BANNER ELK, N.C. – Lees-McRae men's basketball was surgical in their 91-72 win over Bluefield State on Wednesday night with six Bobcats scoring double-digit points in the contest.
Jeremy Golson led the Bobcats with 12 points on four three-pointers and
Sidney Dollar joined him with 12 points, three rebounds, two assists, and two steals.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Lees-McRae – 91; Bluefield State – 72
LOCATION: McNair & Debi Tornow Court – Banner Elk, North Carolina
RECORDS: Lees-McRae (5-1/0-0); Bluefield State (1-6/0-0)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Bluefield State's Jordan Hinds opened the scoring with a three-pointer right out of the gate, but Ja'Quavian Florence answered with a jumper on the other end of the court. Golson gave the Bobcats the 5-3 lead after knocking down his first three of the night with 18:51 left in the first half.
- LJ Rogers matched Golson with a three at 8-3 and Golson continued the 11-0 run for Lees-McRae with another three.
- The Big Blue battled back early in the contest after three straight baskets to cut the deficit to two, but Nico Ashley stopped the run with a basket with 14:21 remaining in the first.
- Timon Jones elevated the Bobcat lead to nine points off a steal from Jalen Crowder and Sidney Dollar propelled the margin to 11 points off a layup. Jaylin Stewart connected on two free throws with five seconds left in the half as Lees-McRae held the 47-40 margin.
- Florence started the second half with a bucket at 19:41 and the Bobcats staked out to a 20-point cushion via a triple from Golson with 9:43 remaining in the contest. Dollar's jumper at the 4:24 mark of the second half gave Lees-McRae their biggest lead at 24 points as the Bobcats continued their five-game win streak with the 91-72 victory on the McNair & Debi Tornow Court.
- Lees-McRae went 34-69 (49.3%) from the field with 10 three-pointers and 13-16 from the charity stripe. The Bobcats caused 18 turnovers and scored 22 off of Bluefield State's miscues. Lees-McRae held advantages in points in the paint (44-36), bench points (51-35), and fastbreak points (16-7).
- Stewart followed Golson and Dollar in the scoring column with 11 points on a perfect 4-4 from the field. Ashley had 11 points and eight boards in the contest. Florence and Jones each had 10 points and combined for 9-15 from the field. Rogers contributed eight points, seven rebounds, three rebounds, and two steals in 20 minutes for the Bobcats.
FOR THE BIG BLUE:
- Caleb Slawinski and Hinds matched for a game-high 18 points with Slawinski shooting an efficient 80% (8-10) from the field. Chase Page collected 13 points off the bench for the Big Blue and Nduka Ogwu had six points along with 10 boards, three assists, and two blocks.
UP NEXT:
Lees-McRae men's basketball heads to Mount Olive on Saturday for a 4 p.m. showdown with the Trojans in Conference Carolinas play.
For more information on Lees-McRae Athletics, follow the Bobcats on Twitter (@LMCBobcats), on Facebook (Lees-McRae Athletics), and on Instagram (leesmcraeathletics).
