JANUARY 3– The Covenant men's basketball team is back in action following the Christmas holiday. Facing two challenging opponents, the Scots dropped both games played. On December 28, the Scots traveled to Birmingham Southern, coming up just three points shy of a win. Last night, Covenant was finally back at home, but it was the visiting Maryville Scots that came out on top.
 
Against Birmingham Southern, the Scots were the first to score, Promise Igbanu putting the first five points up on the board. For the next eight minutes, the Scots and the Panthers took turns trading baskets resulting in several ties and lead changes in the game. 
 
Tied at 15-15 with twelve minutes remaining, it was a Jonathan Gernatt three-pointer that set Covenant ahead once more. The Scots were able to build off of that momentum and continued to add to their lead for the remainder of the first half, eventually ending the period with an 11-point advantage.
 
But the Panthers did not fold. Birmingham Southern continued to chip away at the Scots' lead and brought the score back to a tie at 53-53 just five minutes into the second half. From that point on, it was a back-and-forth battle between the two teams.
 
Even with the added pressure of a close score, Covenant managed to get back ahead after Malcolm Noel knocked down a jumper in the paint. There were five minutes remaining in the contest and the Scots were still in the lead, but after a 9-0 Panther run, Covenant found themselves down six with under three minutes to go.
 
It was a run that the Scots could not recover from even after a combined effort from Noel and Igbanu to cut the lead to two. But in the end, Covenant could not come back and fell 79-81 to the Panthers.
 
In the matchup against the Maryville Scots, Covenant jumped on the early lead once again. Malcolm Noel and Luke Crowden's back-to-back threes were a strong start for the Scots. With less than ten minutes remaining, the score was tied at 21-21. Maryville pulled ahead and kept the lead from that point on. 
 
With less than five minutes of play in the first half, Maryville held an 11-point lead. Out-rebounding their opponent in order to get the stops that they needed to cut the lead, the Covenant Scots were able to get within one point heading into the second half. Covenant produced five defensive rebounds and 10 points all within the last four and a half minutes.
 
The beginning of the second half was yet again a back-and-forth affair. Though the Scots were never able to regain the lead, Covenant trailed not too fair behind. Only down by two under the five-minute mark looked promising, but Maryville pulled away and gained an eight-point lead. Maryville then took the game 75-67.
 
Malcolm Noel was the top scorer for the Scots in both the BSC match and the Maryville match, with 22 points and 13 points respectively. Promise Igbanu was the second top scorer in both matches as well, tallying 19 points over the Panthers and 11 points against Maryville. 
 
Jonathan Gernatt and Logan Pearlman also had nice performances this past week. Gernatt with 19 total points and nine rebounds over the two games and Pearlman with 18 total points and 11 rebounds combined.
 
UP NEXT
 
Covenant Basketball is set to face Berea next Wednesday, January 11. [THIS GAME WILL BE MAX OUT BARNES]
 
Q: What is Max Out Barnes? 
 
A: A big event that the Athletics' student workers put on in order to attempt to fill the gymnasium to max capacity. Halls arrive together, many dressed according to their own hall theme. There will be half-time competitions with prizes, including the iconic WIN $5000 shooting challenge. Come ready to cheer, be loud, and support our basketball teams. 
 
CONNECT WITH THE SCOTS
Be sure to follow the Scots all season long on athletics.covenant.edu and on social media at Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for up-to-date scores, news and other information.