Offensive woes doom Covenant

Covenant got exactly what it wanted on the defensive end in the fourth quarter against Heritage-Lynchburg in the consolation bracket of The Daily Progress NBC29 Holiday Classic.

The Eagles held the Pioneers without a single field goal for the entire fourth quarter, limiting Heritage to just five points, all from the free-throw line.

“We did exactly what we wanted to do,” said Covenant coach Ben D’Alessandro. “We converted on the defensive end exactly like we set out to do. We just did not convert on the offensive end.”

The Eagles just couldn’t convert on the offensive end during the staunch defensive effort and fell 50-45 to Heritage at Charlottesville High.

Heritage (5-4) relied heavily on dribble-drive penetration and used the tactic to ignite a nice third quarter, building a 45-32 lead largely on the strength of an 8-0 spurt midway through the third. Tevan Crews had four points during the run and finished with 14 to lead the Pioneers.

“That’s a big win for us,” said Heritage coach Dan Stephens. “We’re a young team that has struggled in close games, and to beat a good team like that and have to protect the lead to do it was really important to us.”

Sylvon Jones and Chris Phelps chipped in 10 points each to aid the Pioneers’ effort.

Stephens’ squad managed to hit enough free throws down the stretch and played solid enough on-ball defense to force Covenant into some tough shots. The Eagles went scoreless for more than three minutes after closing the gap to 45-42. The drought ended with a Brian Clarry three-pointer with two seconds on the clock, but it was too little, too late. Clarry finished with nine to lead the Eagles, while Sam Dale chipped in eight points and Maleek Frazier added seven.

“I feel very good about our game today — I feel good about our team,” D’Alessandro said. “We’re taking a lot of positives out of this game. Sometimes things just don’t bounce your way.”

The Eagles did a terrific job on the defensive end against an athletic, speedy Heritage squad, pressing most of the contest. In fact, Covenant stopped the Pioneers on 10 straight possessions in the fourth. Still, the defense wasn’t enough to spark an Eagles squad that’s still winless after facing a difficult schedule that has included private powerhouse Blue Ridge and public juggernaut R.E. Lee.

Covenant will face Heritage in the seventh-place game of the Classic tomorrow, while Heritage will take on Waynesboro in the fifth-place contest. Both games will be held at Albemarle.