BANNER ELK, N.C. – Lees-McRae men's basketball used a season-high 60 points in the second half to power past Anderson, 101-90, on Saturday in the Bobcats' home opener on the McNair & Debi Tornow Court.
Timon Jones guided the Bobcats with 18 points on 3-4 from three-point range and
LJ Rogers had a career-high 17 points in the win.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Lees-McRae – 101; Anderson – 90
LOCATION: McNair & Debi Tornow Court – Banner Elk, North Carolina
RECORDS: Lees-McRae (2-1/0-0); Anderson (3-1/0-0)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Anderson took the early lead off a fastbreak layup by Mack Burgett and Cole Middleton added to the Trojans' lead with a basket at 18:11 in the first half. Jaylin Stewart stopped the run with a fastbreak basket of his own at 17:54 in the first half. Anderson elevated their lead to 26-13 with a three from Jacksen Greco with 10:12 remaining in the half, but the Bobcats responded with a three via Jones.
- Lees-McRae continued to chip away at the first half lead of the Trojans with Rodney Smith hitting a three-pointer with 4:34 left in the first half. The Bobcats then held Anderson scoreless for the last 2:01 of the first half and went on 5-0 run capped by a dunk from Sidney Dollar at 49-41.
- Luke Denbow opened the second half with a fastbreak layup off an assist from Burgett to push the Anderson lead back to double digits. Jones quickly answered with a three and Rogers connected on a triple off the steal from Stewart.
- Jeremy Golson cashed in a three-pointer with 15:27 left in the contest to get the Bobcats within two of the Trojans. Anderson's Kai Kostmayer pushed the margin back to four with a layup, but Lees-McRae knotted the score at 60-60 on another three from Golson.
- The Trojans went on a 7-0 scoring run a little two minutes of play at 67-60, but the Bobcats answered once again with an 11-0 run at 71-67. Jalen Crowder knocked in a three with 8:35 left in the half to push the Bobcat lead to five points and Williams Onyeodi connected on a free throw at 75-69 in favor of Lees-McRae.
- Lees-McRae took their first double-digit lead at 85-74 after two free-throw makes from Ja'Quavian Florence. Anderson could only get within eight points of the Bobcat lead in the final stages as Lees-McRae earned the crucial 101-90 victory over regional foe Anderson on Saturday.
- The Bobcats made a season-high 13 three-pointers in today's game and went 34-70 (48.6%) from the field. Lees-McRae went 20-29 from the charity stripe. The Bobcats also forced 28 turnovers in the contest and held the advantage in fastbreak points (29-17), points off turnovers (27-25), and bench points (46-33).
- Jones led a balanced attack for the Bobcats with 18 points on 6-9 from the field. Rogers followed with 17 on 7-11 from the floor and 3-4 from three-point range. Sidney Dollar and Stewart each had 10 points in the victory and three Bobcats (Jalen Crowder, Jeremy Golson, and Rodney Smith) tallied nine points in the contest.
- Nico Ashley and Florence added eight points apiece to their season totals and Matthew Knafelz went 2-2 from the free-throw line.
FOR THE TROJANS:
- Luke Denbow led all scorers with 19 points on 6-15 shooting and added four rebounds. Garrett Denbow and Cole Middleton followed with 14 points apiece. Greco joined his teammates in double figures with 12 points in 15 minutes of action.
UP NEXT:
Lees-McRae men's basketball hosts Johnson & Wales on Tuesday, Nov. 21 at 7 p.m. 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).
