LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN -- For the first time in nearly three years, the Covenant College Scots basketball team has won two games in a row. Zarome Lakey’s jumper with 16 seconds remaining gave Covenant a four-point lead, and the Scots held off a late rally from the Rust College Bearcats for a 77-75 win Saturday afternoon at Barnes Physical Education Center.
It is the first time since the 2007-08 season that the Scots have strung multiple wins together. That year, Covenant had a three-game winning streak from Jan. 31-Feb. 5.
Down by four with 16 seconds left, Rust got a second-chance basket from Omar Cumberbatch with just 3 seconds left on the clock, making it a 77-75 game. After a miscommunication on the ensuing inbounds play, the Bearcats had one last chance to tie or win the game. Underneath the basket, Rust’s William Montgomery received the inbounds pass and had to force up a layup attempt that was short of the basket as time expired.
“We built a lot of character tonight,” commented Scots head coach Kyle Taylor. “That’s important for us not just on the court but also off the court. They were in the fire tonight; we were up big, then lost our lead but battled through it together.”
Covenant got out to one of its hottest starts of the year. The Scots shot 56% in the first half as they held a 45-29 advantage going into the break. Forward Sam Bowman was a perfect 7-7 from the field in the half for 15 points. Bowman was accompanied by forward Jon DeVries who almost matched Bowman’s perfection in the half, hitting 5-6 from the floor and scoring 13 points. Covenant finished off the half with a 23-9 scoring run to break open a close game.
But Rust would not go away quietly. The Bearcats, coming in with a four-game winning streak of their own, took it to the Scots in the first 5:53 of the second half, outscoring Covenant 23-6 over that period to take a 52-51 lead. Most of the run was due to the play of Rust’s Markeith Wilson, who scored 19 points during that stretch of play, including 4 three-pointers.
The lead would change hands several times over the next few minutes as the two teams clamped down on defense. Covenant grabbed the lead for good at 63-62 after a Bowman layup with 10:36 left. The Scots went up 71-66 with 5:59 remaining after Stephen Johnson’s tough fade away jumper as the shot clock was about to expire. Several minutes later, senior Logan Dahms increased that lead to give the Scots a little breathing room when he went flying through the lane, rebounded a DeVries miss, and laid the ball up with one fluid motion. Rust would cut the Covenant lead down to 2 after James Roberson made 1-2 free throws, but Lakey’s tough jumper from 5 feet put the Scots back up by two possessions with just 16 seconds left, setting up the final sequence of plays.
“It really came down to the players making plays,” added Taylor. “Zarome made a huge play. Logan made a big play. That’s been the difference for us recently. Our guys have stepped up and made plays when it really counts.”
Sam Bowman and Jon DeVries led the Scots (4-13) with 21 and 20 points, respectively. Bowman also added in 8 rebounds. Zarome Lakey was the only other player for Covenant in double figures with 12 points.
Rust (11-7) was led by Markeith Wilson, who led all scorers with 29 points. Wilson scored 27 of those points in the second half alone. James Roberson scored 13 points and Marcus Erves added in 10 for the Bearcats.
Covenant will take its two-game win streak into next week as they travel to Alabama to take on the Huntingdon College Hawks on Wednesday in a game that was rescheduled from earlier in the month. The Scots return home on Thursday to take on Maryville College at 8 p.m.