Box score
BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. --- BJ Battle (Orlando,
Fla.) poured in a game-high 19 points to pace the Lees-McRae
College men's basketball team on Wednesday night, as the Bobcats
fell to NCAA Division I Gardner-Webb University by a 91-61
margin.
Gardner-Webb (2-1) shot 52.9 percent from the floor on the
night, including a 61.1 percent clip in the second half, while
limiting Lees-McRae (0-3) to a 43.1 percent mark from the field.
The Running Bulldogs won the battle on the glass by a 39-28 margin,
including a 15-9 edge on the offensive boards, while converting 21
Bobcat turnovers into 34 points.
Battle paced the Bobcats with a season-high 19 points on 7-of-14
shooting, as Jeremiah Henry (Semmes, Ala.) continued his strong
play to open the campaign with 16 points. Freshman Asad Lamot
(Mebane, N.C.) added 11 points and six assists, as Henry, Battle,
and Lamot tied for the team-high with four rebounds each.
Max Landis, Jason Dawson, and Tyler Strange each posted 12
points for Gardner-Webb, combining for 17 assists, as Kevin Hartley
chipped in 11 markers. Laron Buggs and Strange each posted a
game-high three steals, as Santoine Butler posted a contest-best
seven rebounds.
Gardner-Webb led wire-to-wire, opening an early 14-2 lead on a
Landis triple before the Bobcats responded with a 10-4 run to trim
the margin to 18-12 following a three-pointer by Lamot at the 12:21
mark. The Running Bulldogs countered with a 21-7 surge to close out
the half, heading into the intermission with a 38-19 lead following
a pair of freebies by Corey Hensley.
The Running Bulldogs carried the momentum into the second half,
opening the period with a 17-6 run to push the lead to 55-25 on a
Strange triple at the 15:29 mark. Gardner-Webb would hold on from
there, stretching the margin to as much as 42 points (86-44) on a
Dawson triple at the 5:46 mark. The Bobcats finished the night
strong, closing out the game with a 17-5 spurt over the final five
and a half minutes.
Lees-McRae returns to the court on Saturday when the Bobcats
host No. 5 Lincoln Memorial University at 4 p.m. in Williams
Gymnasium.
- LMC -
