WISE, Va. –
Rodney Smith knocked in the buzzer beater to give Lees-McRae men's basketball the 100-99 victory at UVA Wise on Sunday evening. Smith led all scorers with 22 points as five Bobcats scored in double figures in the game.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Lees-McRae – 100; UVA Wise – 99
LOCATION: Prior Center – Wise, Virginia
RECORDS: Lees-McRae (1-1/0-0); UVA Wise (1-1/0-0)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- UVA Wise took the 99-97 lead with six seconds remaining in the contest after a steal by Zion Fruster and a layup from Zy'Ever Wingfield. Lees-McRae called a 30-second timeout and Smith hit the game-winning shot with zeroes remaining on the clock inside the Prior Center.
- The Bobcats jumped out to an early 13-6 lead after Jaylin Stewart made a fastbreak jumper with 17:16 left in the first half. The Cavaliers rallied in the first half and tied the score at 17-17 with a layup from Fruster at 14:02 mark.
- Jeremy Golson and Timon Jones hit back-to-back threes to give Lees-McRae the eight-point advantage with 12:31 left in the first half. UVA Wise tied the contest once again at 35-35 at the 6:40 mark and then went on a 11-0 scoring run to hold the 11-point margin with 2:20 left in the opening half.
- Stewart collected a layup with 47 seconds to go as Lees-McRae trailed 52-46 heading into the halftime break.
- Lees-McRae came out strong in the second and took the 58-57 lead off a layup from Williams Onyeodi. Ja'Quavian Florence collected a layup with a little under 10 minutes remaining in the second half as the Bobcats led 79-72. The Cavaliers stormed back once again and tied the contest at 90-90 at the 4:58 mark.
- Sidney Dollar gathered in an offensive rebound and made a layup with 1:01 left in the second half and earned a trip to the charity stripe for an and-one opportunity. Nico Ashley pushed the Bobcat lead back to three at 97-94, but the Cavaliers tied the score at 97-7 on a free-throw make of their own and a fastbreak layup with nine seconds left.
- Wingfield of UVA Wise stole the ensuing inbounds pass and gave the Cavaliers the two-point margin with six seconds remaining. Smith then took over for Lees-McRae and secured the win for the Bobcats on the game-winning three-pointer.
- As a team, Lees-McRae shot 56.5% (39-69) from the floor with 11 made triples. The Bobcats held inside the paint, 44-40, and points off turnovers, 24-21, in tonight's victory.
- Smith collected 22 points on 7-12 shooting and a perfect 2-2 from beyond-the-arc. Jones followed with 19 points on 50% (7-14) from the floor with three assists and 5-8 from three-point range. Stewart joined his fellow Bobcats in double-digit scoring with 15 and Florence tacked on 12 points to his season totals. Dollar nearly had a double-double with 11 points and eight boards.
- Jeremy Golson made three three-pointers on the evening and also had two assists and one rebound.
FOR THE CAVALIERS:
- UVA Wise shot an impressive 61.4% (35-57) from the field with nine three-pointers. The Cavaliers also went 20-29 from the free-throw line.
- Wingfield had a team-high 21 points and Patrick Shelly followed with 19 points, four rebounds, and four assists. Zion Fruster poured in 17 points off the bench for the Cavs.
UP NEXT:
Lees-McRae men's basketball returns to the McNair & Debi Tornow Court for their home opener on Saturday, November 18 with SAC member Anderson. The home opener is slated for a 4 p.m. tip-off.
For more information on Lees-McRae Athletics, follow the Bobcats on Twitter (@LMCBobcats), on Facebook (Lees-McRae Athletics), and on Instagram (leesmcraeathletics).
