BOONE, N.C. –
Ja'Quavian Florence recorded a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds as Lees-McRae men's basketball held off UVA Wise, 87-82, in its season opener on the campus of App State.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Lees-McRae – 87; UVA Wise – 82
LOCATION: Holmes Convocation Center – Boone, North Carolina
RECORDS: Lees-McRae (1-0/0-0), UVA Wise (0-1/0-0)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Nico Ashley gave the early 3-1 lead after a putback dunk two minutes into tonight's contest at the Holmes Convocation Center in Boone.
- Lees-McRae used a 7-0 run at 17-14 to regain the advantage and held UVA Wise scoreless for over four minutes in the first half for the 29-16 lead.
- Dre Jackson buried a three-pointer with 4:29 remaining in the first half off an assist from Florence and Dre Nelson connected on a three a minute later for the 37-19 lead.
- The Bobcats headed into the halftime break with a 19 point lead after two free throws from Travis Pourciau.
- UVA Wise cut the deficit to 14 points with 12:08 left in the contest after a jumper from Patrick Shelley. The Cavaliers continued to chip away at the lead and trailed by eight at the 7:36 mark.
- Florence and Nigel Okwakol put the Bobcats back in front by nine with 6:20 remaining. DJ Kent stopped the Cavalier run with a jumper in the paint at the 4:23 for the 70-64 Bobcat lead.
- UVA Wise got within four points of Lees-McRae, but Florence calmly hit a three-pointer with 56 seconds remaining as the Bobcats led 82-75 late.
- Drew Redmond put an exclamation mark on the contest with a fastbreak layup and Okwakol stole the inbounds pass for the 87-82 opening night victory in Boone.
- Florence paced the Bobcats with 20 points on 6-12 shooting to go along with 10 boards, two assists, three steals, and one block.
- Kent, a freshman standout from Concord, North Carolina, had 16 points in 24 minutes and added four rebounds, two steals, and one block. Okwakol joined Florence and Kent in double-digit scoring with 12 points off the bench.
- Brandon Brown and Pourciau each tallied eight points in the game. Pourciau had a solid outing in his Bobcat debut with eight points, seven rebounds, and one block.
- Lees-McRae went 32-71 (45.1%) from the floor with eight three-pointers and 15-22 from the charity stripe.
FOR THE CAVALIERS:
- Lav Cvetkovic' led UVA Wise in the evening with 17 points in the start. Evan Ramsey had 16 points in 29 minutes of action and Bradley Dean followed with 15 points.
- Patrick Shelley contributed 14 points as the Cavaliers shot 40.0% from the field. UVA Wise went 23-35 from the free-throw line.
UP NEXT:
Lees-McRae men's basketball continues with the Conference Carolinas vs. SAC Challenge tomorrow afternoon at 3 p.m. The Bobcats will face Carson-Newman in an afternoon tilt in the Holmes Convocation Center.
For more information on Lees-McRae Athletics, follow the Bobcats on X (@LMCBobcats), on Facebook (Lees-McRae Athletics), and on Instagram (leesmcraeathletics).
