JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – The King University men's basketball team got off to a hot start against one of the region's top teams, Carson-Newman University. The Tornado held a 13-point advantage at the half, and held off a late Eagle charge to take the 77-66 road victory.
THE BASICS
FINAL: King 77, Carson-Newman 66
LOCATION: Holt Fieldhouse; Jefferson City, Tenn.
RECORDS: King 2-0; Carson-Newman 1-1
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
- The Tornado got off to a hot start behind a pair of triples from Darron Howard and Michael Mays around a layup from J'Son Brooks to take an 8-1 lead.
- The Eagles came back and evened the score at 13 as the teams traded blows until the Tornado broke a 19-19 tie with a 9-0 spurt.
- Brooks and Kenny Turner started the run with a pair of baskets before a Blake Atwood triple.
- Desmond Davis gave King a 28-19 lead with a fastbreak layup.
- Carson-Newman cut the Tornado lead to 35-29 before King closed the final 2:28 on a 9-2 run.
- Mays drilled a triple and jump shot before Brandon Lamberth made a pair of baskets in the final minute.
- Lamberth's second basket came as time expired, giving King a 44-31 lead at the half.
Second Half
- Carson-Newman came out and scored nine of the first 11 points to pull within 46-40 four minutes into the second half, but the Tornado responded.
- Mays drilled a three-point basket to end the Eagle spurt and extend the Tornado lead.
- The King lead was again cut down to six, but Mays again came up with a triple, pushing the Tornado lead back to 61-51 midway through the second half.
- Carson-Newman again cut their deficit to six, but this time it was Lamberth that came up with a three-point play to start a 7-0 King run.
- Atwood made a fastbreak layup and a Lamberth jump shot gave King a 68-55 with seven minutes remaining.
- The Tornado earned their largest lead of 14 on two occasions, the second coming following a pair of Lamberth free throws with three minutes remaining.
- From there, King closed out the 77-66 win at the free throw line.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Mays led King with 21 points, shooting 5-for-8 from three-point range and 7-for-11 from the floor.
- Lamberth followed with 15 points and six rebounds.
- Howard handed out a team-high four assists.
- Isaiah Curry led King with 10 rebounds.
FOR THE FOES
- Tripp Davis led Carson-Newman with 15 points and four rebounds.
- Bryant Thomas added 11 points and five rebounds.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- King defeats Carson-Newman for the second straight time with the last win coming in November of 2019.
- The last time the Tornado defeated the Eagles in back-to-back games came from 2008-11 when King won five straight contests.
UP NEXT
- King opens Conference Carolinas play on Saturday at Converse University. Tipoff from Spartanburg, S.C. is scheduled for 4:30 p.m.
- Carson-Newman opens South Atlantic Conference play on Wednesday at Tusculum University.
