NEWBERRY, S.C. - Facing its third regionally ranked opponent in its first four games, the Brevard College men's basketball team was unable to come up with its first victory of the season, falling to preseason conference runner-up Newberry 101-72.

Newberry's (4-0, 2-0 SAC) up-tempo style of play and bench that goes well over 10 players deep proved to be too much for the Tornados (0-4, 0-1 SAC). Brevard's Darius Moose had a double-double in the losing effort, notching game-highs with 25 points and 10 rebounds. The Tornados were aided by a 16-point effort from Phil Wallace and 10 points from Trayvon Shaw.

But Newberry countered with four players in double figures, led by 21 points from Mitch Riggs, to stymie the Tornados' upset bid against the Southeast Region's fourth-ranked team according to the latest Division II Media Poll. Fourteen Wolves saw action in the contest, with 13 of them tallying at least a point, and Newberry never trailed in the contest.

The Tornados hung tough with Newberry's breakneck pace throughout much of the opening stanza, with the Wolves' lead hovering between two and five points throughout the first ten minutes before the hosts began to distance themselves from Brevard. A brief 8-0 spurt, keyed by a free throw and layup from Riggs and a triple by James Stepp, increased the lead to double digits.

The Wolves were unable to increase their separation beyond 14 points for most of the remainder of the first half, until a three-point play from James Ashby keyed an 8-1 Newberry run that made the Wolves' advantage 53-34 at the break.

The second half played out in a very similar fashion. Brevard cut the lead to as few as 15 points less than 90 seconds into the half on one of Wallace's four three-point field goals of the game before consecutive three-point field goals by Newberry stretched the lead back to 21 points.

The Tornados were able to trim the deficit to 17 points on two occasions, but the Wolves began to pull away as the second half wore on, outscoring Brevard 48-38 in the second stanza. Newberry shot at a 53.1 percent clip on the afternoon, notching assists on 24 of its 34 field goals, while limiting Brevard to 21-of-36 from the floor for a .375 shooting percentage.

Brevard outrebounded the Wolves 40-36, led by Moose and Jaylon Debardlabon with 10 apiece. Debarlabon also had a team-high three assists. The teams were even with 13 second-chance points, but Newberry outpaced Brevard 28-10 in points off turnovers, and its reserves outscored the Tornados' reserves 62-11.

Brevard returns to action on Tuesday night in the conference home opener against Tusculum. Tipoff for the game, which will be a doubleheader with the schools' women's teams, is scheduled for 8:00 p.m.

Featured image courtesy of Tommy Moss.