Covenant Men Fall To Sewanee, 84-65

The Covenant men's basketball team trimmed a 19-point deficit to three early in the second half, but the hot shooting from visiting Sewanee was enough to lift the Tigers past the Scots, 84-65, on Tuesday night inside Barnes PE Center.

Covenant drops to 0-3 on the year, while Sewanee remains perfect at 5-0. It was the first time since 2014 (six games) that the away team prevailed in the all-time series between the programs.

Sewanee shot a blazing 63 percent (17-of-27) in the first half and led by 19 with 2:13 left in the period.

Covenant got back within striking distance at the half after finishing the opening stanza with a 10-2 run, capped by a Tavian Roundtree 3-pointer in the final second of the half, to cut the deficit to 39-28.

The run continued in the early minutes of the second half for the Scots. Covenant scored the first eight points of the second half, aided by a layup from Bailey Spragg followed by 3-pointers from Will Crumly and Noah Oetjen, to get within 39-36 with 16:49 left. 

That would be as close as Covenant would get the rest of the night. Sewanee used an 8-0 run to get the lead back to double-digits at 47-36 after a Joey Knox triple at the 15:02 mark. Covenant got within single digits a couple more times, but Sewanee had an answer each time.

Sewanee shot 62 percent (31-of-50) from the field with 13 3-pointers and a 9-of-12 effort at the foul line. Luke Smith flirted with a triple-double as he finished with a game-high 26 points to go with eight assists and six rebounds to lead the visiting Tigers. Cam Caldwell recorded a double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Jordan Warlick also produced a double-double with 11 points and 11 boards.

Spragg led four Covenant players in double figure scoring with his 12 points. Spragg also dished out six assists and picked up six steals on the night. Mitchell Hollis, James Mitchell, and Crumly had 10 points each. Oetjen, William Bryan, and Daevon Platt had six points each off the bench.

Covenant connected on 39.3 percent (24-of-61) from the floor with nine 3-pointers. 

Covenant will open USA South play on Tuesday, Nov. 27 at Maryville. Tip-off at Boydson Baird Gymnasium is set for 7:30 p.m.