Posted by Gene Renfro - Wed, Feb 27, 2008 - [ Men's Basketball ] - Viewed 260 times

BRISTOL, Tenn. – The Union College Bulldogs, the No. 7 seed, took a 62-57 Appalachian Athletic Conference tournament victory over Covenant (Ga.) College, the No. 10 seed, Wednesday at Viking Hall in Bristol, Tenn.

The Bulldogs improved to 19-12 while Covenant’s season comes to an end with a 9-22 record. Union advances to play Bluefield (Va.) College, the tournament’s No. 2 seed, Thursday morning at 8:30 a.m.

Union owned an eight-point advantage in the 30 seconds and Covenant cut the lead down to three with a few seconds to go and Brian Kirk (Augusta, Ky.) sunk a pair of free throws with seven seconds left to add to the cushion.

The Bulldogs owned a 34-27 advantage after the first 20 minutes of the game. A pair of free throws from Chris Stunson (Richmond, Ky.) gave Union an eight-point lead, 31-23, with under five minutes left in the first half. The Bulldogs never trailed in the contest.

Kearney Demus (Lexington, Ky.) scored a team-high 13 points for the Bulldogs. It was the sixth time the sophomore has broken double-digits this season. He also was a part of the 36 Union bench points. Demus was among a trio of Bulldogs that grabbed five rebounds a piece. Aaron Dunaway (Lexington, Ky.) and Josh Hurd (Independence, Ky.) were the other two with five boards.

Covenant was led by Dan Nielson with a 20-point outburst. James Cunningham chipped in 11 points.

Union made 19 of the 48 shots taken and in comparison, Covenant went 14-for-26 from the field. The Bulldogs held a 42-38 advantage in the rebounding category.

The Bulldogs forced Covenant to turn the ball over 17 times while they only committed 11. When Union’s opponents commit more turnovers, the Bulldogs are 10-1 this season.

Union will look for the first win of the season over Bluefield, now ranked 20th nationally, Thursday. The Rams of Bluefield swept the season series over Union. The last time the two met was on Feb. 9 in Barbourville, and the Rams of Bluefield won 91-78.

Bulldog Notes

  • Union and Covenant split the season series, with each team winning on their home floor. The last meeting was on Feb. 2, when Covenant won 71-67. Union won the first matchup, 76-69, on Dec. 4.
  • The Bulldogs are now 6-0 on neutral courts.
  • Union went to 2-1 on Wednesday games.
  • When holding their opponents to under 60 points, the Bulldogs are 5-0.