Second Half Comeback Leads to Buzzer Beater in Win Over Montreat

Gainesville, Georgia- The Brenau basketball team stormed back from a 20-point deficit to hit a game-winning shot with 0.3 seconds left on the clock to defeat Appalachian Athletic Conference foe Montreat (NC) College 67-65 on Wednesday.

The visiting Cavaliers stormed out to an early 20-15 lead in the first quarter and continued to pour in the shots in the second quarter. Montreat shot a blistering 53% in the second quarter and led by 20 points at the 2:52 mark, the largest lead of the game. Brenau answered back-to-back buckets by freshman Takarria Smith and junior Caylie Long in the final minute of the period to cut the deficit to 46-31 going into intermission. 

The Golden Tigers found their stride as the squad outscored the visitors 20-12 in the third quarter as Long scored nine points in the period to cut the deficit to only seven. In the fourth quarter, the squad continued to chip away at the Montreat lead as Smith hit a driving layup with 43 seconds remaining to cut the deficit to three points. 

After an offensive foul call on Montreat, junior point guard SG Bertolini found sophomore Sammi Spees in the right corner for the game-tying three pointer. With 18 seconds left and the game tied at 65-65, Montreat's Sanders turned the ball over to give possession back to the Golden Tigers with 4 seconds remaining. 

On the inbounds, senior Anna Gliatta split two Cavalier defenders for an uncontested layup with 0.3 seconds remaining to give Brenau a 67=65 win.

 Long led all scorers with a career-best 31 points on 12-15 shooting and added 10 rebounds. Gliatta posted 9 points, including the game-winner, while Bertolini added 8 points, 8 assists, and 4 rebounds. Smith also chipped in 6 points.

Sanders led Montreat with 28 points. 

Brenau (8-8 overall, 3-6 AAC) next hosts Pensacola Christian College (8-3 overall) in a non-conference game on Monday at 5:30 pm in Gainesville.