MOUNT BERRY, Ga. –
Luka Avaliani posted 14 of his 19 points in the second half,
Graham Smith netted 14 points and 16 rebounds and Sewanee used an 11-0 run in the second period, holding off Berry College, 81-78, in men's basketball action here Thursday night at the Cage Recreation Center.
The Tigers (9-5, 1-0 SAA) handed the Vikings their first regular season home loss since 2018.
Sewanee trailed by one at the half and Berry's Jacob Morgan made a 3-pointer and Parker Godwin netted a pair of triples to start the second period for a 45-39 Vikings advantage. Two baskets by Avaliani and a layup from
Fletcher Bigham tied the contest at 45.
Field goals from Nile King and Braxton Benham, who led the Vikings (7-7, 0-1) with 23 points, pushed the lead back to four, but Berry failed to score for more than three minutes and the Tigers took advantage, posting an 11-0 spurt to take the lead for good.
Eli Holland registered his only points of the game with a pair of field goals and
Russ Marr made four free throws, the last two after a technical foul against Benham.
Tre Corrigan connected on the first of back-to-back 3-pointers for a 56-49 edge and the second three gave Sewanee its biggest lead of the game at 59-51.
Berry answered with an 11-4 run, with Godwin hitting a 3-pointer and an old-fashioned 3-point play before Drew Winegarden's triple and a layup from Benham got the Vikings within one with just under eight minutes to play.
Reid Carrier and Smith posted consecutive layups for the Tigers to end the spurt by the home team and two straight baskets from Avaliani pushed the lead back to seven with four minutes remaining. Another Winegarden three got the Vikings within two with 90 seconds left.
Marr connected on two foul shots with 1:20 on the clock but neither team could score until Bigham was fouled. The final 40 seconds became a foul fest, with the teams combining for 13 attempts.
Bigham missed two shots with 40.6 seconds to play but Benham missed on the other end and Avaliani netted two free throws with 23.3 seconds remaining, making it 79-73.
Morgan was fouled on a 3-point attempt for the Vikings and made two with 20.4 seconds on the clock and Marr was 1-of-2 with 17.2 seconds to play, his only miss of the game. Benham made one foul shot with 13.0 seconds left and one free throw by Bigham with 8.7 seconds remaining finally put the game away for Sewanee.
Marr did not have a field goal in the second half but was 9-for-10 at the foul line and finished with 17 points. Bigham collected 15 points and 12 boards. The Tigers made only 4-of-20 from behind the arc, two apiece for Smith and Corrigan.
Godwin and Morgan each recorded 14 points for Berry and Morgan grabbed 12 boards while Winegarden and Canon Armstead each netted 10. The Vikings made 11 3-pointers but attempted 43 for 26 percent.
Consecutive baskets from Smith and a layup from Marr helped the Tigers to a 13-7 advantage six minutes into the game, but Benham cut the deficit in half with a 3-pointer for the Vikings. Marr and Smith scored again, increasing the lead back to five, but a 6-0 spurt gave the home team a one-point edge, with Benham, Morgan and Godwin each netting field goals.
Smith answered with a triple for Sewanee and Bigham scored underneath before two foul shots by Avaliani, part of a 7-0 run for the Tigers. Armstread's 3-pointer for Berry again cut the deficit in half and two baskets from Marr kept the advantage at six with six minutes left in the period.
Smith's second three of the half pushed the lead to 31-24, but the Vikings finished the period on a 12-4 spurt, starting with a 3-pointer by Isaac Martin. Armstead and Benham each posted baskets before a triple and two foul shots by Armstead for a 36-35 edge for Berry at the break.
Sewanee made only 2-of-10 from behind the arc, both by Smith, who netted 12 points. Berry connected on 5-of-21 from 3-point range, with Benham recording 12 points and Armstead adding 10 off the bench. The Vikings registered 13 points off 11 Tigers turnovers in the first 20 minutes as well.
At this time Sunday's game at Oglethorpe remains scheduled for 3 p.m. ET in Atlanta, Ga.
