DUE WEST, S.C. — The King University men's basketball team rallied from being down 11 in the closing minutes, but were unable to complete the late comeback, falling to Erskine College 80-77 Friday night.
MJ Foust had 19 points to lead King.
THE BASICS
FINAL: Erskine 80, King 77
LOCATION: Belk Arena; Due West, S.C.
RECORDS: King 11-12, 8-11 Conference Carolinas; Erskine 4-20, 4-16 Conference Carolinas
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
- King scored the first five points of the game, with Michael Mays hitting a three and Brandon Lamberth taking a pass from Connor Jordan and hitting a bucket to give the Tornado an early 5-0 lead.
- The Tornado stretched their advantage to 17-11 with 14 minutes to play before Erskine hit back-to-back jump shots to get to within 17-15.
- That would set the stage for the next 10 minutes, where King would open up a lead, only to have Erskine get to within a basket.
- Things changed for the Flying Fleet with 4:27 to play when they hit a layup to tie the game, taking the lead a short time later and outscoring King 16-9 to end the half with a 42-37 lead.
Second Half
- King outscored the Flying Fleet 10-4 in the opening minutes of the second half to take a 47-46 lead on a layup from Isaiah Curry.
- Erskine then scored nine consecutive points over the next two minutes to take a 55-47 lead with 14 minutes to play.
- The Tornado got a jump shot from Kenny Turner with 9:33 to play to trim the Erskine lead to 62-54 before Blake Atwood went coast-to-coast, hitting a layup.
- A 9-4 Erskine run gave them a 71-60 advantage with just over five minutes to play.
- King went on a 16-7 run, cutting the Flying Fleet lead to 78-76 on a Mays three-pointer with 17 seconds to play.
- The Tornado grabbed a rebound on the defensive end, but a costly turnover gave the ball back to Erskine with six seconds to play.
- The Flying Fleet would hit a pair of free throws to extend their lead to 80-76, securing the win.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Foust finished with 19 points and nine rebounds, leading King in both categories.
- Mays added 18 points, on 3-of-4 shooting from beyond the arc.
FOR THE FOES
- Jalen Edwards finished with 19 points for Erskine, also pulling six rebounds.
- Jaylen Prioleau had a double-double, scoring 14 points with 10 rebounds.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- The Tornado had seven blocked shots as a team, their most of the season.
- Foust tied his season-high of points.
- Jaylen Bernard had a career-high four rebounds.
UP NEXT
- King will be back on the court Saturday when they face Emmanuel at 4:30 p.m.
- Erskine will host Lees-McRae Saturday afternoon
