FRANKLIN SPRINGS, Ga. – The Lees-McRae College men's basketball team fell in its regular season finale at Emmanuel Tuesday night in Conference Carolinas by a score of 95-84. The loss closes out Lees-McRae's regular season record at 18-10 overall and 11-9 in conference action.
Neither team had any trouble scoring in the first 20 minutes of action. However, Lees-McRae and Emmanuel did it in very different ways. The Lions got down in the paint and scored 28 points in the painted area alone. The Bobcats, meanwhile, turned to three-pointers to provide their offense. Lees-McRae was able to knock down eight triples in the first 20 minutes. With the contrasting styles at work, the Bobcats held a slim 48-46 lead into the break for halftime.
As well as the Bobcats were shooting from long range in the first half, the opposite happened for the team in the second half. Lees-McRae shot just 2-for-17 beyond the arc in the final 20 minutes of action. Emmanuel, meanwhile, got to the free throw line 21 times (12 made) in the half, continued its production inside (18 points) and dialed up a few three-pointers of their own (six). With Emmanuel's offense clicking on multiple different levels, it built a double-digit lead on the Bobcats and eventually won Tuesday's contest, 95-84.
For the seventh time this season, senior Kamil Williams eclipsed the 20-point mark in a game as he netted a team-high 23 points against the Lions. The trio of Jerick Haynes (18 points), Quay Kimble (13 points) and Andrew Gardner (12 points) also finished the night in double figures for the Bobcats.
Despite the loss, the Bobcats still clinched the No. 5 seed in next week's Conference Carolinas Men's Basketball Tournament on Tuesday. With the No. 5 seed, Lees-McRae will head to No. 4 seed Southern Wesleyan for the quarterfinal round on March 3. Tip-off between the Warriors and Bobcats is scheduled for 7 p.m.
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