BRISTOL, Tenn. –
Jaylen Bernard scored a career-high 18 points Saturday afternoon, but it wasn't enough as the King University men's basketball team dropped a nonconference contest to Columbus State, 88-75.
THE BASICS
FINAL: Columbus State 88, King 75
LOCATION: Student Center Complex; Bristol, Tenn.
RECORDS: King 3-5; Columbus State 5-2
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
- The Cougars jumped out to an early 8-2 lead, with Brandon Lamberth hitting a layup for the Tornado.
- After a Lamberth dunk made it 8-4, Columbus State would score six consecutive points before Jordan Akal drilled a three to make the score 16-7.
- Myles McCrary hit a driving layup with 8:48 to play, then converted the ensuing free throw to trim the Cougars lead to 24-18.
- Columbus State then went on a 10-0 run, expanding their lead to 34-18.
- The teams would trade buckets for the rest of the half, with King getting the last make when Kenny Turner made a layup with 1:07 to play, making it 46-26 Columbus State at halftime.
Second Half
- Coming out of the locker room, the Cougars hit the first bucket before Bernard drilled a long three that made the score 48-29.
- A short time later, Akal scored four consecutive points, bringing the Tornado to within 50-33.
- Columbus State knocked down a pair of free throws with 9:18 to play, which was followed by Darron Howard taking a pass from McCrary and hitting a triple of his own, making it a 69-51 lead.
- The teams would continue to exchange buckets, with Howard and Turner hitting back-to-back buckets to make the score 79-61 with 3:33 to play.
- Bernard would score seven points in the final three minutes, but the Tornado were unable to close the deficit.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Bernard finished with 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field, going 3-of-5 from beyond the arc.
- McCrary tied his career-best with nine rebounds, while also scoring nine points and going 3-of-3 from the free throw line.
- Amarius Beasley handed out a career-high three assists.
FOR THE FOES
- Nelson Haskin led all scorers with 19 points, while also pulling seven rebounds.
- Wisdom Uboh had 17 points, while Kalen Clifton contributed 10.
- Lederrius Jones dished out four assists.
UP NEXT
- The Tornado will return to conference play on Dec. 10 when they travel to Franklin Springs, Ga. to take on Emmanuel.
- Columbus State takes on Tuskegee University on Dec. 9.
