SEWANEE, Tenn. - On day one of the Lon Varnell Classic, Covenant and Spalding laced it up against each other for the first time since 2011. The Scots led for a majority of the game, but let the Eagles hang around. In the end, the game went to OT, where Spalding came through with the winning plays to win by three points. 

Final (OT): Covenant 83, Spalding 86
Records: Covenant (0-3), Spalding (1-1)

Covenant's biggest lead of the first half was eight points, which is what the score read at halftime, 40-32 in favor of the Scots. Logan Patterson drilled a 3-pointer with 12 seconds left to do so. 

At the 16:34 mark of the second half, a pair of free throws from Patterson put Covenant ahead 49-35, which turned out to be its biggest lead of the game. Covenant also led by 14 points with 14:21 remaining. 

The Scots then went on a cold streak offensively, going over five minutes scoreless, allowing the Eagles to get within five points. For the remainder of the game, Covenant never led by more than six points as Spalding hung around.

With 44 seconds left, a made tip-in for Spalding, capped off a 6-0 run that gave it a 73-72 lead, which was its first since the 18:18 mark of the first half. A made Covenant free throw with 28 seconds left, followed by a defensive stop, sent the game to OT. 

A dunk from Pierce Smith and a triple from Luuk Dusek helped put Covenant ahead 78-76 in the first two minutes of OT. However, Spalding went on a 7-0 run later on to take a commanding five-point lead with 18 seconds left. 

This is when things went a little bit weird. A technical foul, an offensive foul, followed by a shooting foul on a 3-pointer, all of which were called on Spalding in the final seconds, allowed Covenant a lifeline. With the Scots trailing by three points, they had three free throws with three seconds left. All three shots from the line missed for Covenant, essentially ending the game. 

Pierce Smith led the Scots with a career-high 21 points and six blocks. In this game, he broke the school record for most career blocks, as he currently sits at 119. Logan Patterson came through with 19 points for Covenant and made 3 triples. 

Statistically, it was a struggle offensively for the typically high-scoring Scots. Covenant shot 37.3% (31-83) from the field, 18.8% (6-32) from three, and 51.7% (15-29) from the free-throw line. In the same categories, Spalding was 47.4% (36-76), 18.2% (2-11), and 66.7% (12-18).

Defensively, Covenant forced 27 turnovers for Spalding, while only turning it over 11 times itself. The Scots had 29 points off those Eagles' turnovers. Spalding owned the glass for much of the game, outrebounding Covenant 63-42.

Covenant moves to 1-2 all-time against Spalding.

UP NEXT: Covenant takes on Sewanee on Saturday at 4:00 PM CT/5:00 PM ET on day two of the Lon Varnell Classic.  

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