CCS MEN'S HOOPS: Berea battles past Earlham College, 77-65
Dec. 21—BEREA — Isaac Caudill saw plenty of familiar faces in the crowd on Tuesday at the Seabury Center.
The Berea College senior — an education major who has been working at Farristown Middle School — got to play in front of his students.
"Even before the game, (some of them) came up to me and gave me hugs," Caudill said. "It was really nice having them here to cheer me on. It was just really cool."
Berea College welcomed hundreds of students from Farristown, Foley Middle School and Glen Marshall Elementary onto campus for special afternoon match-up with Earlham College (1-9).
And the Mountaineers gave the kids plenty to cheer about on "Blue Christmas."
Trey Minter had 29 points, four rebounds and four assists as Berea (7-5) earned a 77-65. Caudill had 19 points and three rebounds, while Jarel Montgomery added 11 points and six rebounds.
"At the end of the game, I looked up and the Farristown students are up here waving at the Earlham free throw shooter and Santa is right in the middle of it," Berea College coach Austin Newton said. "We wanted to create a wild atmosphere. It was a fun time for our team and our community."
The Mountaineers trailed by 10 points early in the first half, but rallied and took a double-digit lead before going into the half up 38-34.
Berea College shot 52 percent from the field for the game, including 65 percent in the second half. The Mountaineers were 9-of-20 from three-point range, including 4-of-6 from Caudill and 3-of-5 from Minter.
Minter was also 10-of-12 from the free throw line.
Berea was 16-of-24 overall from the line.
The game featured four technicals — two on each team — four ties and just one lead change.
Bryce Riley had 10 points and eight rebounds for Berea. Andrew Jones had five points and two rebounds. Marquis Mackey had three rebounds and two assists.
"Bryce had a really good game," Newton said of the freshman from Bardstown. "We got a little help and contributions from all over the place."
The Mountaineers are set to return to action Jan. 3 at Campbellsville University-Harrodsburg.
