BRISTOL, Tenn. – The King University men's basketball team earned a hard fought Conference Carolinas victory on Tuesday night in the Student Center Complex. King gained a sizable lead early, but had to come back late in the second half.
Josh Releford drilled a triple with 28.1 seconds remaining to put King ahead as the Tornado took the contest 74-72.
THE BASICS
FINAL: King 74, Mount Olive 72
LOCATION: Student Center Complex; Bristol, Tenn.
RECORDS: King 2-2, 1-1 Conference Carolinas; Mount Olive 0-3, 0-3 Conference Carolinas
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
- Darron Howard ignited the Tornado offense in the middle of the first half with a jump shot.
- MJ Foust had a steal and dunk on the 13-2 run before back-to-back three-point baskets from Tyler Murray and Releford gave King a 26-14 lead.
- A Foust layup in the final two minutes gave King their largest lead of the game at 31-18.
- Mount Olive then scored the final five points of the half, cutting the Tornado lead to 31-23 at the break.
Second Half
- The Trojan defense was tough in the early going of the second half as they went on a run to take their first lead of the game with 14 minutes remaining.
- In all, Mount Olive scored 11 straight points that opened up a 45-40 lead with 12 minutes remaining.
- Howard even the score at 45, but Mount Olive responded and extended their lead to 54-46 three minutes later.
- A triple for Matthias Caver gave Mount Olive their largest lead of the game at 62-53 with five minutes remaining, but the Tornado answered.
- King scored five straight points as the teams started to trade baskets down the stretch.
- Releford and Michael Mays connected on consecutive three-point baskets, cutting the Tornado deficit to 66-63, but the Trojans came back with a triple.
- A Releford trifecta and two Blake Atwood free throws pulled King within 69-68 before Mays drove the lane and made a floater that put King ahead 70-69 with one minute remaining.
- Mount Olive regained the lead on an Alan Treakle three-point basket, but Releford had the answer 11 seconds later when he connected from long range at the top of the key with 28.1 seconds remaining.
- The King defense then forced a couple turnovers and Releford sealed the 74-72 win with a free throw.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Mays led the Tornado with 22 points while Releford followed with 18 points.
- Releford went 5-for-9 from three-point range and 6-for-11 from the floor.
- Foust added 10 points, 11 rebounds, three assists, two blocks and two steals.
FOR THE FOES
- Treakle led Mount Olive with 21 points, going 10-for-12 at the free throw line.
- Caver added 19 points while Johnny Hughes III added eight points and 10 rebounds.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Foust posted his first career double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
UP NEXT
- King returns to the court on Friday when they take on Southern Wesleyan University at 7:00 p.m. The Tornado take on the Warriors again on Saturday at 4:00 p.m.
- Mount Olive is in action again on Friday and Saturday when they host North Greenville University.
