Lookout Mountain, GA- The Scots started out fairly strong but were unable to keep their intensity up for the entire 40 minutes in their first home game of the 2009-2010 season. The 92-76 win went to visiting Tennessee Weslyan.
For the first 12 minutes, the game see-sawed back and forth in a constant one possession game until Clarence Threat scored at the 7:42 mark to put Tennessee Wesleyan ahead 21-17. Wesleyan went on to extend this lead to 28-17 before Covenant regrouped and went on a run of their own.
Several baskets by Sam Bowman and a 10 footer by Damien Chaney helped push the Scots to a 31-30 advantage, but a dismal close-out of the first half provided the Bulldogs with a few easy scores and a 35-31 half-time lead.
In the second half, Wesleyan jumped out to a big advantage early, and Covenant was unable to keep up. The Bulldogs finished the game with 6 guys in double digits including a double-double from Matt Towry (18 points, 11 rebounds).
"Youth and inexperience showed up in a huge way tonight" said Head Coach Kyle Taylor. "We weren't poised against their pressure, and we let their guards dictate the tempo of the game."
Covenant's top performers included Davis Eldridge, Sam Bowman, and Chase Foster. Eldridge scored 20 points shooting over 57% from the field; Bowman scored 17 points on only 10 attempts; and Foster assisted 8 of Covenant's baskets while also hustling for 4 steals.
The Scots are now 0-2 and will look for their first win of the season against the University of the South in Sewanee, TN Saturday afternoon.