JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. - Brevard College's men's basketball team officially began the 2015-16 campaign on Friday evening in the Carson-Newman Classic, losing to Lander in the opener.
Demarcus Threatt continued his sharp shooting trend that he established in the exhibitions at Auburn and UNC Asheville in the opening minute with a three pointer to give Brevard the early lead at 3-2. Following the assisted layup to Omar El Diraoui, Threatt shot the ball from beyond the arc again to extend the lead to four at 8-4.
Lander (1-0) responded with a 6-0 run to retake the lead at 10-8, the lead was short-lived as Brevard countered with a 5-0 run of its own to give the Tornados the three point advantage. Following a series of back and forth play, the royal blue and white created its largest lead in the half after a pair of threes from Will Brown and Threatt and a layup from Evan Dunham put Brevard up eight at 24-16.
The Bears were able to cut into the lead and got it all the way down to one point with three minutes remaining in the half, but Threatt recaptured the momentum with a pair of layups to bring it back up to five. Brevard went into halftime with a 33-28 lead.
Following the intermission, Miles Leathers intercepted an early Lander pass which he dished to a streaking Stevie Williams for an easy layup to put Brevard up seven. The Tornados weren't able to maintain the lead, as Lander got ahead with a 14-6 run to make it 42-41. Brevard was able to knot the score at 44 all, but two-straight three pointers from Lander gave them a lead that they held onto for the remainder of the contest.
Making his regular season debut, Threatt scored a game-high 26 points. Including the two exhibitions, it is the second time that Threatt has eclipsed 20 points while wearing the royal blue and white, dropping 21 at UNC Asheville.
Leathers was second on the team in scoring with 17 while leading the unit with four assists and contributing a pair of steals. Brown was one point and rebound away from a double-double, chipping in nine points while leading the team with as many boards. D.J. Bostick set career-highs in steals and assists, finishing the contest with three of both.
Brevard continues play in the classic tomorrow when they take on Southern Wesleyan at 5 p.m.
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