Toppers Slip By Golden Tigers

The Brenau basketball team led Blue Mountain College for thirty nine minutes, but allowed the visitors to escape in the final minute in a 61-59 loss in Gainesville on Monday.

After a pair of Dominique Patrick free throws gave the Golden Tigers a 59-58 lead with 32 seconds remaining, the Toppers' Andrea Lewis sank a shot with 16 seconds on the clock to seal the win.

In the first quarter, both teams were evenly matched as each squad traded baskets to a 15-15 tie. In the second quarter, Briah Woods' jumper evened the score at 25-25, which ignited a 9-0 run to close the half. Junior Jasmine Knight dropped in a fast break layup, while a pull-up jumper from Patrick increased the lead to 29-25. After a free throw and a driving layup from Que Turner increased the lead to 32-25, fellow senior Maegan Kenimer sank in a short jumper right before the buzzer to give the Golden Tigers their largest lead.

The Golden Tigers took an eight point lead into the final stanza, but bogged down on offense as the Toppers outscored the home team 22-12 to escape with the win.

"This was a tough loss for us," said head coach Kris Stewart. "Our second quarter was really solid, but we had a late scoring drought and didn't make plays in the final few minutes. This time of year is hard on all teams and every game is a toss up. We will regroup and try and finish strong in the final two conference games."

Woods led Brenau with 15 points and eight rebounds, while Knight added 11 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Sophomore Kaylyn Brooks added eight points.

Andrea Lewis led Blue Mountain with 18 points.

Brenau outshot Blue Mountain 48% to 37% from the floor.

Brenau (16-10 overall, 9-9 SSAC) next travels to Mount Vernon, Georgia to take on Brewton Parker College on Thursday. Tipoff is at 5:30 pm.