The Men's Basketball team began the New Year by going on a long road trip to visit conference rivals Brevard College, Pfeiffer University, and William Peace in North Carolina. The first stop for the Mountaineers was to Brevard College, where Berea battled bravely in the second half but just could not wipe off a big first-half deficit. Afterwards, the Men's team had a quick turnaround to battle the #1 NCAA Division III team (ranked by StatGeek), Pfeiffer University. The Mountaineers gave all they had to upset Pfeiffer at their home, but could not topple the top team in the nation. The third game featured William Peace, where the Mountaineers could not battle off their fatigue and eventually fell to the Pacers.
In the first game against Brevard College, The Tornados came ready to play and blew away the Mountaineers in the first half by going creating a 20-point deficit halfway through the first half. Despite this, The Mountaineers kept fighting to the end which saw the first half end at 44-32. In the second-half, Hemenway's men came out with a bang, by getting the contest down to a 5-point game early in the second-half. However, this was still not enough as the Brevard College Tornado's eventually won the game 87-78. Freshmen Guard DeAndre Lightfoot led the Mountaineers with 17 points and 5 rebounds. Sophomore Terique Miller, playing in his first game back for the Mountaineers also contributed with 15 points and 5 steals.
In the second game of the road trip, The Mountaineers took on the aforementioned #1 Team in NCAA Division III, Pfeiffer University. The Men's team came in motivated. However, even with the Men keeping the game close for the majority of the first-half, the depth of Pfeiffer eventually flexed its muscles as the first half ended with the score of 66-46. The second half was no different as Pfeiffer played with the foot on the gas and the game ended 117-83. The Mountaineers were led by Freshmen Guard Travis Haydn Roe who had 21 points and 3 rebounds, and Sophomore Guard Terique Miller who had 16 points and 2 assists.
In the third game and final game of the trip, The Mountaineers played against William Peace to make it their 3rd game in 5 days. The Mountaineers and The Pacers went back-and-forth all first half with 4 lead changes occurring during this half. However, The Pacers had the last blow as they scored a 3 at the end of the half to led 27-24 after the 1st half. In the second half, the fatigue finally set in for the Mountaineers as they could not keep pace with the Pacers. William Peace went on a blazing run to have a lead up to 22 at one point. The game's final score ended at 79-60, with William Peace winning the game. The Mountaineers were led by Sophomore Guard Terique Miller who had 15 points and 2 assists in the game.
The Men's Basketball team will look to get back in the win column on January 13th, back home at the Seabury Center in a conference game against Greensboro College. The tip-off is set at 2:00 pm EST. It can also be viewed through Berea College YouTube livestream.