BRISTOL, Tenn. – After these two teams battled on Thursday in North Carolina, King University hosted Belmont Abbey College less than 48 hours after these two teams met for the first time this season. The Tornado avenged Thursday's two-point, overtime loss with a 78-72 victory over the Crusaders on Saturday.
THE BASICS
FINAL: King 78, Belmont Abbey 72
LOCATION: Student Center Complex; Bristol, Tenn.
RECORDS: King 3-8, 2-7 Conference Carolinas; Belmont Abbey 9-3, 7-2 Conference Carolinas
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
- Belmont Abbey jumped out to a 4-0 lead following baskets from Charles Solomon and Chandler Baker.
- King then went on a 15-3 run to jump out to a comfortable lead that they never surrendered.
- The Tornado lead stayed between six and 10 points for the majority of the half before a triple from JaMarquis Johnson gave King a 28-15 advantage.
- The two teams traded baskets for most of the remaining time in the first half. The closest the Crusaders ever came before halftime was to within eight points.
- King forced a turnover right before the half ended which led to an easy layup for Isaiah Curry that gave the Tornado a 36-23 lead at the break.
Second Half
- Belmont Abbey opened the second half on a 10-2 run to close the deficit to 38-33. That was the closest the Crusaders came for the remainder of the game as King regained a double-digit advantage with 11:42 remaining in the contest.
- The Tornado used an 11-4 run to extend their advantage to 57-43 with less than ten minutes remaining.
- King held their lead for nearly 37 minutes and recorded their largest lead of the game at 65-49 with 7:22 left.
- Quite a few free throws from Belmont Abbey trimmed the margin in the final moments of the game. One final push from the Crusaders cut it to six, at 78-72, before the horn sounded.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Connor Jordan led the Tornado for the second straight game as he tallied 15 points, two rebounds and one assist.
- MJ Foust flirted with a double-double as he posted 12 points and nine rebounds.
- Johnson and Curry both joined the double-digit scoring club, adding 12 and 10 respectively.
FOR THE FOES
- Solomon led the Crusaders with a game-high 23 points and team-high eight rebounds.
- Quest Aldridge added 15 points, three rebounds and five assists.
- LJ McCoy chipped in with 10 points and five rebounds.
UP NEXT
- King returns to action on Tuesday when they travel to North Greeneville University. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
- The Crusaders will host Erskine College on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.
