Mitchell Hollis scored a career-high 29 points and the Covenant men's basketball team overcame a double-digit second half deficit to defeat Sewanee, 71-62, on Saturday night in the finale of the Lon Varnell Classic.
The win was the first for Covenant (2-0) at Sewanee since 2013 and it is the first time since the 2016-17 season that the Scots have started the year 2-0.
Hollis had a career night as he poured in a game-high 29 points on 10-of-14 shooting with six 3-pointers. Will Crumly was held to 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting, but still recorded a double-double with his 12 rebounds.
Chris Barnette also scored a dozen points to go with four assists and two steals.
Covenant trailed at the half, 34-27, and then fell behind by 12 early in the second half. The Scots went on a 16-4 run over a span of three minutes to tie the game at 48 apiece after a Hollis 3-pointer at the 12:55 mark.
A Crumly triple with 10:51 left gave the Scots a 53-51 lead and sparked a 9-0 run that lasted over four minutes of play as Covenant grabbed a 59-51 edge. The Scots opened up a double-digit lead of their own late in the half as a Barnette layup made it 64-53 with 4:11 remaining. Sewanee got within five late, but the Scots held off the comeback attempt.
Zack Allen chipped in seven points and five rebounds for the Scots, while James Mitchell had six points.
Covenant shot 49 percent (24-of-49) from the field with 11 3-pointers and a 12-for-17 effort at the foul line. The Scots also outrebounded the host Tigers, 35-31.
Sewanee (1-1) was led by Joey Knox's 18 points, while Ryan Starr had 14 and Adrian Thomas just missed a double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds. The Tigers connected on 39.6 percent (21-of-53) from the floor and were limited to 30 percent (6-of-20) shooting from distance.
Covenant will have 10 days off before opening up the home portion of its schedule against Birmingham Southern on Tuesday, Nov. 19. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.