BANNER ELK, N.C. – Lees-McRae men's basketball stopped its three-game losing streak with a decisive 94-79 victory against Young Harris on Saturday. The Bobcats matched a season high with 16 made three-pointers in today's win.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Lees-McRae – 94; Young Harris – 79
LOCATION: McNair & Debi Tornow Court – Banner Elk, North Carolina
RECORDS: Lees-McRae (13-8/7-5); Young Harris (12-9/6-5)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Lees-McRae began the day with a triple from Timon Jones at the 19:26 mark of the first half. Jalen Crowder connected from beyond-the arc to give the Bobcats the three-point lead with 18:24 left in the first half.
- Young Harris tied the contest at nine points apiece at the 16:08 mark, but Jaylin Stewart regained the lead for the Bobcats with a jumper inside the paint. Lees-McRae opened the lead with a surge in the middle of the first half with a three-pointer from Nico Ashley.
- The Mountain Lions cut the deficit back to single digits and trailed by five after a layup from Carl Cleveland. Sidney Dollar sent the Bobcats into halftime with an eight-point lead after a fastbreak dunk from Sidney Dollar.
- Lees-McRae extended its lead to 14 points after another three from Crowder, but Young Harris chipped away at the lead and only trailed by seven with 11:55 remaining in the second half.
- The Bobcats pushed their lead back to 12 after two free-throw makes from Rodney Smith at 67-55. YHC continued to make a press after Kolbe Ashe converted free-throw makes at the other end for the Mountain Lions. Young Harris trimmed the Bobcat lead to five points, but the Bobcats used another scoring run late to earn the 94-79 victory on the McNair & Debi Tornow Court.
- Lees-McRae converted 20 points off 19 Young Harris turnovers and buried 16-29 from three-point range. The Bobcats went an efficient 34-58 (58.6%) from the field and 37 points came off the bench.
- Smith had a team-high 16 points on 4-8 from the field and 6-8 from the charity stripe. Jeremy Golson connected on five threes in the contest and Ja'Quavian Florence poured in 14 points on 6-10 shooting.
- Timon Jones and Sidney Dollar rounded out the Bobcats in double figures with 12 and 10 points, respectively. Dollar added five steals and seven rebounds in today's win.
FOR THE MOUNTAIN LIONS:
- Karl Chavis paced the Mountain Lions with 20 points in the game and Cole Deptula followed with 19 points in 34 minutes. Cleveland joined his teammates in double-digit scoring with a double-double on 16 points and 11 rebounds.
UP NEXT:
Lees-McRae men's basketball takes on non-conference opponent Warren Wilson on Tuesday, Feb. 6 at 7 p.m.
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