BANNER ELK, N.C. – The King University men's basketball team handed rival Lees-McRae College their first defeat of the season on Thursday night. The Tornado used a barrage of triples early in the second half to gain separation and held off a late Bobcat run to take the contest 99-96.
THE BASICS
FINAL: King 99, Lees-McRae 96
LOCATION: Williams Gymnasium; Banner Elk, N.C.
RECORDS: King 6-10, 5-9 Conference Carolinas; Lees-McRae 5-1, 5-1 Conference Carolinas
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
- The pace was quick early as Lees-McRae took a 10-8 lead four minutes.
- However, the pace slowed down in the middle of the half as Lees-McRae gradually extended their lead to 22-14.
- Darron Howard, Damion Ottman and Brandon Lamberth add three straight baskets to pull King back within two with seven minutes remaining until halftime.
- The Tornado trailed 28-25 when Howard and Josh Releford drilled back-to-back triples that put King ahead.
- JaMarquis Johnson then collected an offensive rebound and converted a three-point play before connected on a three-point basket to put King ahead 39-34 in the final minute.
- The Bobcats scored the final five points of the half, cutting the King lead to 39-38 at the break.
Second Half
- Johnson started the second half with a triple and Howard followed with two more in the opening minute to give King a 48-40 lead.
- The Tornado lead grew to 51-40 following and Isaiah Curry layup two minutes into the half.
- J'Son Brooks made a layup and followed it with a triple before an MJ Foust steal led to a Blake Atwood layup for a quick 7-0 Tornado run.
- That spurt gave King a 63-49 lead with 13:37 remaining and forced a Bobcat timeout.
- King held their lead around 10 points for the next five minutes as the teams traded baskets.
- Lees-McRae pulled within 77-74 with six minutes remaining following a Jamarius Hairston triple as King called for a timeout.
- Ottman scored four points for the Tornado out of the break, extending the King lead back to 81-74.
- The Bobcats came back again, scored five straight points before a Releford three-point play and Ottman triple gave King an 87-79 lead with three minutes remaining.
- Lees-McRae made one last run, outscoring King 8-2, the final six points on back-to-back triples that evened the score at 91 with 1:45 remaining.
- However, Foust found Curry for a layup to the put the Tornado ahead on the next possession.
- King then closed out the 99-96 win with six free throws in the final minute.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Howard led the Tornado with 21 points on 8-for-12 shooting from the floor, making all three of his three-point attempts. He added six rebounds and three assists.
- Johnson added 13 points while Curry accounted for 12 points and seven rebounds.
- Ottman scored 12 points to go along with six rebounds and Brooks chipped in with 11 points.
- Foust snared a team-high eight rebounds and handed out six assists.
FOR THE FOES
- Hairston led four Lees-McRae scorers in double figures with 23 points.
- Quay Kimble added 16 points and seven rebounds.
- Anthony Hicks and Cale Harris chipped in with 12 and 10 points, respectively.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Howard eclipsed the 20-point plateau for the third time in his last four games.
- The six assists for Foust set a career-high, topping his previous best of four.
UP NEXT
- King returns home on Saturday as they take on North Greenville University at 4:00 p.m. in their final home game of the regular season.
- Lees-McRae hosts Belmont Abbey College on Saturday afternoon.
