BANNER ELK, N.C. – Lees-McRae men's basketball led wire-to-wire this afternoon in the 95-67 victory over Barton.
Williams Onyeodi recorded a double-double with 18 points and 13 rebounds to lead five Bobcats in double figures on the day.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Lees-McRae – 95; Barton – 67
LOCATION: McNair & Debi Tornow Court – Banner Elk, North Carolina
RECORDS: Lees-McRae (9-13/5-9), Barton (13-9/11-4)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Lees-McRae started quickly as the Bobcats went on a 10-0 run in the first two minutes of the contest as Nico Ashley capped the run with a dunk off a Onyeodi pass.
- Justin Nichelson drained a three-pointer at the 11:16 mark to grow the Bobcats' lead to 19 points and Jaylin Stewart made the margin 25 points off a fastbreak jumper.
- Timon Jones continued to add to the stellar first half for Lees-McRae with a three at the 6:28 mark as the Bobcats led 38-10. Barton cut the deficit to 18 points after two free throws by Donaven Hairston, but Stewart answered with a floater right before the halftime buzzer.
- Brandon Brown and Jeremy Golson made back-to-back three-pointers to give the Bobcats the 24-point advantage out of the break and Jones pushed the lead to 27 with 17:07 left in the second half.
- Stewart collected another two points at the 13:23 mark of the second half as Lees-McRae held its largest lead of the day at 62-32. Barton closed within 20 points of the lead with 8:24 remaining, but the Bobcats claimed the 95-67 victory in Conference Carolinas play today.
- Lees-McRae went 39-66 (59.1%) with 23 baskets coming off assists in the win. The Bobcats knocked down 10 three-pointers and recorded 23 fast break points on the afternoon.
- The Bobcats also had the decisive advantage inside the paint with 56 points in the paint to Barton's 28.
- Brown, Jones, Stewart, and Justin Nichelson joined Onyeodi in double figures on the day and Stewart followed with 14 points on an efficient 7-8 shooting. Brown and Jones had 13 points on 5-10 from three-point range and Nichelson scored 10 points in 15 minutes of action.
- Sidney Dollar filled the stat sheet again with eight points to go along with seven rebounds and five assists. Golson went 3-6 from beyond-the and Ashley contributed seven points and six rebounds in the victory.
FOR THE BULLDOGS:
- Barton was held to a season-low 31.0% (22-71) from the field and went 17-20 from the free-throw line.
- Hairston led Barton in the scoring column with 19 points and Reese McDonald followed with 13 and 10 rebounds.
- Dwayne Anderson and Gabe Kirkendoll chipped in 10 points apiece to round out the Bulldogs in the double-digit scoring.
UP NEXT:
Lees-McRae men's basketball continues its two-game homestand on Tuesday, Feb. 7 with Converse. The Valkyries collected the 75-68 win on Jan. 10 in Spartanburg, South Carolina earlier this season.
For more information on Lees-McRae Athletics, follow the Bobcats on Twitter (@LMCBobcats), on Facebook (Lees-McRae Athletics), and on Instagram (leesmcraeathletics).
