BRISTOL, TENN. –
Rodney Smith recorded a season-high 30 points as Lees-McRae men's basketball picked up a 105-100 overtime victory over King on Wednesday evening.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Lees-McRae – 105; King – 100
LOCATION: Student Center Complex – Bristol, Tennessee
RECORDS: Lees-McRae (18-10/11-7), King (9-18/5-13)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Lees-McRae jumped out to an early 5-0 lead after Williams Onyeodi hit the first of his two three-pointers on the night. King answered with a 11-0 scoring run at the 15:34 mark of the first half.
- The Bobcats tied the contest at 36-36 after Smith collected a jumper with 3:04 remaining in the first and two sides went into the halftime break even at 40-40.
- King built their lead to nine points after three consecutive free throws from Mikhail Pocknett. The Bobcats tied the contest once again at 73-73 with 4:51 remaining in regulation.
- Smith buried a game-tying three with 56 seconds left in the second half, but Jordan Akal and King held a three-point cushion in the final seconds.
- Smith continued his scoring streak with two free throws and Smith sent the game into overtime with a jumper at the two-second mark of the second half.
- The Bobcats prevailed in the overtime period with the heroics of Smith after a three-pointer gave Lees-McRae the three-point edge at 95-92. LJ Rogers stole the ball from King and earned a three-point play at 100-94 as Lees-McRae picked up a 105-100 win in the "Battle for the Blue Ridge Cup" this evening at King.
- Smith paced the Bobcats with 30 points on 10-18 shooting and 3-6 from three-point range. Ja'Quavian Florence tallied 18 points in 21 minutes off the bench. Sidney Dollar and Williams Onyeodi each collected 10 points in tonight's contest.
FOR THE TORNADO:
- Jordan Akal had a career-high 36 points to lead King in scoring and collected seven three-pointers on the night. Pocknett had 15 points in 36 minutes and Eli Elston had 13 points for the Tornado.
UP NEXT:
Lees-McRae men's basketball will now head into the postseason as the No. 6 seed in the Conference Carolinas Men's Basketball Championship.
For more information on Lees-McRae Athletics, follow the Bobcats on X (@LMCBobcats), on Facebook (Lees-McRae Athletics), and on Instagram (leesmcraeathletics).
