BRISTOL, Tenn. – In a matchup of a pair of two of the top teams in Conference Carolinas, the King University men's basketball team fell to a solid Belmont Abbey College team on Saturday afternoon. The Crusader defense kept the King offense off-balance in a big second half, taking the contest 100-78.

THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Belmont Abbey 100, King 78
LOCATION: Student Center Complex; Bristol, Tenn.
RECORDS: King 6-2, 1-1 Conference Carolinas; Belmont Abbey 7-2, 3-0 Conference Carolinas

HOW IT HAPPENED

First Half

• The opening 20 minutes went back-and-forth with four lead changes and six ties.
• The Crusaders raced out to a 10-5 lead before Mike Salomon drilled a triple to even the score.
• Belmont Abbey used a 6-0 spurt to extend their lead to 28-21, their largest of the half midway through the opening period.
• However, King answered with an 11-3 run that evened the score at 32 on a Josh Releford triple.
• Damion Ottman followed with a jump shot to cap a 7-0 run and give King a 34-32 lead.
• The Tornado later led 39-37 before the Crusaders closed the final six minutes of the half on a 10-6 run.
• Romeao Ferguson gave the Crusaders a 49-45 lead when he connected from long range at the halftime buzzer.

Second Half

• The teams traded baskets early in the second half, but Belmont Abbey went on an 8-0 run, extending their lead to 60-49 four minutes into the half.
• From there, the Belmont Abbey defense dug in as they held the high-powered Tornado offense to a 33.3 field goal percentage in the second half.
• On the offensive end, Belmont Abbey shot a blistering 69.2 percent in the second half and 63.3 percent in the game.
• The Tornado never could find a rhythm on offense in the second half as the Crusaders opened up a 23-point advantage and eventually took the game 100-78.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Jordan Floyd led King with 16 points.
• James Brown followed with 13 points and six rebounds.
• Releford chipped in with 12 points while Ottman added six points and eight rebounds.

FOR THE FOES

• Dequan Abrom and Ferguson led Belmont Abbey with 28 points and five assists apiece.
• Ryan Shaffer added 12 points.

UP NEXT

• King continues their homestand on Wednesday when they take on Southern Wesleyan University at 7:30 p.m.
• Belmont Abby hosts Lees-McRae College on Saturday.