SEWANEE, Tenn. –
Nikolas Avaliani scored 26 points before fouling out and
Aidan Treacy added 19, but Sewanee missed two tough chances around the rim in the final 15 seconds and lost, 78-75, at Southwestern University in men's basketball action Sunday in Georgetown, Texas.
The Tigers (8-10, 4-3 SAA) trailed 47-40 at the half before posting a 15-3 run to start the second period. Avaliani netted six points,
Philip Ryan made the first 3-pointer of the game for Sewanee and
Jack Bakken's two free throws put the Tigers in front, 55-50, five minutes into the period.
Southwestern (9-9, 3-4) answered with an 8-2 spurt for a 58-57 edge, a lead the home team would never relinquish. Aedan Lewis and Shobby Enakpene each recorded four points during the spurt.
The teams traded baskets until a layup and then another basket plus the foul by Lewis pushed the Pirates advantage to 69-63 with less than nine minutes to play.
Fletcher Bigham's triple from the corner and a layup by Treacy pulled the Tigers within, 71-70, with four minutes remaining.
Neo Franco answered with a triple for Southwestern and Lewis added a layup for a 76-72 edge.
JD Gardner missed the front end of a 1-and-1 for Sewanee and Treacy connected on 1-of-2 free throws with 1:26 to go.
Zach Gomez missed a 3-pointer at the end of the shot clock for the Pirates and Gardner pulled the Tigers within a point with a layup with 49.3 seconds to go. Lewis turned the ball over and Sewanee called timeout with 17.6 seconds remaining.
Treacy missed a layup in traffic and Bakken's putback chance also would not fall. Luke Hatcher was fouled and made both free throws with 5.4 seconds to play for Southwestern. The Tigers were unable to get a shot off, dropping their second straight road game after three consecutive wins.
Bakken finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds while Bigham grabbed 11 boards with five assists as well.
Enakpene led four double-digit scorers for the Pirates with 24 points. Lewis posted 17 points, Gomez recorded 15 and Luke Mills had 10.
Avaliani netted six points and Bakken added four in the first five minutes of the contest, tying the game at 12. Mills made a jumper and a layup before a 3-pointer from Enakpene put the Pirates in front, 29-22, with seven minutes left in the half.
Avaliani connected on a jumper and added four free throws, pulling the Tigers within, 33-30. Gomez completed a four-point play for Southwestern at the four-minute media timeout, extending the home team's lead to 40-32.
Treacy converted a pair of driving layups, cutting the deficit to four, but Eli Bradley answered with a corner 3-pointer for the Pirates. Another Treacy basket made it a three-point game with 90 seconds remaining in the period before Enakpene collected a pair of layups and Sewanee was unable to get a good shot off in the final 10 seconds.
Southwestern took a 47-40 advantage to the locker room, with the Tigers missing all eight 3-point chances and trailing despite shooting 50 percent from the field and committing only four turnovers. The Pirates also connected on 50 percent of their field goals, including 7-for-15 from behind the arc.
Avaliani posted 16 points and Treacy added 10 for Sewanee while Enakpene netted 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting with a pair of triples and Gomez made 4-of-7 3-pointers and recorded 15 points.
Sewanee returns home next weekend, taking on Trinity University and Southwestern for the second straight week.
