Men's Basketball 12/11/2020 12:00:00 AM

Trevecca Men's Basketball | Trojans fall to non-conference opponent Covenant in home opener

Box Score

NASHVILLE, Tenn– For the first time in 293 days, Trevecca Men's Basketball (0-3) was back in Trojan Fieldhouse on Friday, hosting the Covenant College Scots (3-1) in a non-conference matchup. After falling into a hole early, Trevecca battled back but fell short, falling to Covenant 55-54.

SERIES HISTORY/NOTES

It was the twenty-seventh ever meeting between Trevecca and Covenant, and the Trojans dropped to 16-11 all time against the Scots with the loss.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Calvin Walker scored the first points of the night in his first career start, with a three-pointer just 90 seconds into the game to give Trevecca the 3-0 lead. The Trojans then surrendered a 10-0 run, however, and did not score again until an Austin Wills three-pointer made it a 10-6 Covenant lead with 12:45 to play. The Trojans trailed by as much as 14 in the first half but cut the deficit to seven with an Imani Starling at the halftime buzzer. It was a 29-22 Covenant lead at the break.

The Trojans got hot in the second half, compiling a 14-3 run that eventually tied it up 52-52 with under two minutes to play. Junior forward Brendan Newton got going, scoring 11 of his 16 points in the second half. With the game tied up at 54, Covenant's Chris Barnette drew a foul on Chris Rogers with just under four seconds to play, and Barnette hit one of two free throws. Trevecca couldn't convert on a last-ditch shot, and Covenant walked away with the win.

PLAYER STATS BREAKDOWN

Junior Brendan Newton finished with 16 points on six-of-nine shooting, with six rebounds. Jaylon Tharpe added 13 points and eight boards on four-of-nine shooting, and Austin Wills made three of his 12 three-point attempts to score 11 with six rebounds.

Shelton State transfer Luke Touliatos led the way for Covenant, scoring 16 points on six-of-14 shooting. Two more Scots scored in double figures as Chris Barnette put up 13 points and center Will Crumly added 10.

TEAM STATS BREAKDOWN

After starting slow, Trevecca ended the game shooting 20-of-59 (33.9%) from the floor, and six-of-19 (31.6%) from three-point range. The Trojans outrebounded the Scots 43-31 but turned it over 14 times compared to Covenant's 12 turnovers.

Covenant shot the ball well, converting 21 of its 50 field goal attempts. One of the ultimate differences was free-throw shooting, where Trevecca scored eight-of-13 an Covenant scored seven-of-nine.

Trevecca had 18 points contributed off the bench, and outscored Covenant in the paint 28-24.

WHAT'S NEXT

Trevecca will hit the road on Tuesday, for an exhibition game against longtime rival and Division I opponent Lipscomb. The game will be broadcasted (audio-only) at tnutrojans.com.

On Thursday, the Trojans will travel back to Findlay for a rematch against the Oilers that will not count towards Trevecca's Great Midwest record.

MORE ABOUT THE TREVECCA TROJANS

Visit Official Home of Trevecca Athletics at www.tnutrojans.com

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