BRISTOL, Tenn. – In what was a contest you would imagine when rivals square off, the King University-Lees-McRae men's basketball game had nearly everything on Monday night. Each team led by double figures in the contest, and the homestanding Tornado need some heroics to send the contest to overtime. Following
Connor Jordan's game-tying buzzer beater at the end of regulation, the Tornado outscored Lees-McRae 21-9 in the extra session to take the contest 109-97.
THE BASICS
FINAL: King 109, Lees-McRae 97 (F/OT)
LOCATION: Student Center Complex; Bristol, Tenn.
RECORDS: King 8-7, 5-7 Conference Carolinas; Lees-McRae 11-4, 9-3 Conference Carolinas
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
- Lees-McRae jumped out to a lead and held the Tornado off in the early going, taking a 17-11 lead five minutes into the contest.
- Back-to-back baskets from Jordan and Michael Mays pulled King back within two, but Lees-McRae extended their advantage to 29-21 with a 12-6 run.
- A Lees-McRae basket with 7:53 remaining until halftime put King behind 34-23.
- With 6:48 a Darron Howard basket, followed by an MJ Foust three-point play got the King offense going.
- That ignited a 22-3 run to close the first half, giving King a 45-37 lead at the break.
- King scored 10 straight points as a Howard triple evened the score at 36 and a Jaylen Bernard trifecta gave King their first lead at 39-36.
- Bernard then made a layup following an Amarius Beasley steal with one minute remaining to give King the advantage going to the second half.
Second Half
- The Tornado held their lead around 10 points at the beginning of the period before a triple from Mays and jump shot from Isaiah Curry gave King their largest lead of the game at 62-48 with 15 minutes remining.
- Lees-McRae chipped away at the deficit, however, pulling within 64-61 midway through the period.
- King had an answer for each Bobcat bucket, but Lees-McRae eventually evened the tally at 73 with five minutes remaining.
- A Drew Gardner three-point basket gave the lead back to the Bobcats at 78-77 with 3:43 remaining.
- Over the final five minutes, the lead changed hands five times and there were five ties.
- Curry gave King an 85-84 lead with a pair of free throws with 44 seconds left, and Lees-McRae regained the lead with a Jaylin Stewart jump shot.
- Lees-McRae made one-of-two free throws with 13 seconds remaining, giving King a chance to tie, but the shot was off the mark.
- The Bobcats again made one-of-two free throws to lead 88-85 with 4.5 seconds remaining.
- Jordan collected the inbound pass and dribbled into the front court, pulling up from 25 feet.
- His shot hit nothing but net, evening the score at 88, sending the contest to overtime.
Overtime
- Curry, Howard and Jordan scored the first six points of the extra session, giving King a 94-90 lead.
- Lees-McRae pulled within four on two occasions, but the Tornado offense was too tough to stop as they had an answer each time.
- Mays and Howard made a pair of baskets, giving King a 102-95 lead before Mays and Jordan iced the 109-97 win at the free throw line.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- King dominated the glass, outrebounding Lees-McRae 43-28, including a season-high 18 offensive rebounds.
- Curry and Mays led five King scorers in double figures with 19 points apiece.
- Curry went 5-for-8 from the floor and 9-for-10 from the free throw line. He also snared a game-high 14 rebounds.
- Jordan and Howard added 15 points each while Foust chipped in with 13 points and three assists.
FOR THE FOES
- Stewart led seven Lees-McRae scorers in double figures with 20 points.
- Gardner followed with 15 points while Malik McConnell added 12 points, five rebounds and three assists.
- Jamarius Hairston scored 11 points.
- Timon Jones, Sidney Dollar and London England scored 10 points each.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Curry set a career-high with 14 rebounds. His previous high of 13 came in November at Lees-McRae.
- Curry also set a career-high with 19 points.
UP NEXT
- King returns to action on Tuesday night at Bluefield State College. Tipoff from Bluefield, W.Va. is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. King topped the Big Blue 96-91 last Tuesday in Bristol.
- Lees-McRae hosts Southern Wesleyan University on Wednesday evening.
