CENTRAL, S.C. – The King University men's basketball put together one of their best performances of the season on Tuesday night in a win at Southern Wesleyan University. The Tornado defense held one of the top shooting teams in the league under 40 percent, while the King offense shot nearly 60 percent in the 83-76 victory.
THE BASICS
FINAL: King 83, Southern Wesleyan 76
LOCATION: Tysinger Gymnasium; Central, S.C.
RECORDS: King 11-11, 8-10 Conference Carolinas; Southern Wesleyan 13-7, 11-5 Conference Carolinas
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
- Scoring was tough to come by in the early going, but it picked up in the middle as Southern Wesleyan opened up a 16-8 lead.
- The Tornado worked their way back with six straight points on baskets from Connor Jordan, Michael Mays and Desmond Davis to even the score at 18.
- Darron Howard drilled a triple, giving King their first lead at 21-19 with eight minutes remaining in the half.
- Following a Kenny Turner basket, Southern Wesleyan scored six straight points to take a 27-23 lead.
- The lead then changed hands twice over the final four minutes of the half before a Jordan basket with one minute remaining gave King a 41-38 lead at the break.
- The Tornado shot 52.9 percent from the floor in the opening half while holding Southern Wesleyan to a 34.2 field goal percentage.
Second Half
- The Tornado hot shooting continued in the second half as they made 60.9 percent of their shots.
- On the defensive end, the Tornado were nearly as impressive, holding Southern Wesleyan to a 41.7 field goal percentage.
- The teams traded baskets in the early going before three straight Southern Wesleyan triples gave the Warriors a 53-49 lead.
- Jordan brough the Tornado back with a triple and jump shot to regain before a Brandon Lamberth layup gave King a 58-55 lead eight minutes into the half.
- The Warriors made another run, taking leads of 65-64 and 67-66 before consecutive baskets from Howard and Turner that gave the lead back to King.
- The Tornado again extended their lead to six, but the Warriors came back and took a 74-73 lead with 2:44 remaining.
- However, Isaiah Curry and Jordan responded with a pair of free throws and layup, giving King the lead for good with two minutes remaining.
- Jordan and Mays then iced the 83-76 victory at the free throw line.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- King shot 56.1 percent from the floor, their second-best shooting percentage this season.
- Jordan led King with 21 points while Mays followed with 17 points.
- Jordan shot 8-for-9 from the floor, including 2-for-3 from long range.
- Curry and J'Son Brooks added 11 points apiece with Brooks going 4-for-4 from the floor.
- MJ Foust grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds.
FOR THE FOES
- Julian Cameron led five Southern Wesleyan scorers in double figures with 17 points.
- Tranard Ferrell added 10 points and a team-high nine rebounds.
- The Tornado defense held the second-best three-point shooting team in the league to 31.4 percent (11-for-35) from long range.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Jordan set a career-high with 21 points, topping his previous best of 19 set last season against Belmont Abbey College.
- The 12 rebounds for Foust also set a career best. His previous high of 11 came last season against the University of Mount Olive.
UP NEXT
- King stays on the road to take on Erskine College on Friday night. Tipoff from Due West, S.C. is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
- Southern Wesleyan travels to fifth-ranked UNC Pembroke on Friday night.
