HICKORY, N.C. - A 33-point performance by Demarcus Threatt on the best shooting night of his career was not enough to overcome Keenan Palmore's nation-leading fourth triple-double as the Bears earned a 91-79 victory over the Tornados on Monday evening.
Threatt shot 73.3 percent on his 15 field goal attempts, shattering his previous career high of 61.5 percent set two weeks ago at Queens. The junior guard made three triples and was 8-for-10 from the free throw line, coming within one shot of his career highs in both categories.
Brevard (3-19, 2-14 SAC) outshot the Bears by three percentage points, topping the 50-percent plateau for the fifth time in their last seven contests. Stevie Williams notched his fifth straight game of 10 points or more, pouring in 13 points two days after scoring a career-high 22 against then-No. 13 Queens. Miles Leathers was second on the team with 14 points and finished a rebound shy of his fifth double-double this season.
But Lenoir-Rhyne (14-7, 9-7 SAC) countered with five players in double figures, led by Old Dominion transfer Keenan Palmore's 23 points, 13 rebounds, and 11 assists. Billy Bales contributed 20 points off the bench, while three other Bears notched at least 11 points.
Lenoir-Rhyne came out of the gate firing on all cylinders, building a 9-0 lead less than two minutes into the game. Brevard cut the lead to a single point on three occasions, but Lenoir-Rhyne finally gained significant separation with a 13-3 run over a 4:31 stretch punctuated by a pair of Palmore shots in the paint.
Trailing 45-41 at the half, Brevard largely traded baskets with the Bears at the outset of the second stanza until the Tornados took their first lead of the contest at the 14:39 mark on a Miles Leathers layup. The basket was part of a 12-0 outburst from the visitors that saw Brevard connect on five of its six tries from the field and both free throw attempts.
The 62-55 advantage with 13:08 remaining gave the Tornados their largest lead of the contest. Lenoir-Rhyne, however, outpaced Brevard 36-17 the rest of the way, retaking the lead on a Bales three-point basket midway through the half and not relinquishing the advantage the rest of the way.
Brevard turned the ball over just 11 times in the contest and outpaced the Bears 42-25 in the paint, while Lenoir-Rhyne got triple the production from its reserves behind Bales' big night.
The Tornados return to action on Wednesday evening with a game at Mars Hill. Tipoff is set for 8:00 p.m.
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