TIGERVILLE, S.C. – Lees-McRae men's basketball overcame a two-point deficit at halftime to secure the 83-75 Conference Carolinas victory on Wednesday night at North Greenville.
Williams Onyeodi led five Bobcats in double-digit scoring as the senior forward registered 16 points on an efficient 6-7 shooting from the field.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Lees-McRae – 83; North Greenville – 75
LOCATION: Hayes Gymnasium – Tigerville, South Carolina
RECORDS: Lees-McRae (4-7/1-4), North Greenville (1-9/0-4)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Timon Jones opened the scoring for Lees-McRae with his first of four three-pointers on the night at the 19:31 mark of the first half. The Bobcats elevated their advantage to 12-3 after a 9-0 which was capped a made jumper by Nico Ashley.
- Follie Bogan extended Lees-McRae to eight with a fastbreak basket with 10:24 remaining in the first, but North Greenville drew even at 32-all after a three by Crusader Zak Perdew. NGU took the two-point lead into the halftime break after a made free throw by Perdew.
- Onyeodi and the Bobcats regained the lead at 39-37 after Onyeodi scored the first four points for Lees-McRae in the second half. Onyeodi then drained a three-pointer as the Bobcats grew their lead to 48-39 at the 16:36 mark of the second half.
- Jones knocked down another three for Lees-McRae as the Green and Gold held a double-digit margin for the first time in the game at 55-44 with 12:35 left in the contest.
- North Greenville answered with a 7-0 run to cut the deficit to three points, but Lees-McRae quickly pushed its lead back to eight points after a momentum-shifting three by Jones.
- Onyeodi put an exclamation point on a season-high 16 points with a fastbreak dunk with 53 seconds remaining in the matchup as the Bobcats secured their first conference win of the season at 83-75 over North Greenville on Wednesday night.
- Lees-McRae shot a season-high 57.1% (32-56) from the field while connecting on seven three-pointers and went 12-19 from the free-throw line on the night. The Bobcats scored 20 points off 14 Crusader turnovers and had a solid advantage inside with 40 points in the paint to NGU's 26.
- Justin Nichelson followed Onyeodi in the scoring column with 15 points on seven made baskets and Jones capitalized from three-point range for 14 points and three assists.
- Sidney Dollar and Jaylin Stewart joined their teammates in double-figures with Dollar recording 10 points and eight boards and Stewart having 11 points to go along with six rebounds.
FOR THE CRUSADERS:
- C.J. Jamison led North Greenville on the evening with 17 points and eight rebounds as Savion Brown collected 14 points on 5-7 from the field.
- Caleb Williams tallied 12 points and Perdew rounded out the Crusaders in double-figures with 10 points on the night.
UP NEXT:
Lees-McRae men's basketball hosts No. 15/17 UNC Pembroke on Saturday, Dec. 17 at 4 p.m. for a Conference Carolinas matchup on the McNair & Debi Tornow Court.
For more information on Lees-McRae Athletics, follow the Bobcats on Twitter (@LMCBobcats), on Facebook (Lees-McRae Athletics), and on Instagram (leesmcraeathletics).
