Box Score BRISTOL, Tenn. –
Isaiah Curry had another big night for the King University men's basketball team, leading the Tornado to a win over the University of Mount Olive. The Tornado pulled away from the Trojans late in the second half to hold on for the 96-88 victory.
THE BASICS
FINAL: King 96, Mount Olive 88
LOCATION: Student Center Complex; Bristol, Tenn.
RECORDS: King 10-8, 7-7 Conference Carolinas; Mount Olive 9-11. 8-8 Conference Carolinas
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
- Michael Mays got off to a hot start, making his first three three-point attempts leading King to an 11-7 lead two minutes into the contest.
- The teams then traded blows, until King tried to gain a little breathing room as a Desmond Davis layup gave the Tornado a 24-18 lead eight minutes in.
- A pair of Blake Atwood free throws started an 8-0 Tornado run that stretched the King lead from two to 10 points.
- J'Son Brooks followed with a layup before back-to-back layups from Kenny Turner and Darron Howard gave King a 32-22 lead and forced a Mount Olive timeout.
- King stretched their lead to 41-29 following two Curry free throws before the Trojans closed the half on a run.
- Mount Olive outscored King 9-4 over the final four minutes, cutting the King lead to 45-38 at the break.
Second Half
- Mount Olive started chipping away at their deficit early in the second half, pulling to within 50-47 in the opening three minutes.
- However, MJ Foust answered with a layup for the Tornado.
- The teams traded baskets with King holding the advantage and the Tornado extended their lead to 61-54 following another Foust basket.
- Davis later gave King a 68-58 lead before Mount Olive made a run, scoring 12 of the next 14 points, including 10 straight to even the score at 70.
- After the teams traded free throws, Turner made a pair of baskets that gave King a 76-72 lead with seven minutes remaining.
- King used four straight points to gain separation at 80-76 following a Howard layup.
- Mays knocked down a pair of free throw with 47 seconds left, giving the Tornado their largest lead of the game at 92-79.
- The Trojans had one last run, cutting their deficit to 94-88, but Davis made to free throws to ice the 96-88 victory.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Curry led King with 24 points and 10 rebounds. Six of those rebounds came on the offensive end.
- Mays followed with 19 points.
- Foust and Davis chipped in with 11 points each. Foust snared seven rebounds.
- King dominated in the paint and on the glass, outscoring the Trojans 58-40 in the pain and grabbing 40 rebounds to Mount Olive's 30.
FOR THE FOES
- Michael Brown scored 32 points and handed out six assists.
- Alan Treakle followed with 23 points.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- For the second time this week, Curry set a career high, scoring 24 points.
- His previous best was 19 on Monday night against Lees-McRae College.
- The double-double was Curry's fourth of the season and second of the week.
UP NEXT
- King takes to the road on Wednesday to take on Barton College. Tipoff from Wilson, N.C. is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
- Mount Olive next hosts Converse University on Friday night.
