BRISTOL, Tenn. —
Michael Mays scored 25 points Wednesday night to lead the King University men's basketball team to a 92-81 win over North Greenville University. The Tornado trailed in the game for all of 10 seconds, while leading for over 28 minutes.
THE BASICS
FINAL: King 92, North Greenville 81
LOCATION: Student Center Complex; Bristol, Tenn.
RECORDS: King 12-13, 9-12 Conference Carolinas; North Greenville 6-17, 4-16 Conference Carolinas
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
- King took an early lead as Connor Jordan knocked down a three just 50 seconds into the game to give the Tornado a 3-0 lead.
- The Crusaders responded with back-to-back buckets, taking their only lead of the night, 4-3.
- Mays hit a three of his own, giving the Tornado a 6-4 lead with 17:54 to play.
- That kicked off a 7-4 King run that saw them stretch the lead to 13-8.
- King eventually took a 25-14 lead with 12:05 to play in the half on another Mays three.
- North Greenville was able to get to within three with 1:22 remaining in the half, but J'Son Brooks hit a layup, drew the foul and hit the free throw, giving King a 47-41 lead.
- The Crusaders would go on to hit a three in the closing seconds to cut the King lead to 47-44.
Second Half
- The Tornado came out of the locker room and scored the first seven points of the half, with Mays hitting a three and Brandon Lamberth making a layup and a thunderous dunk to put King up 54-44.
- North Greenville scored the next six points, before Connor Jordan hit a layup to make it a 56-50 King lead with 15:59 left.
- The Tornado took a 64-54 lead with 12:41 to play when Jordan hit a three off an MJ Foust assist.
- The turning point came with 4:15 to play, with the game tied at 77 when Desmond Davis hit a driving layup, giving King a 79-77 lead.
- Foust responded 20 seconds later with a steal and a monster dunk that made it 81-77 and spelled the end of the night for North Greenville.
- King would end the game on a 15-4 run, with Foust and Curry both scoring four points during the final five minutes of the game.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Mays finished with 25 points and six rebounds while shooting 58.8% from the field.
- Jordan had 13 points, while Lamberth scored 12.
- Foust was tied for the team lead in rebounds with six, while Jordan and Isaiah Curry both dished out four assists on the night.
FOR THE FOES
- Two Crusaders cleared the 20 point mark, led by a 22 point performance from Draylan Burton. CJ Jamison finished with 20 points.
- Seth Hewitt pulled nine rebounds, while Kameron Hobbs and Jacob Redding dished out three assists.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- This was the seventh time this season that Mays scored 20+ points. In his career, he now has 10 20-point games.
UP NEXT
- The Tornado will continue their season-ending homestand Saturday afternoon when they host Barton College at 4:30 p.m.
- North Greenville is back in action Friday night when they host Emmanuel College.
