BANNER ELK, N.C. –
Nico Ashley,
Sidney Dollar,
Timon Jones,
Nigel Okwakol, and
Rodney Smith scored double-digit points as Lees-McRae men's basketball defeated Southern Wesleyan, 98-77, on Saturday afternoon in Banner Elk.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Lees-McRae – 98; Southern Wesleyan – 77
LOCATION: McNair & Debi Tornow Court – Banner Elk, North Carolina
RECORDS: Lees-McRae (10-4/4-1); Southern Wesleyan (2-14/1-4)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Dollar answered an opening layup by the Warriors with a steal and dunk with 19:06 left in the first half. Jones added a layup on the next possession via a steal. The two sides played evenly through the first four minutes of today's contest.
- Nico Ashley slammed home a dunk off an assist from Ja'Quavian Florence and Jalen Crowder connected on a three-pointer to give Lees-McRae the 17-12 advantage with 14:01 left in the first half.
- The Bobcats continued to add to their first half lead with Williams Onyeodi adding a layup at the 2:54 mark. Dollar ended the half the same way he started with a steal and dunk as Lees-McRae held the advantage at 57-44.
- Southern Wesleyan cut the halftime deficit to 10 points on a layup via Dyren Brown, but the Bobcats went on a 6-0 run to lift their lead to 16 after a Crowder jumper.
- The Warriors continued to battle in the second half as Dyren Brown buried a three with 8:06 remaining in the matchup as SWU trailed by only nine points. Lees-McRae locked back in down the stretch as the Bobcats pulled away for the 98-77 victory. Matthew Knafelz finished the scoring with a layup.
- Lees-McRae went 39-78 (50.0%) from the field and attempted 28 more shots than Southern Wesleyan. The Bobcats made seven three-pointers and tallied 13-19 from the free-throw line.
- Smith led the way off the bench for Lees-McRae with 12 points on 5-10 shooting, three assists, and two steals. Dollar followed with a near triple double as he compiled 11 points, eight steals, seven rebounds, and five steals in today's effort.
- Ashley, Jones, and Okwakol all added 10 points in Saturday's victory with Okwakol going a perfect 3-3 from the field with two triples. Williams Onyeodi and Florence scored eight points apiece in the game and Crowder poured in seven in 16 minutes off the bench. LJ Rogers joined Crowder with seven points on 3-7 shooting.
FOR THE WARRIORS:
- Raevon Allen led the Warriors with 12 points on 4-5 shooting and 4-6 from the charity stripe. Marcus Long and Aaron Tims joined Allen in double figures with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
UP NEXT:
Lees-McRae men's basketball welcomes Francis Marion to the McNair & Debi Tornow Court on Saturday, Jan. 13 for a Conference Carolinas contest starting at 4 p.m.
For more information on Lees-McRae Athletics, follow the Bobcats on X (@LMCBobcats), on Facebook (Lees-McRae Athletics), and on Instagram (leesmcraeathletics).
