BRISTOL, TENN. –
Justin Nichelson buried a three-pointer at the buzzer to lift Lees-McRae to the 73-70 victory over Carson-Newman on Friday night.
Nico Ashley,
Brandon Brown, and
Williams Onyeodi led the Bobcats with 11 points apiece in their Bobcats' season-opener.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Lees-McRae – 73; Carson-Newman – 70
LOCATION: Student Center Complex– Bristol, Tennessee
RECORDS: Lees-McRae (1-0/0-0), Carson-Newman (1-0/0-0)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Nichelson knocked down a step-back three with zero seconds left in regulation after an assist to Timon Jones as the Bobcats prevailed 73-70 after the Eagles rallied back after being down by 14 points with 10 minutes to play.
- Ashley got the Bobcats on the board with a three-pointer 48 seconds into the first half, but Carson-Newman pushed its lead to 8-3 at the 16:43 mark after a layup via Thomas Bryant.
- Lees-McRae used a 9-0 run to take the 21-17 edge after Brown connected on a fastbreak jumper with 5:02 remaining in the first half. The Eagles retook the lead after a jumper by Bryant at 26-25, but Jaylin Stewart answered on the ensuing possession with a three at the 2:37 mark.
- Jeremy Golson made his first three-pointer of the game with 1:26 remaining in the first and connected on another with 23 seconds as the Bobcats carried the 36-29 lead into the halftime break.
- In the start of the second half, Carson-Newman got back within one point after a fastbreak layup at the 18:59 mark, but Ashley pushed the Bobcats back out to a four-point lead with 18:44 left after a three-pointer.
- Lees-McRae went on a 6-0 run over a two-minute span as the Bobcats held the 50-41 at the 14:20 mark. Golson made his third three-pointer of the night with 12:06 remaining in the second half as Lees-McRae led 55-43.
- Carson-Newman cut the deficit to single digits and only trailed by five points at the 6:49 mark of the second half after they rallied for a 9-0 scoring run. Sidney Dollar stopped the Eagles' run with two free throws as the Bobcats' lead climbed back to 11 points with 5:34 remaining in the contest.
- Caleb Bridgewater of Carson-Newman knocked in a three with 2:47 left in the contest as the Eagles only trailed by one point and took their first lead of the half at 68-67 after a made shot via Thomas.
- Onyeodi gave Lees-McRae the 69-68 advantage after a made jumper with 51 seconds left in the second half and Stewart doubled the lead to two points after hitting the front-end of his two free throws at the charity stripe.
- Nichelson connected on his first three on the game as the Bobcats knocked off Carson-Newman by a final of 73-70.
- Lees-McRae shot 41.0% (25-61) from the field and made eight three-pointers in their season debut. The Bobcats went 15-20 from the free-throw line and held a decisive edge in bench points at 49-9. Lees-McRae had 21 points off 20 Carson-Newman turnovers and scored 30 points inside the paint.
- The three newcomers for the Bobcats (Ashley, Brown, and Onyeodi) led the charge with 11 points apiece as Golson had nine points in his Lees-McRae debut. Stewart chipped in nine points in 25 minutes of action as he dished out two assists in the victory.
FOR THE EAGLES:
- Thomas led the way for Carson-Newman as he collected a double-double with a game-high 28 points and 10 rebounds. Tyler Bowens joined Thomas in double-figures as he scored 10 points for the Eagles.
- Carson-Newman went 24-for-56 (42.9%) from the floor with three three-pointers and 19-28 from the charity stripe. The Eagles produced 16 second chance points off 14 offensive rebounds.
UP NEXT:
The Bobcats have a quick turnaround as Lees-McRae will face UVA Wise tomorrow afternoon at 2 p.m. in Bristol.
For more information on Lees-McRae Athletics, follow the Bobcats on Twitter (@LMCBobcats), on Facebook (Lees-McRae Athletics), and on Instagram (leesmcraeathletics).
