By Joshua J. Darling, Sports Information Director
LAGRANGE, Ga. – Every time LaGrange (15-8, 7-3 CCS) was poised to retake the lead lethal three-point shooting by Berea (13-9, 5-4 CCS) answered back as they dropped an 80-73 decision in an NCAA Division III men's basketball game on Friday, February 10.
Sophomore forward Kyle Smith (Titusville, Fla.) led the way for the Panthers with 19 points to go with four rebounds and a pair of steals while senior guard Bershard Edwards (Lehigh Acres, Fla.) finished with 17 points and six boards.
Freshman guard Jace Herrell (Charlotte, Tenn.) knocked down three threes on his way to 11 points and senior forward Zac Hill (Senoia, Ga.) added 10 points, five boards and four assists. Freshman guard Brodie Scott (Athens, Ga.) rounded things out with nine points.
The clubs would fight through a tie and three lead changes over the first 3:35, eventually ending up with LC holding a narrow 12-9 lead. That would change in short order as the Mountaineers' Isaac Caudill drained back-to-back three-pointers as part of an 8-0 run that put them up 17-12 by the 15:12 mark.
With the score at 19-16, Berea would score nine of the next 12 points to extend to a 28-19 advantage with 8:28 on the clock. The Panthers would cut it to five, 30-25, nearly two and a half minutes later only to see a pair of layups push it back to a nine-point deficit with 3:09 showing. From there they would use a 6-2 mini run to close the half and draw to within 36-31.
Smith would drill a three and come away with a tip-in in the opening minutes of the second half as LaGrange cut it to 38-37 by the 17:15 mark behind another 6-2 stretch. A triple by Trey Minter and traditional three-point play by Marquis Mackey then jumpstarted an 11-2 burst that increased the margin to double-digits at 49-39 just under six minutes into the frame.
Four different scorers then fueled an 8-0 run over the next 2:12 that put the Panthers right back in the game at 49-47. Minter would then drain another trey to ignite a 5-0 burst before a three-pointer by Edwards capped a 7-2 stretch and narrowed the gap to 56-54 with 8:27 to play.
Another Minter long ball kept the Panthers from finally getting over the hump and helped Berea maintain at least a four-point lead, 62-58, less than a minute and a half later. When it wasn't Minter squelching a potentially tying or go-ahead rally it was Caudill, who knocked in another triple and sparked a 6-0 run that made it 70-60 with 5:50 to play. From here LaGrange would get no closer than five points, 70-65 and 78-73, as the Mountaineers closed out the 80-73 victory.
Caudill drained 5-of-8 three-pointers on his way to a game-high 23 points to go with five boards and four assists to lead Berea while Minter was 4-for-4 at range for 16 points. He would add a game-high six assists along with a pair of steals and Jarel Montgomery finished with 13 points and two steals. Mackey and Bryce Riley rounded out the top performers with 10 points apiece.
The Panthers are back in action tomorrow, Saturday, February 11 when they play host to Belhaven. Game time is slated for 4 p.m. at historic Mariotti Gymnasium with Senior Day festivities set prior to tip.
