SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Lees-McRae men's basketball pulled off an incredible comeback on Wednesday evening in Spartanburg as the Bobcats trailed by 10 points with 1:21 remaining in regulation and won 96-92 in overtime over Converse.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Lees-McRae – 96; Converse – 92
LOCATION: Tom & Tracy Hannah Gym – Spartanburg, South Carolina
RECORDS: Lees-McRae (17-9/10-6), Converse (17-9/9-7)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Timon Jones opened the scoring for Lees-McRae with a three-pointer, but Converse found their groove in the first half as the Valkyries led 23-9 with 11:49 left in the first half.
- Converse's Uzziah Dawkins hit a triple with 1:21 remaining in the first as the Valkyries led by 14 at the halftime break.
- The Bobcats cut the deficit back to five points after a layup from Jaylin Stewart at the 15:36 mark of the second half. The Valkyries surged ahead and regained a double-digit margin at 61-51 with 11:30 left in regulation.
- The Bobcats continued to chip away at the Valkyrie lead, but trailed by 10 points with 1:21 left in the second half. Rodney Smith got Lees-McRae back on track after converting a three-point play.
- Jeremy Golson buried a three with 26 seconds to go as Lees-McRae trailed by two. Dawkins of Converse calmly knocked down two free throws at the other end, but Smith quickly scored for the Bobcats at 84-82.
- Smith forced Converse to turn the ball over with 11 seconds left in the regulation and forced overtime with a layup off the turnover.
- Lees-McRae stormed out to a nine-point lead after a made basket from Sidney Dollar off the fastbreak. The Bobcats held off Converse in the final stages of the overtime period for the 96-92 win on the road.
- Smith guided the Bobcats to the win with a game-high 24 points on 9-12 from the field. Jaylin Stewart followed with 21 points on an efficient 8-10 shooting.
- Dollar and Jones scored in double figures with 10 and 16 points, respectively. Dollar recorded 10 points, nine rebounds, and two steals.
- As a team, Lees-McRae shot 56.1% (37-66) from the field with eight made three-pointers.
FOR THE VALKYRIES:
- C.J. Jamison and Joel Pullen each scored 20 points for Converse on the night. Dawkins poured in 15 in 43 minutes of action and Jay Mitchell had 12 to round out the Valkyries in double figures.
UP NEXT:
Lees-McRae men's basketball makes the trip to Murfreesboro, North Carolina for a Conference Carolinas matchup with Chowan on Saturday, Feb. 24 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).
