Box score
BANNER ELK, N.C. --- Junior Daniel Sepokas
(Illawong, Australia) dropped in a clutch layup with less than two
seconds left in regulation to propel the Lees-McRae College men's
basketball team to an 83-79 victory in a Conference Carolinas
overtime thriller on Saturday evening in Williams Gymnasium.
Lees-McRae (8-14, 7-6 CC) posted a field goal percentage of 47
percent on the evening, including a 53.8 percent clip in the second
half, as St. Andrews (6-18, 1-11 CC) shot 46.8 percent from the
floor in the contest. The Bobcats won the battle on the glass by a
47-35 margin, including a 17-7 advantage on the offensive boards,
while converting 17-of-27 attempts at the free throw line.
Sepokas led all scorers with 21 points on 9-of-16 shooting,
nearly recording a triple-double with eight rebounds and a
game-high seven assists. Asad Lamot (Mebane, N.C.) added 14 points
and six assists, while Jeremiah Henry (Semmes, Ala.) chipped in 13
markers and five boards. BJ Battle (Orlando, Fla.) posted eight
rebounds and a game-high four steals, as Gideon Oji (Imane in Kogi,
Nigeria) added eight points and six boards with a 4-for-4 day from
the floor.
Ross Williams paced the Knights with 18 points on 8-of-12
shooting, as Aaron Christian and Ryan Streater added 17 and 14
markers, respectively. Streater chipped in game-highs of nine
rebounds and four steals, as Williams posted seven boards.
St. Andrews got off to a strong start in the first half, taking
an 18-13 lead on a Williams layup at the 12:52 mark. The Bobcats
responded with a 14-5 run, claiming a 27-23 advantage on an Oji
jumper with 6:59 to play in the period. After the Knights evened
the tally at 27-27 and the Bobcats pushed the lead to 32-27 on a
tip-in by Juan Urbina (Barquisimeto, Venezuela), St. Andrews closed
out the period with a 12-4 run to take a 39-36 advantage into the
intermission following a last-second lay-in by Christian.
Lees-McRae responded with an 11-0 run to open the second half,
taking a 47-39 lead on a Sepokas layup with 16:38 to play. After
Henry gave the Bobcats a 51-45 advantage with a jumper, St. Andrews
countered with an 8-0 run to claim a narrow 53-51 lead on a
Streater steal and slam at the 11:41 mark.
The teams would trade buckets over the next eight minutes, as
the Knights responded to a Sepokas freebie with layups by Williams
and Christian to snatch a 69-66 lead with 1:56 to play. After
Tillman cut the advantage to 69-68 with a lay-in, Williams
converted a critical three-point play to give the Knights a72-68
lead with just over a minute left on the clock.
Henry and Sepokas would answer the call for the Bobcats in the
final minute, as Henry converted a pair of free throws before
Sepokas dropped in a clutch layup with just over one second
remaining in regulation to send the game into overtime.
St. Andrews struck first in overtime, claiming a 74-72 advantage
on a jumper by Streater before the Bobcats responded with a 5-0
run, taking a 77-74 lead on a critical three-point play by Sepokas
with 3:01 to go in the period. After the Knights trimmed the margin
to one point on a pair of occasions, the Bobcats' clutch free throw
shooting took over, as Lamot and Sepokas converted five of six
attempts at the charity stripe over the final 30 seconds to hold on
for the win.
Lees-McRae returns to the court on Tuesday when the Bobcats host
King College in conference play at 7:30 p.m. in Williams
Gymnasium.
- LMC -
