BELMONT, N.C. – The King University men's basketball team won their fourth conference game in a row with a 79-74 victory over Belmont Abbey on Wednesday evening.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: King 79 – Belmont Abbey 74
LOCATION: Wheeler Center; Belmont, N.C.
RECORDS: King 9-9, 6-3 Conference Carolinas | Belmont Abbey 1-12, 0-10 Conference Carolinas
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
- Seth Cullen started the evening with a three-point shot and The Tornado would lead until for the following 15 minutes of the game.
- Jordan Akal hit the next three shots for King, all of them from beyond the arc. Mikhail Pocknett and Akal hit back to back shots to give King their first two-digit lead just over five minutes into the game at 17-7.
- King's largest lead of the night came when Xavier Betancourt hit a step back shot to make it 22-11 with 11:03 to play in the opening half.
- Belmont Abbey tied the game at 28 with just under four minutes until halftime and then took a five-point lead into the locker room with a three-point shot at the buzzer.
Second Half
- The first points in the second half came on a Belmont Abbey layup at the 17:58 mark to give them their largest lead of the night.
- King responded with eight straight from Akal and Betancourt. Both teams traded baskets for the next six minutes before the Crusaders pushed their lead to five with just under nine minutes to play.
- Betancourt tied the game with a layup and three free throws. Belmont Abbey tied the game for the final time at 3:25.
- Out of the media timeout, Akal hit back-to-back three pointers to give King the lead. Cam George made it a nine-point lead on a fastbreak from a turnover in the paint dunk with 25 seconds left.
- Belmont Abbey got four more points to end the game but King held onto the lead 79-74.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Jordan Akal scored 27 points hitting 9 three-pointers. This tied a school record for most three-point shots in a game and is his season-high.
- Mikhail Pocknett added 21 points and pulled down 14 rebounds. Xavier Betancourt rounded out the double-digit scorers with 15 points, 7 coming from the charity stripe.
- As a team, King outscored Belmont Abbey 28-26 inside the paint and 22-9 on second chance points.
FOR THE FOES
- Dionte Alexander led the Crusaders with 26 points. Khamani Wertz added 17 and Jordan Patton contributed 15.
- Alexander and Patton had team-high 5 rebounds each, while Wertz had a game-high 6 assists.
UP NEXT
The King University men's basketball team is back on the road on January 25
th as they travel to Florence, S.C. to take on Francis Marion.
