Box Score
Freshman Valentino Bryant (Hendersonville, Tenn., Beech) got Sewanee on the board just 34 seconds in, but nine ties and 17 lead changes later, the Webster Gorloks hit their free throws down the stretch to pick up a 67-60 victory over the Tigers in men's basketball action tonight. The two teams were tied at 60 with just under three minutes to play, but host Webster hit five free throws in the last two minutes to put Sewanee away. Bryant led the Tigers with 15 points and pulled down five rebounds as visiting Sewanee moved to 1-1 on the season. Webster is now 1-0 with the win.
Bryant got the Tigers on the board early with a jumper but Webster responded quickly with a pair of free throws by Scott Restoff. The two squads traded scores, including a three-pointer from Sewanee's Lewis Affronti (Virginia Beach, Va., Norfolk Academy) and the same from Webster's Willie Trimble, for nearly five minutes until the Tigers were able to start building a lead. Behind a three-pointer from Bryant, two field goals from Tyler Brown (Goodlettsville, Tenn., Beech), and a three-pointer from Brett Bouldin (Crossville, Ala., Crossville), Sewanee created an eight-point lead with just under eight minutes to play in the first half.
After the Tigers pushed their lead to eight, the Gorloks got two baskets each from Nick Jones and Drew Moore to cut the lead to one as halftime approached. Bouldin nailed a driving lay up with just 34 seconds left in the stanza to put the lead back to three, but Webster got one last basket, a jumper from Jones to make it 29-28 Sewanee, as the two teams headed into the locker rooms.
The Gorloks came out of halftime firing and Trimble and Jarrod Huskey combined for eight straight points to put the hosts ahead by seven just three minutes into the second stanza. But the Tigers wouldn't be held down for long. Bouldin knocked down a three to cut the Gorlok lead to four before Moore drained a short jumper to push the lead back to six. Sewanee then got back-to-back three pointers from Bryant and Sam Martin (Ringgold, Ga., Lakeview-Ft. Oglethorpe) to tie things up near the 15-minute mark. Things were tied up at 38 for nearly a minute before Martin drained a short jumper to give Sewanee a two-point lead.
After the two straight baskets from Martin, Webster got a score from Huskey to even things again. Huskey got fouled on the basket and drained the ensuing free throw to give the hosts the one point lead. Sewanee got five quick points from Bryant to push their lead back to four, 45-41 with just over twelve minutes remaining.
The momentum swings continued, as just over a minute later Webster took a 46-45 lead on a lay up from Huskey. Sewanee then rattled off eight straight points to take a seven-point lead at the 8:35 mark. The Gorloks wouldn't give up though and clawed their way back to a one-point lead with just seven minutes left after four straight points from Robby Meeh.
The next four minutes brought five lead changes and three ties before the Tigers tied things up at 60-60 on a lay in by Anvil Nelson. Sewanee was forced to foul several times and Webster hit five free throws to put the game on ice. The Gorloks took home the 67-60 win after Sewanee couldn't get several last-chance threes to fall.
Webster's Trimble led all scorers with 18. After Bryant's 15, the Tigers got ten points apiece from Bouldin and Trent Williams (Lawrenceburg, Tenn., Lawrence County High School). Bryant and Matt Cowan (Goodlettsville, Tenn., Beech) each pulled down five rebounds for Sewanee. The Tigers shot 40% from the field, going 22 of 55, including eight of 31 from beyond the three-point arc.
Sewanee turned the ball over 18 times, while forcing the Gorloks into 13 turnovers of their own. Webster managed to get 26 points off of turnovers though, while Sewanee managed only ten. The Tiger bench was very strong for the visitors though, racking up 29 points, while the Webster bench contributed just 11. The Tigers went eight for nine from the charity stripe but were out-rebounded by the Gorloks, 42-27.
Sewanee moves on to face Principia College tomorrow at 5:00 p.m. in day two of the Webster Classic.
