EMORY, Va. – The King University men's basketball used a run early in the second half to gain an advantage at Emroy & Henry College. However, the Wasps used a run late to take a lead and hold on for the 80-76 victory.
THE BASICS
FINAL: Emory & Henry 80, King 76
LOCATION: King Center; Emory, Va.
RECORDS: King 6-21; Emory & Henry 15-10
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
- King jumped out to a 7-2 lead behind a triple from Darron Howard and baskets from Brandon Lamberth and Malik Payton.
- Another Lamberth basket gave King a 16-12 lead before seven straight Emory & Henry points gave the Wasps a 19-16 lead.
- A Myles McCrary layup and Howard triple gave the lead back to King at 27-23 with seven minutes remaining in the half.
- King extended the lead to 37-29 with an Eric Sanders triple and Lamberth layup before the Wasps closed the gap down the stretch.
- Emory & Henry pulled within two on two occasions before Sanders made a basket in the waning seconds to give King a 41-37 lead at the break.
Second Half
- Howard connected from long range to start the second half, extending the Tornado lead as the teams began to trade baskets.
- The King lead grew to seven following a Payton triple as King held the advantage.
- A Sanders triple stretched the Tornado advantage to 64-58 before the Wasps went on a run.
- Emory & Henry scored 10 straight points to take a 68-64 lead before Jordan Akal made a layup.
- The King deficit grew to six before a Henry Okoye three-point play pulled the Tornado within 74-71 with five minutes remaining.
- Sanders evened the score at 76 with a layup, but the Wasps responded with a basket to regain the lead.
- Emory & Henry then made a pair of free throws to take the game 80-76.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Sanders and Howard led the Tornado with 14 points apiece.
- Lamberth added 12 points.
- Myles McCrary and Okoye chipped in with eight points and seven rebounds each.
FOR THE FOES
- Gabe Brown led four Emory & Henry scorers in double figures with 20 points and seven rebounds.
- Jalen Leftwich added 19 points while Keven Grau Rodriguez and Jake Moynihan chipped in with 12 points each.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- The 14 points for Sanders sets a career-high, topping his previous best of seven.
UP NEXT
- King closes the regular season on Wednesday night against Southern Wesleyan University. Tipoff from the Student Center Complex is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. The winner of the contest will be the 10th seed in the Conference Carolinas Men's Basketball Championship.
- Emory & Henry travels to Carson-Newman University on Wednesday night.
