WILSON, N.C. –
Malik McConnell was fouled with 12 seconds remaining in the contest, with the Lees-McRae men's basketball team down by one, and converted both free throw attempts to lift the Bobcats to a thrilling 83-82 road win against Barton in the Conference Carolinas contest this afternoon.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Lees-McRae – 83; Barton – 82
LOCATION: Wilson Gymnasium – Wilson, North Carolina
RECORDS: Lees-McRae (7-3/5-2), Barton (4-5/2-3)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Drew Gardner clinched his eight career double-double with a team-high 22 points, on 7 of 15 shooting from the field, and a career-high 14 rebounds to pace the Bobcats.
- McConnell shot 6 of 13 from the field and 7 of 9 from the charity stripe for 19 points to go along with two rebounds and four assists.
- Jaylin Stewart chipped in 10 points, while London England added nine points on 3 of 3 shooting from distance and Gabe Bryant tallied eight points and six rebounds.
- Both teams traded points for the majority of the first half until a layup by Follie Bogan gave the Bobcats a 31-24 lead with 5:16 left in the first stanza.
- Barton responded with a run of their own and used a late free throw to hold a 38-37 halftime lead.
- The lead never rose above five points for the first 10 minutes of the second half, with a layup by Bryant giving the Bobcats a 62-57 lead at the midway point.
- The Bobcats held a nine-point lead with just over five minutes remaining, but a late Bulldog rally held the lead at 82-81 with 25 seconds remaining.
- McConnell was fouled with 12 seconds remaining and converted both free throws to give the Bobcats the 83-82 lead.
- The last-second shot by Barton missed as Lees-McRae held on for the conference win.
- The Bobcats held a 43-36 edge in rebounding and a 29-8 advantage in bench production.
FOR THE FOES:
- Malik Bryant scored a game-high 24 points to go along with five rebounds and four assists to pace the Bulldogs.
- Trevon Spencer, David Campbell, and Donaven Hairston finished with 18, 17, and 15 points respectively.
NOTEWORTHY:
- With his 22 points against Barton, senior Drew Gardner is now only 19 points away from reaching the 1,000-point plateau for his career.
UP NEXT:
The Bobcats will take a few weeks off to celebrate the holidays, before returning to action on Tuesday, Jan. 4 at 7 p.m. with a conference match against Southern Wesleyan.
For more information on Lees-McRae Athletics, follow the Bobcats on Twitter (@LMCBobcats), on Facebook (Lees-McRae Athletics), and on Instagram (leesmcraeathletics).
