Box score
GAFFNEY, S.C. --- Junior Jeremiah Henry
(Semmes, Ala.) turned in a double-double, and Daniel Sepokas
(Illawong, Australia) poured in seven of his game-high 13 points
during a critical second-half stretch to lead the Lees-McRae
College men's basketball team to a 67-59 win over Limestone College
in Conference Carolinas play on Thursday night.
Lees-McRae (1-9, 1-1 CC) posted a field goal percentage of 41.8
percent on the night, including a 44.4 percent clip in the first
half, while winning the battle on the glass by a 45-31 margin.
Limestone (7-8, 0-3 CC) equaled the Bobcats' mark with a 41.8
percent clip from the floor as Lees-McRae held a 26-22 edge in
points in the paint.
Sepokas paced the Bobcats with a game-high 13 points, going
5-for-12 from the floor as Henry chipped in a double-double with 12
markers and a team-best 14 rebounds. BJ Battle (Orlando, Fla.) and
DJ Brown (Anderson, S.C.) each added nine points, while DeAndre
Tillman (Charlotte, N.C.) posted eight markers and six boards.
Ryan Bogdan led the way for Limestone with 12 points on 4-of-7
shooting from beyond the arc, as Nick Debnam and Marquis Sloan each
added 10 markers. Charles Blue chipped in a game-high 15 rebounds,
while Debnam and Jamal McNeill each posted a contest-best four
assists.
The game proved to be a tightly contested affair, with neither
side opening a double-digit advantage at any point during the
evening. The Bobcats snatched the early advantage on a
three-pointer by Corey Young (Bluff City, Tenn.), taking a 14-8
lead with 15:13 to play in the half before the Saints responded
with a 14-0 run to claim a 22-14 margin at the 12:24 mark.
Lees-McRae rose to the challenge, battling back to even the
score at 25-25 with an 11-3 run over the next eight minutes,
capping the spurt with a Young triple at the 4:17 mark. Limestone
would answer once again with a 14-8 spurt, taking a 39-33 lead on a
triple by Josh Corry before the Bobcats countered with a 5-0 spurt
of their own to close out the half.
Limestone opened the second half with a 5-2 spurt, claiming a
44-40 advantage before the Bobcats responded with a 10-4 run to
take a 50-48 lead on Tillman's jumper at the 10:07 mark. The Saints
reclaimed the narrow advantage at 53-52 two minutes later before
Sepokas took control, knocking down back-to-back jumpers to give
the Bobcats a 56-53 lead with 7:23 to play.
After Henry banked in a layup and Phillip Moultrie answered with
a bucket of his own for Limestone, Sepokas buried a three-pointer
to put the Bobcats up 61-55 at the 4:22 mark. Sepokas' triple would
prove to be the decisive blow, as the Bobcats held on over the
final four minutes en route to their first win of the season.
Lees-McRae returns to the court on Saturday when the Bobcats
host Pfeiffer University to continue their conference slate.
Tip-off is slated for 4 p.m. in Williams Gymnasium.
- LMC -
