Adrian Thomas (C’20) goes for the basket against Covenant. Photo courtesy of Lyn Hutchinson.
By J.T. Mitchell
Staff Writer
The second day of the annual Lon Varnell Classic did not go as planned for the Sewanee men’s basketball team as the Tigers fell to mountain rival Covenant College, 71-62.
Sewanee, the host of the annual invitational, kept the Scots close for the first 15 minutes of the contest.
Joey Knox (C’21) then hit his free throws with 5:55 remaining in the first half to cut the lead to 22-20 and give his team the momentum.
With momentum now on their side, the Tigers began to pull away, going on a 14 to 5 run to close out the half and head into the locker room with a halftime lead of seven points.
Good things continued to happen for Sewanee at the start of the second half. The Tigers hit a couple of jump shots to extend their lead to 12 with 16:29 to go.
Then, the Scots and Will Crumly, brother of Sewanee’s Johnny Crumly (C’20), turned it on. Will, a 2018 All-American, scored a big basket down low to begin the Scots’ 16-4 run that eventually tied the ballgame at 48.
The final 15 minutes were all Covenant as they outscored Sewanee 23-14 to close out the contest. Crumly led the Scots with 12 rebounds and 12 points, while guard Mitchell Hollis had a career day, posting 29 points on 6-8 from downtown.
For the Tigers, Joey Knox had yet another big night, contributing 18 points. Adrian Thomas (C’20) nearly had a double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds. Brother Johnny Crumly finished with four points and two rebounds.
Nonetheless, the senior forward was excited to face off against his brother for the third time in three years.
“It’s really special playing against him—definitely one of the highlights of every season for me,” Crumly said. “[I’m] bummed his team won, but I’m 2-1 against him, so I’ve got the bragging rights in the series.”
The younger Crumly did get the best of his older brother and the Tigers this time around, but all the 2018 SAA Champions can do is continue to look forward.
“We are looking forward to a great week of practice, Crumly continued. “Losing at home is absolutely a wake-up call, and hopefully, we can turn things around in our next game.”
The team had a chance to turn things around when they took on LaGrange College on Friday, November 16 at the Birmingham-Southern Black Tie Classic in Birmingham, Alabama.