BRISTOL, Tenn. – Four players scored in double figures for the King University men's basketball team Saturday night, but it wasn't enough, as the Tornado fell to Carolina University, 100-95.
Michael Mays scored 19 points to lead the Tornado offense.
THE BASICS
FINAL: Carolina 100, King 95
LOCATION: Student Center Complex; Bristol, Tenn.
RECORDS: King 5-12, 4-6 Conference Carolinas; Carolina 9-9
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
- The teams traded buckets early, with three points being the largest lead for either team until the 6:44 mark, when the Bruins went ahead 34-29.
- After the Carolina lead went to 38-34, Malik Payton hit a three, bringing the Tornado to within one, 38-37.
- King tied the game on a layup by Eric Sanders with 3:37 left.
- The Bruins would score five points over the next 45 seconds to take a 46-41 lead, which the Tornado were able to narrow to 46-45 with just under two minutes left.
- After the Bruins hit a free throw with 1:39 left, they got the last bucket of the half to go ahead 49-45 entering halftime.
Second Half
- The Bruins struck first in the second half, scoring the first three points to stretch their lead to 52-45 with 17:47 left.
- King would go on to narrow the lead, getting to within 56-52 with 15:59 to play, but the Bruins quickly hit a three on the other end to establish a 59-52 advantage.
- After the lead turned into eight points, Mays hit a three with 14:05 left, which was followed by Darron Howard grabbing a defensive rebound and feeding Myles McCrary, who converted the dunk to bring King within one possession.
- Howard would then hit a jumper a short time later to make it a 60-59 Carolina lead.
- The Bruins took their largest lead of the night with 8:40 left when they hit a layup to go ahead 79-66.
- The lead stretched to 86-72 with 6:33 left, which is when the Tornado started to cut into it, starting with a fastbreak triple from Henry Okoye.
- Despite the Tornado getting to within four points in the closing minutes, they were unable to pull off the rally, as the Bruins held on for a 100-95 win.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- McCrary finished with 14 points, which is a new career-high. He narrowly missed a double-double, grabbing nine rebounds.
- Kenny Turner also scored in double figures, scoring 17 points while Brandon Lamberth had 13 points and nine rebounds.
FOR THE FOES
- The Bruins had 20 players clear the 20-point mark, led by a 27 point performance from Micah Cooper, with Amarie Elijah-Kirby adding 25 points and 12 rebounds.
- D'Shun Edwards scored 15 points and had seven rebounds while Ethan Bell scored 10 points on the night.
UP NEXT
- King will begin a two-game road trip Tuesday when they face Converse before returning to Bristol on Feb. 1 to face Emmanuel.
- Carolina University will face Limestone Wednesday night in Gaffney, S.C.
