Laurinburg, NC--In their first contest of the new year the
youthful Bobcats fell short of adding one to the win column, losing
to host school St. Andrews Presbyterian College 70-61 in Conference
Carolinas action. The Knights improve thier record to 2-8 (1-2
conference), while the Bobcats fall to 2-8 (1-3 conference).
With five freshman starting the game, Lees-McRae battled with
the Knights exchanging the lead six times with their conference
opponent in the first fifteen minutes of the game. With five
minutes to go the Knights went up 20-19, then proceeded to go on a
11-4 run to take a 31-23 lead into halftime.
In the first half St. Andrews shot 56%, while the Bobcats was
held to 42.9% from the field and committed 14 turnovers.
After the halftime break, St. Andrews continued their momentum
from the last minutes of the first half, building a 21 point lead
(50-29) on a 19-6 run. However, the Bobcats continued to claw
their way back into the game, returning the favor with a 19-4 run
of their own to pull back within six (54-48) at the 8:11 mark.
In a valiant effort to the end the Bobcats managed to get the
score to within six four times during the second period including
at the 1:36 mark. However, the Knights hit 6-8 from the line to
seal the nine point victory 70-61.
Lees-McRae was led by the Kingsport, TN native, freshman Aaron
Willey's 12 points (4-4) and five boards. Teammate Raysean Hairston
(Elizabethtown, NC) with ten points was the only other Bobcat to
score in double figures in the contest.
For the Knights it was junior point guard Charles Phillips
(Decatur, GA) setting the pace with 20 points and six steals.
Junior Joseph Gripper (Charlotte, NC) and senior Marcus Hoke
(Charlotte, NC) scored 12 and 11 points respectively.
The Bobcats return to Banner Elk to host Conference Carolinas
opponent Queens University at 7:30pm on Wednesday, January 9th.
BOX
SCORE
