AUGUSTA, Ga. - Playing its second game in as many days to open the season, the Brevard men's basketball team fell 79-53 to GRU Augusta in the final game of the Peach Belt-SAC Challenge.
The Jaguars (2-0), who defeated fellow South Atlantic Conference team Anderson on Friday evening, shot 56.6 percent from the field, including knocking down 10 of 20 three-point field goal attempts, en route to the 26-point victory. GRU had assists on 20 of their 30 made field goals in the contest while committing just 12 turnovers.
Brevard (0-2) fell behind early in the game and was unable to mount a run at the lead throughout the remainder of the game. The Tornados used a jumper in the paint by Stevie Williams to take a 4-3 lead inside the first two minutes of the contest. But the Jaguars retook the lead on a Vlad Cobzaru layup 19 seconds later. They would not relinquish their advantage for the rest of the evening.
A night after opening his career with a 14-point effort against Clayton State, junior college transfer Phil Wallace led the Tornados with 16 points. He was one of four Tornados to accumulate two assists on the evening, marking the second straight game to open the season that no Brevard player had more than a pair of assists.
GRU was led by Henry McCarthy, one of three Jaguars to score in double figures. Keshun Sherril chipped in 18 points and a game-high six rebounds. GRU held a 33-20 edge in rebounding and saw its reserves outscore the Brevard bench 34-10.
Neither team was able to gain an edge at the charity stripe, as the teams combined for just 24 personal fouls and 22 free throw attempts.
The game, much like last night's season opener, was defined by large runs by Brevard's opponent. An 11-0 run, fueled by GRU steals and points in transition on consecutive Tornados' possessions, gave the hosts a lead of 13 points midway through the first half. The lead grew to 19 points by the 8:39 mark of the first half before the Tornados were able to trim the deficit to 12 points at the intermission.
The second half played out in extremely similar fashion. An identical 11-0 run helped the Jaguars to build a 63-38 advantage with 8:44 to play. The lead reached its apex at 79-50 with under two minutes to play before an Evan Dunham three-point field goal closed the scoring for both teams.
Brevard will face its third consecutive Peach Belt Conference opponent on Tuesday night as the Tornados welcome North Georgia to Boshamer Gymnasium for the team's home opener. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
Featured image courtesy of Tommy Moss.
