Behind a season-high 17 3-pointers and 61 percent shooting, the Covenant men's basketball team completed a season sweep of USA South foe Berea with a 96-61 victory inside Barnes PE Center on Monday afternoon.
Covenant (6-3, 2-0 USA South) has won three straight and is 5-0 this season against Division III opponents.
The Scots shot over 60 percent for the second time this season and saw six players reach double-figure scoring. Brady Palmer led the way with a career-high 17 points and five 3-pointers.
Zack Allen hit four triples in the first half and finished with 15 points, while Daevon Platt had 12 points. Promise Igbanu, Chris Barnette, and Gage Maffetone all had 10 points each.
Barnette added seven assists as the Scots dished out 25 on 35 made field goals. In two wins over Berea, the Scots doled out 50 assists on 71 made field goals.
Will Crumly added in nine points and a team-high eight rebounds with five assists. The Scots again dominated the glass with a 46-18 rebound advantage and 16 second-chance points on 13 offensive rebounds.
Berea (0-2, 0-2 USA South) made it a close contest through the first 13 minutes of play and led 25-23. Covenant responded with a 17-0 run over the next four minutes to build a 15-point lead (40-25). Palmer hit three 3-pointers during the key stretch of the game.
Covenant led 44-32 at the half and would build upon that lead in the second half.
The deeper Scots opened the second half on a 12-2 spurt, highlighted by a pair of triples from Palmer, to grab a 56-34 lead with 16:27 left. The margin would not dip below 20 for the rest of the game.
Covenant led by 41 late in the second half as the Scots' bench contributed significantly. Covenant got 35 points from its bench, led by Platt's 12 and Maffetone's 10. Logan Pearlman and Walker Mathis had six points each.
The Scots finished the game connecting on 61.4 percent (35-of-57) from the floor and 65.5 percent (17-of-29) from deep.
Berea received a game-high 23 points from Trey Minter, while MJ Embree had 14 points and Jarel Montgomery 11. The visiting Mountaineers shot 34 percent (18-of-53) for the game and were 19-of-25 at the foul line.
Covenant hosts Piedmont on Friday at 6 p.m. on Lookout Mountain.