BANNER ELK, N.C. – Lees-McRae men's basketball defeated Bluefield, 88-78, on Thursday evening for the Bobcats' second win of the season.
Chase McDuffie led the Bobcats with 21 points and 11 rebounds.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Lees-McRae – 88, Bluefield – 78
LOCATION: McNair & Debi Tornow Court – Banner Elk, North Carolina
RECORDS: Lees-McRae (2-2/0-0); Bluefield (1-4/1-2)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Nigel Okwakol opened the contest with a dunk and Lees-McRae extended its lead to seven at the 18:38 mark of the first half.
- Bluefield cut the deficit to one point with a fastbreak layup from Tyler Suber and gained the lead for the first time at 19-17 with a three from Jeremiah White.
- The Bobcats bounced back with a 13-0 scoring run for the 35-27 advantage at 1:57 in the first half. Lees-McRae led 37-31 heading into the halftime break.
- Lees-McRae pushed its lead to eight points off a three-pointer from Dwight Canady and led by 10 with 7:40 remaining in the game.
- McDuffie recorded a dunk with 1:27 to play as the Bobcats led 84-72. Lees-McRae picked up its second win in a row at 88-78 over Bluefield.
- McDuffie was efficient from the floor with 21 points on 9-11 shooting in 25 minutes off the bench. Isajah Deburgo followed with 18 points and nine rebounds. Canady and Nigel Okwakol joined their teammates in double figures with 12 and 10 points, respectively.
- Justin Bramao missed on a double-double with nine points and 10 rebounds. Daniel Agu and Cedric Patterson chipped in eight points apiece in the win.
- Lees-McRae shot 50.8% (32-63) from the floor and went 22-25 from the free-throw line.
UP NEXT:
Lees-McRae men's basketball faces Chowan in its Conference Carolinas opener on Saturday at 4 p.m on the McNair & Debi Tornow Court.
For more information on Lees-McRae Athletics, follow the Bobcats on X (@LMCBobcats), on Facebook (Lees-McRae Athletics), and on Instagram (leesmcraeathletics).
