BRISTOL, Tenn. – The King University men's basketball team was unable to hang with the hot-shooting Converse Valkyries, falling 104-91 inside the Student Center Complex.
THE BASICS
FINAL: Converse 104, King 91
LOCATION: Student Center Complex; Bristol, Tenn.
RECORDS: King 6-19, 5-13 Conference Carolinas; Converse 14-13, 12-7 Conference Carolinas
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
- After two and a half minutes without either team scoring, the Valkyries scored five points in quick succession before Chad Dreswick hit a hook shot to get King on the board, down 5-2.
- The Converse lead eventually reached 9-4, before Henry Okoye hit a layup to bring it to 9-4.
- Jaylen Bernard hit a driving layup with 8:35 to go, which was quickly followed by a jumper from Jordan Akal, bringing King within two, 21-19.
- After the Tornado were within three, down 27-24 with 6:44 left, Converse went on a 16-9 run over the next 4:08, taking a 43-33 lead with 1:54 to play.
- Michael Mays would score eight of the next 14 points, getting the Tornado within 45-40.
- After the Valkyries drilled a three, Josh Jackson would hit a layup as time expired, making it 48-42 heading into halftime.
Second Half
- The Valkyries started the half on a 11-4 run over the first three minutes, taking a 59-46 lead.
- Converse extended their lead to 15 with 14:33 left before Mays knocked down a pair of free throws to get King to within 65-52.
- Converse continued to stretch their lead, shooting lights out from beyond the arc to take what would end up being a 80-60 lead with just over 10 minutes to play.
- Mays would hit a pair of free throws with 4:30 left to play to get the Tornado within 87-71, but another three from the Valkyries got them back to a 19 point lead.
- After another Converse three, Jackson knocked down a triple of his own, starting a 16-3 King run that got them within 10, 97-87 with 44 seconds to play, but that was as close as they would get.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Mays led all scorers with 34 points. It was his second consecutive game with 30+ points.
- Mays also went 10-of-10 from the free throw line, and has now made 48 free throws in a row.
- Darron Howard and Myles McCrary both pulled seven rebounds.
FOR THE FOES
- Uzziah Dawkins scored 17 points for the Valkyries, while Trey Smith scored 16 points in just 13 minutes played.
- Bosko Bojovic had nine rebounds and 15 points.
UP NEXT
- The Tornado will host Chowan Sunday afternoon in the second game of their three-game homestand.
- Converse will be at Emmanuel on Tuesday night.
