The Covenant men's basketball team battled Division I Liberty to the very end, but two free throws from the Flames' Lovell Cabill with two seconds left broke a 62-62 tie and gave the hosts a 64-62 victory.
The game counted as an exhibition for Covenant, but was Liberty's season opener. It was the first time the teams had met since the 1999-00 season.
Berto Dryden scored all 14 of his points in the second half as he led the way for the Scots offensively. Chris Boyd added 12 points, while Z Arima scored eight. Will Portlock added six points and six rebounds and Matt den Dulk chipped in six points and five boards off the bench.
The game came down to the wire. Trailing 62-60 with under 30 seconds to play, Dryden collected an offensive rebound after a Patjo Twagirayezu miss and converted a tough layup to draw the Scots even. On Liberty's next possession, Cabill drew a foul and calmly sank both free throws with 2.6 seconds remaining.
Covenant had one last chance to tie or take the win, but a halfcourt heave from Twagirayezu fell short.
Covenant led 27-26 at halftime after holding Liberty to 29.4 percent shooting in the period. Boyd scored six points in the half and Arima had five.
Liberty (1-0) got 15 points and 10 rebounds from Evan Maxwell and 13 points from Ryan Kemrite.
Behind 14 points apiece from Aleigha Williams and Bekah Walter, the Covenant women's basketball team opened the 2015-16 campaign with a 69-62 victory over visiting Berry on Friday night inside Barnes PE Center.
Covenant (1-0) wins its season opener for the second time in the last three years and both victories have come against Berry.
The new-look Scots held Berry to just 29.2 percent (21-of-72) shooting and forced 26 turnovers in the process. Williams had 14 points and five rebounds, while Walter's 14-point effort came in a reserve role. Joanna Smith tallied seven points and a team-high 10 rebounds, while Kaley Hallmark added 12 points and five rebounds.
Both teams went back-and-forth in the first quarter, but an Imani Smith 3-pointer with 1:17 left in the period gave Berry a 17-16 lead heading in the second.
Covenant outscored Berry 21-11 in the second quarter. The Scots started the period scoring the first six points, capped by consecutive baskets from Walter, to go ahead 22-17. The Scots extended their lead to 30-22 after a Hallmark jumper with 4:01 left. Covenant led by as many as 10 in the period and settled for a 37-28 halftime lead.
The Scots took their largest lead of the game at 49-36 after a Jessica Bell free throw with 2:25 left in the third quarter. Berry managed to trim the deficit to 51-46 by the end of the period. In the fourth, Covenant led 62-60 after an Emma Cook 3-pointer, but a Walter conventional three-point play brought the lead back to five and the Scots never looked back.
Zarriah Pierce led Berry (0-1) with 16 points and 14 rebounds, whille Smith recorded 20 points and eight boards. Valerie McClure chipped in 10 points and seven rebounds.
Lady Scots