Box Score FRANKLIN SPRINGS, Ga. – The King University men's basketball team took to the road to face a tough Emmanuel College team on Saturday afternoon. The Tornado got off to a hot start, extended their lead early, and held off a late first half Lion run. However, King couldn't hold off second half run from Emmanuel as the Lions took the Conference Carolinas tilt 72-64.
King (18-5, 12-3 CC) scored the first seven points of the contest as Mack Owens got King on the board with a tip-in and then drilled a three-point basket before Hunter LeVeau capped the run with a layup. LeVeau followed with one of his four triples in the game to give King a 10-2 lead five minutes in.
Brandon Martin drilled a triple eight minutes in and Mikquell Jackson followed with a layup to push King's lead to 19-7 following the quick 5-0 spurt. James Scales and Drew Standifer later gave the Tornado their largest lead of the game, 25-12 with back-to-back layups in the paint with seven minutes left to play in the first half.
However, Emmanuel (14-8, 10-5 CC) closed the half on a run, outscoring King 18-6 over the final six minutes. Shamarae Watts drilled a jumper for the Tornado with 39 seconds left in the frame to give King the halftime lead at 33-32 as the Lions scored 10 of the final 12 points in the half.
The teams traded buckets in the early going of the second half until Logan Lyle drilled three free throws after getting fouled on a three-point attempt and C.J. Good connected from long range, giving King a 48-40 lead with 12 minutes remaining. However, Emmanuel clamped down on the defensive end, and their offense started scoring.
The Lions scored eight straight points to even the score for the first time and grabbed their first lead at 50-48 with 11 minutes remaining. Emmanuel then converted five three throws to cap the 15-0 run that gave the Lions a 55-48 lead with nine minutes left to play. LeVeau ended the dry spell for the Tornado with a triple.
LeVeau then converted an old fashioned three-point play to pull King within four, and later drilled another trifecta that cut the King deficit to 59-57 with four minutes left. However, the Lions answered with back-to-back layups to stretch their lead back to six points. Good answered with a bucket, but King couldn't get any closer the rest of the way as Emmanuel took the contest 72-64.
The Tornado shot 36.2 percent from the floor, including a 26.5 three-point field goal percentage. King went 13-for-15 from the free throw line for an 86.7 percentage. On the other side, Emmanuel shot 42.3 percent from the floor and 13.0 percent from long range. The Lions shot 83.3 percent, 25-for-30 from the free throw line.
LeVeau led King with 23 points while Lyle added eight points. Owens and Good chipped in with seven points apiece while LeVeau, Owens and Watts all grabbed five rebounds each.
King returns home on Wednesday when they host Erskine College in the Student Center Complex. Tipoff is slated for 7:30 p.m.
