BATESVILLE – With just 23 days of practice before their first game, compared to over 40 in normal circumstances, the Lyon College men’s basketball team went toe-to-toe against the 17^th ranked team in the NAIA in the Talladega College Tornadoes. The Scots found themselves ahead, 62-61, with just over three minutes left in the game, but the Tornadoes escaped the Scots’ upset bid and won by a score of 74-70 on Saturday afternoon inside Becknell Gymnasium.

On the first game on the newly re-designed Terry Garner Court, Talladega jumped out to a 12-4 lead six minutes in. After a timeout by Lyon, the Scots responded with a 7-0 run as a layup by Ray Price cut the deficit to one at 12-11. A free throw by Winston Peace midway through the first half gave Lyon an 18-17 advantage before Talladega responded with a 10-2 run to take a 27-20 lead with 6:20 remaining. Talladega extended its lead to 40-30, but the Scots cut the deficit to 42-36 on a free throw by Faris Verlasevic before the end of the half.

Talladega once again pushed its lead to 10 in the opening minutes of the second half but the Scots pulled within three, 57-54, on a jumper by Cole Anderson with 8:12 remaining. Talladega tried to keep it a two-possession game, but the Scots kept chipping way and took a 62-61 lead late in the game on a pair of free throws by Dominique Loyd. The two teams went on to trade baskets before a three-pointer by Markel Williams gave the Tornadoes a 66-64 lead with just under two minutes to play. Talladega went on to hold off the Scots by making eight free throws during the final two minutes.

The Scots shot it well from the charity stripe as Lyon finished 36-for-41 as a team.

Price finished as the leading scorer for the Scots as he ended the game with 18 points to go along with nine rebounds. Verlasevic added 13 points off the bench, while Chris Craig finished with 10 points and nine rebounds.

The Scots have another tough challenge ahead of them as they host No. 19 LSU-Alexandria on Tuesday afternoon at 1 p.m.

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TALLADEGA, Ala. – Looking to bounce back after a tough loss in their season opener, Central Baptist College men’s basketball took on Talladega College today in the final game of the Fresh Start Classic at Callanan Gymnasium. CBC (0-2) trailed by six at halftime, but they couldn’t overcome the deficit, dropping a 71-69 decision to TC (1-1).

Tedrick Wolfe (SR/DeWitt, Ark.) led the way in scoring for the Mustangs with 20 points and he was joined in double figures by Kelvin Robinson (SR/Little Rock, Ark.) who had 14 points, including 10-10 at the charity stripe. Robinson also led the team in rebounds with eight while DeAndre Barton (SR/Hephzibah, Ga.) had five assists to lead the team. Talladega won from the field, outshooting CBC 46 percent to 42 percent, from the free throw line, shooting 77 percent to 74 percent and on the glass, grabbing 37 rebounds to just 24 for the Mustangs.

The lead changed hands four times in the first half with neither team leading by more than nine. Talladega took the lead, 19-16, with 8:05 left in the half and led from there, taking a 34-28 lead into halftime.

CBC charged back to open the second half, outscoring Talladega 12-4 over the first 3:02 of the second half to lead 40-38 with 16:58 left in the contest. Talledega would then go on a 9-0 over the next three minutes and change to take a seven point lead that CBC could never come back from. The Mustangs would get within one at 70-69 with nine seconds left, but TC made a free throw and CBC was unable to get up a quality shot to win.

Next up for the Mustangs is a trip to Muskogee, Okla., on Friday night for a game against Bacone. Tipoff from the Palmer Center is scheduled for 7 p.m. and you can find coverage of the game if you like and follow @gocbcmustangs on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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