark cut the lead to four. He hit a second one a few minutes later, giving the Scots the lead of 56-55. The Tigers continued to fight though and tied it with a free throw by Jayden Williams with six minutes to go.
It was not to stay tied for long.
Barnette quickly answered with a 3-pointer of his own, making it 67-64 at the 5:50 mark. All the back and forth action culminated in an exciting tight finish, as Covenant was up by two with under 30 seconds remaining. A Touliatos 3-pointer with only 19 seconds left would end all hopes for ETBU, giving the Scots a 79-74 lead.
The Tigers battled, also shooting at a high percentage. ETBU went 16-for-31 in the second half, but the hot hands for the Scots proved to be too much.
Covenant would end up shooting 6-of-12 from 3-point land in the second half. The team also went 18-for-31 from the floor, shooting 58 percent. They erupted for 56 points, more than doubling the score from the first half.
Chris Haynes led ETBU (3-1) with 23 points and Gregg contributed 15.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE GAME
UP NEXT
Covenant will play tomorrow, December 9, against Belhaven in Jackson, Mississippi. Tip-off is scheduled for 8pm EST (7pm CST).
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