Matt Smith, Campus Carrier Assistant Sports Editor

The Vikings basketball team (3-12) faced off against the Toccoa Falls College Eagles on Tuesday, Jan. 22 in Toccoa, Georgia, suffering their 11th consecutive loss with a score of 85-78 despite a comeback in the second half.

Senior guard Hunter Smoak led Berry’s team with 26 points. He scored nine goals from the field and scored seven three point baskets. Smoak’s three-point shooting left him one basket short of a school record.

 Senior guard Mac Whalen followed close behind Smoak with 15 baskets and four assists. Freshman forward Douglas Cotter added to the Viking’s effort with 10 points, his career best. Sophomore forward Owen Jacobs walked away with a game-best of 10 rebounds.

Early on in the game, the Eagles took a strong lead and at halftime held the Vikings at a score of 40-22. While the Eagles led by up to 25 points during the beginning of the second half, the Vikings started to make a recovery, scoring 56 points in the second half while only allowing 45 by the Eagles.

Vikings basketball head coach Jeff Roberts said he thought the team had a slow start that prevented them from completing their comeback.

“For the majority of the game, we did not give our best effort,” Roberts said. “We got into a hole early and didn’t have enough gas in our tank to carry it out… We didn’t play our best defense, and didn’t make all our shots.”

The Vikings ended the game with a field goal percentage of 38.7, scoring 29 and missing 75.

The Vikings made 37 rebounds, five more than the Eagles, and allowed for 30 turnovers. The Eagles scored 19 points off the Vikings’ turnovers.

The Eagles finished with a field goal percentage of 45.8%, scoring 27 and missing 59. Four of their players scored points in the double digits. They allowed 27 turnovers during the game, which accounted of 29 of the points scored by the Vikings, most during the second half.  

Jacobs said that he thought that the team had a chance to take the game, but their comeback fell through.

“I felt like it was a game we could have won,” Jacobs said. “We were not all clicking and came out a little sluggish. I was proud of our team for battling back in the second half and giving us a chance to win”

Roberts, who is in his first year as Vikings basketball head coach, said that while the record is not where they want it to be, he expects the young Vikings team of 13 players to find success in the years to come.

“It is an unusual situation, inheriting such a young team,” Roberts said. “When we stated the year we only had five veterans: three seniors and two sophomores. What we want is to define the culture of Berry basketball through the upcoming years. If we give it our all to make the difference, add new players to the mix each year, I think we can be on our way to competing for a conference championship.

The Vikings will play in the Cage Athletic Center against the Sewanee Tigers on Friday, Jan. 24th .