BANNER ELK, N.C. –
Justin Nichelson was fouled on a last-second shot, with the Lees-McRae men's basketball team down by two in the closing seconds, and converted all three free throw attempts to lift the Bobcats to a thrilling 81-80 win over "Battle for the Blue Ridge Cup" rival King in the Conference Carolina contest this evening.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Lees-McRae – 81; King (Tenn.) – 80
LOCATION: McNair & Debi Tornow Court – Banner Elk, North Carolina
RECORDS: Lees-McRae (4-1/2-0), King (Tenn.) (3-2/1-2)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Malik McConnell paced the Bobcats in scoring with 19 points on 9 of 14 shooting from the field to go along with five assists and a steal.
- Nichelson finished with 11 points on 4 of 5 shooting from the charity stripe to go along with seven rebounds and two blocks.
- Follie Bogan and London England chipped in nine and eight points respectively each grabbing three rebounds.
- Timon Jones added six points and seven assists, while Sidney Dollar finished with eight points and three rebounds.
- Both teams matched each other point-for-point in the first 20 minutes of action until used a late three-point field goal by Bogan to hold a 38-33 edge at halftime.
- Nearly team held more than a six-point lead down the stretch, with the Tornado using a 9-0 run to hold a 78-75 lead with 37 seconds remaining.
- Drew Gardner knocked down a clutch three-point field goal with only 20 seconds remaining to even the score at 78-78.
- After King tallied a pair of free throws to give themselves an 80-78 lead with only five seconds remaining, Nichelson received the ball beyond the three-point line and was fouled on his attempt with only 0.3 seconds left.
- Nichelson calmly knocked down all three of his free throw attempts to give the Bobcats an 81-80 win over their rivals.
- Lees-McRae held a 48-26 edge in bench points and a 31-23 advantage in fastbreak points, while King maintained a 40-35 rebounding edge.
FOR THE FOES:
- Michael Mays paced the Tornado with a team-high 19 points to go along with three rebounds.
- Darron Howard and Brandon Lamberth scored 13 and 10 points respectively, while Isaiah Curry added eight points, a game-high 13 rebounds and three assists.
UP NEXT:
The Bobcats will hit the road this weekend as the visit conference newcomer UNC Pembroke on Friday, December 3 at 7 p.m.
For more information on Lees-McRae Athletics, follow the Bobcats on Twitter (@LMCBobcats), on Facebook (Lees-McRae Athletics), and on Instagram (leesmcraeathletics).
