Berry's men's basketball team defeated Sewanee 68-63 in a Southern Athletic Association road game on Sunday afternoon in Sewanee, Tenn., stretching the team's winning streak to 10 games.
Berry (19-2, 10-1 SAA) now leads the conference after Sewanee upset Oglethorpe on Friday, and the Tigers rode the momentum from Friday's upset, coming out Sunday and playing with great confidence. Sewanee (6-15, 3-9 SAA) held on to a comfortable lead for the majority of the first half, connecting on 55 percent of its three-pointers (6-of-11).
With five minutes left in the half, Berry started to inch closer, closing the gap between them and the Tigers.
Michael Johnson took matters into his own hands with two minutes on the clock, scoring the last eight points of the half thanks in part to back-to-back threes, giving the Vikings a one-point advantage heading into the second half, 39-38.
It was anyone's game in the second half, with Sewanee holding a 51-48 lead midway through the period. Then
Chase Ellis sank a jumper that sparked a run.
Robbie Rusciano hit a three-pointer to hand the Vikings the lead, then after Ellis sank two free-throws, Ellis stepped up and sank a three-pointer, putting the Vikings up seven points at 58-51. The run continued, as
Austin Brooks and
Owen Honroth made baskets to cap a 14-0 run.
With almost three minutes left to play, the Tigers crept back with a three-point play, making it 63-60. Both teams would clamp down on defense, but with 15 seconds left, after the Vikings nearly exhausted the shot clock, an offensive rebound by Honroth meant Sewanee had to foul.
Blake Campbell would make two free-throws to stretch the lead to five, then after a Sewanee turnover, Johnson made a free-throw, missed the second, but got his own rebound and laid it in for an eight-point lead at 68-60 with just five seconds left to seal the win.
Brooks led the team with 19 points, with Ellis and Johnson adding 13 each. The team tallied 31 rebounds, with a team-high seven coming from Brooks.
The win sets up a game for the SAA regular season championship Wednesday against Oglethorpe at the Cage Center Wednesday night at 8 p.m.
