Box Score BRISTOL, Tenn. – The King University men's basketball team started their home season in impressive fashion on Saturday afternoon, defeating Shorter University. King placed five scorers in double figures in the 108-75 victory.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: King 108, Shorter 75
LOCATION: Student Center Complex; Bristol, Tenn.
RECORDS: King 3-0; Shorter 1-3
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
- King got off to a hot start, opening up a 7-0 lead behind five points from Jordan Floyd as the Hawks called for a timeout in the opening two minutes.
- James Brown drilled a triple to give King a 12-0 lead before the Hawks got on the scoreboard four minutes into the contest.
- Shorter called another timeout following another Brown triple that put the Tornado ahead 15-2.
- In the opening 20 minutes, King shot 50.0 percent from three-point range, going 11-for-22.
- The Tornado defense was stifling all night long, forcing 14 Shorter turnovers in the first half as King scored 24 points off of those turnovers.
- The King lead grew to 50-18 following a Josh Releford triple in the first half.
- A Floyd trifecta in the final minute gave King a 64-34 lead at the break.
Second Half
- The Tornado opened the second half on a 9-2 run to take a 73-36 lead following a Floyd layup.
- King earned their largest lead of the game at 106-62 in the final four minutes on an Eric Sanders basket.
- From there, King took the contest 108-75.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- The Tornado only committed six turnovers in the contest, their fewest of the season.
- The King defense accounted for 18 steals and forced 21 Shorter turnovers.
- Floyd led five King scorers in double figures with 27 points. He added five rebounds and four assists.
- Brown followed with 16 points and seven rebounds while Mike Salomon added 15 points and a team-high nine rebounds.
- Releford chipped in with 14 points while Damion Ottman accounted for 10 points and five rebounds.
FOR THE FOES
- Bryan Polanco led Shorter with 18 points and 15 rebounds while Frenki Lilaj added 12 points.
- Keeving Etienne chipped in with 11 points.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- The six turnovers for the Tornado is their least amount of turnovers since February 6, 2018, when they had six against North Greenville University.
- King has had less than 10 turnovers in the last three games, their longest such stretch since 2017-18 when they had a four-game stretch.
UP NEXT
- King is in action again on Monday night when they take on Lee University at 7:00 p.m. in the Student Center Complex.
- Shorter hosts Pensacola Christian College on Tuesday.
