DUE WEST, S.C. – Lees-McRae men's basketball used a 19-4 run in the final 4:45 of the second half to sweep the season series with Erskine by a final of 68-57.
Jaylin Stewart led the Bobcats with 15 points on 7-9 shooting and
Nico Ashley recorded 10 points and six rebounds in the victory.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Lees-McRae – 68; Erskine – 57
LOCATION: Belk Arena – Due West, South Carolina
RECORDS: Lees-McRae (8-12/4-8), Erskine (0-21/0-13)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Stewart led a balanced scoring attack for Lees-McRae with nine Bobcats collecting a basket in the contest. Sidney Dollar had a solid day with nine points to go along with seven rebounds and one steal. LJ Rogers tallied nine points with two coming from beyond-the-arc and Williams Onyeodi having seven points and seven boards in the game.
- Follie Bogan scored the first points of the game with a layup at the 18:00 mark of the first half off an assist by Gabe Bryant. Brandon Brown knocked down a three with 16:34 left in the first half, but Erskine gained the 6-5 edge at the first media timeout.
- Ashley buried a triple with 12:48 remaining in the first as the two sides traded baskets over the next four minutes of action. The Flying Fleet pushed their lead to five points on free throws by Jaylen Prioleau as Erskine went into the halftime break with the 31-29 advantage.
- The Bobcats came out quickly in the second half with Timon Jones giving the Bobcats the lead back with a three of his own with 16:57 left in the second half. Ashley put Lees-McRae up by six with a fastbreak dunk off a Stewart pass.
- Erskine continued to keep the contest within single digits as the Flying Fleet retook the lead on a 12-0 scoring run in a little over five minutes of action at 51-46.
- Lees-McRae battled back and reclaimed the lead at 54-53 after Onyeodi registered a three-point play at the charity stripe. Dollar answered a layup by Prioleau with a three-point play of his own as the Bobcats led 61-55 withc 2:48 to play in the half. Rogers drained his second three-pointer on the night at 64-55 as Lees-McRae took the 68-57 victory over Erskine on Tuesday evening.
- The Bobcats shot 44.3% (27-61) from the field and 6-20 (30.0%) from three-point range. Lees-McRae went 8-13 from the free-throw line and had 19 points off 18 Flying Fleet turnovers.
FOR THE FLYING FLEET:
- Prioleau tied his career-high in points with 23 as the Charlotte, North Carolina native went 8-14 from the floor and a perfect 6-6 from the free-throw line for Erskine.
- Lanyc Shuler joined Prioleau in double-digit scoring as Shuler tallied a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds.
UP NEXT:
Lees-McRae men's basketball continues its two-game road swing as the Bobcats head to Florence, South Carolina on Saturday, Jan. 28 to face Francis Marion. The game is slated for a 4 p.m. start.
For more information on Lees-McRae Athletics, follow the Bobcats on Twitter (@LMCBobcats), on Facebook (Lees-McRae Athletics), and on Instagram (leesmcraeathletics).
