SEWANEE, Tenn. - On day two of the Lon Varnell Classic, Covenant battled against the tournament hosts, Sewanee. In a back-and-forth contest, the Scots found a way to get its first victory of the 2023-24 season.
Final: Covenant 90, Sewanee 86
Records: Covenant (1-1), Sewanee (1-1)
FIRST HALF:
- Behind four points from Fletcher Bigham, the Tigers opened out a 7-2 lead in the first three minutes of the game.
- 3-pointers by Eli Witt and Logan Pearlman tied the game back up at 12.
- Covenant continued to find its shot from downtown with Luke Crowden drilling two triples but the Scots found themselves down 26-21 midway through the half.
- Covenant used a 12-1 scoring run to take its largest lead of the half at 32-27 with 3:48 remaining.
- Jonathan Gernatt earned three points the hard way to put the Scots ahead 39-36.
- Code Baerlocher hit an inside bucket right before the halftime buzzer to cut Covenant's lead to 41-40 at the intermission.
SECOND HALF:
- Gernatt, Crowden, and Gus Hood each made shots early in the second half as Covenant led 48-44.
- Gernatt kept his hot shooting going with another triple to give the Scots a 57-53 lead.
- With 10:39 remaining Sewanee tied the game at 65 on a layup from Fletcher.
- A 6-0 run for the Tigers gave it a 76-72 lead, its biggest of the second period.
- Covenant did not back down as Gernatt drilled a jumper and gave the Scots back the lead at 81-80.
- With his team down one point, Gernatt hit a triple to put the Scots ahead for good at 86-84 with 1:11 remaining.
- The Tigers got back to within one point, but four free throws in the final six seconds from Hood clinched the win for the Scots.
GAME NOTES:
- Covenant moves to 13-22 all-time against Sewanee.
- Gernatt posted a career-high 26 points on 10-of-15 shooting and four made 3-pointers.
- Jesse Kinard also had a career high with 23 points while going 8-of-12 from the field.
- Crowden posted 15 points and led the team with seven rebounds.
- The Scots shot 55.2% (32-58) from the field and 48.3% (14-29) from the 3-point line.
- Each team had 35 rebounds on the night.
- Covenant had 24 assists while Sewanee had 15.
UP NEXT: Covenant welcomes Mississippi University for Women to Lookout Mountain on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. for its home opener.
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