SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The King University men's basketball team fell at Converse University on Tuesday night. The Tornado led for the majority of the first half, but Converse used a big run in the second half to take the lead and the contest 82-67.
THE BASICS
FINAL: Converse 82, King 67
LOCATION: Tom and Tracy Hannah Gym; Spartanburg, S.C.
RECORDS: King 5-13, 4-7 Conference Carolinas; Converse 10-11, 8-5 Conference Carolinas
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
- The Tornado got off to a hot start behind triples from Josh Jackson and Michael Mays.
- However, Converse took a 7-6 lead before the Tornado scored 12 straight points.
- Darron Howard scored seven points on the run that gave King their largest lead of the half at 18-9 six minutes into the contest.
- Converse came back to pull within four, but King answered with five straight points, capped by a Jaylen Bernard dunk and Myles McCrary layup midway through the half.
- A Mays layup late gave King a 29-20 lead before six straight Converse points cut into the Tornado lead.
- Back-to-back baskets from Amarius Beasley and Howard capped a 7-0 King run, giving the Tornado a 36-26 lead.
- Consecutive layups from Bernard and Howard extended the King lead back to 10 before a Jordan Warlick triple cut the Tornado lead to 42-35 at the break.
- The Tornado shot 50.0 percent in the opening 20 minutes while Converse shot 42.9 percent.
Second Half
- A Brandon Lamberth three-point play extended the Tornado lead to 47-40 three minutes into the second half.
- Howard then gave King a 49-44 lead with 15:48 remaining.
- However, the Converse defense held the Tornado without a point for nearly 10 minutes and without a field goal for more than 12 minutes.
- In that time, Converse scored 20 consecutive points to take a 64-49 lead before a pair of McCrary free throws.
- Lamberth made a layup with 3:39 remaining to pull King within 71-55.
- The Tornado couldn't get closer than 14 points over the final three minutes as Converse took the contest 82-67.
- King shot 24.2 percent in the second half while Converse shot 61.5 percent.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Howard led King with 16 points while Mays and Lamberth followed with 11 points apiece.
- Kenny Turner chipped in with nine points and five rebounds.
- The Tornado shot 37.3 percent from the floor.
FOR THE FOES
- Converse shot 50.8 percent from the floor and were led by a pair of 20-point outbursts.
- Uzziah Dawkins and Bosko Bojovic scored 25 points each with Bojovic adding 14 rebounds.
UP NEXT
- King returns to the court on Saturday at UNC Pembroke. Tipoff from Pembroke, N.C. is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.
- Converse hosts Belmont Abbey College on Saturday.
