GREENVILLE, Ill. -- Covenant men's basketball poured in a program-record 145 points in their season opener on Friday, taking down Greenville 145-123 at H.J. Long Gymnasium in Greenville.
The 145 points broke the previous record of 144, set in 1970, a 56 year-old record.
Bolton Born had an incredible day, going 10-for-10 from the field, including 5-of-5 from downtown, scoring a career-high 28.
Noah Pence led all scorers with 29, while
Pierce Smith added 26 points, 11 rebounds, six assists, and four blocks to kick off his senior campaign.
After a close first 4:36 of play, the Scots (1-0) rattled off a 10-3 run, capped off by a pair of Born layups, to go up by 10, their first double-digit lead of the game. Later, an 8-0 run, which included back-to-back layups from
Zach Wescher, gave the Scots a 12-point lead.
Covenant would maintain the lead the remainder of the half, as Born's half-ending free throw made it a 10-point game at the break.
Early in the second half, the Scots scored six straight to push their lead out to 16, but the Panthers (0-1) were able to close the gap to nine with 11:21 to go.
They didn't get any closer.
Following that basket from Greenville, Covenant scored 19 of the next 21, punctuated emphatically by a Pence dunk, to make the score 117-91, a 26-point lead. They cruised from there, and in the final minute, freshman
Jack Fox got the honors of breaking the program scoring record with his free throw with 29 seconds to go.
Kavious Johnson had 18 points to lead the Panthers scoring attack, while Kayshaun Hunte had 12 points and 11 assists.
UP NEXT
The Scots play Grinnell tomorrow at 2 p.m. to conclude the fastest weekend in college hoops in Greenville.
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.
