Reggie Hopkins poured in 22 points to lead four Royals in double figures, as the Queens University of Charlotte men's basketball team held off a second-half rally by Lees-McRae College (LMC) en route to a 70-60 win in Conference Carolinas play on Monday, Feb. 7.
Queens (15-5, 11-1 CC) shot an even 50 percent for the game, including a 52 percent clip in the first half, while holding LMC to a 38.8 percent mark from the floor.
Sam Youse paced the Bobcats with 11 points on 4-of-10 shooting, as Reshon Benjamin and Tevin Friday each tallied 10 markers. Adam McFerran chipped in seven points, while Gerry Hairston added a game-high four assists.
After Queens opened the game with a 5-0 run, the Bobcats answered with a spurt of their own, launching an 11-3 surge to take an 11-8 lead on a Friday jumper with 13:24 to play in the half. The teams would battle back and forth over the next five minutes before Queens took control, closing out the period on a 17-6 run to take a 36-25 lead into intermission.
Queens held the advantage for the remainder of the game, pushing the lead to a game-high 16 points with just more than four minutes to play, and holding off a late Bobcat run to preserve the victory.
Daniel Sepokas scored 13 of his game-high 20 points in the second half to lead the Lees-McRae College men's basketball team to a 64-56 win over Erskine College last Thursday, Feb. 10, in Conference Carolinas play.
LMC (6-14, 2-10 CC) shot 49 percent from the field on the night, including a blistering 57.1 percent (12-of-21) in the second half, while holding Erskine (2-17, 1-11 CC) to a 43.5 percent clip overall. The Flying Fleet edged the Bobcats by a 32-30 margin on the glass, including a 20-17 advantage on the defensive boards, as LMC converted 19 miscues into 25 points.
Sepokas knocked down 7-of-9 attempts from the floor, including a 2-for-4 clip from beyond the arc, en route to his game-high total of 20 points. McFerran and Hairston joined Sepokas in double figures with 14 and 11 points, respectively, as Sepokas dished out a game-high four assists.
Four Knights scored in double figures, and the St. Andrews Presbyterian College men's basketball team out-rebounded Lees-McRae College by a 47-24 margin en route to an 87-78 win in Conference Carolinas play last Saturday, Feb. 12.
St. Andrews (12-10, 8-6 CC) shot an even 50 percent from the field in the game, including a 62.1 percent clip in the first half, while holding LMC (6-15, 2-11 CC) to a 42.4 percent mark on the afternoon. The Knights won the battle on the glass by a 47-24 margin, including a 35-16 advantage on the defensive boards, while outscoring the Bobcats 34-24 in the paint.
McFerran and Dairl Scott, Jr. led the Bobcats with 16 points each, while Friday and Hairston added 11 and 10 markers, respectively. Sepokas chipped in five assists as Scott tallied a team-high five rebounds.
LMC returned to the hardwood on Tuesday, Feb. 15, when the Bobcats hosted Limestone College to continue their conference schedule.
Softball: Bobcats Split Twin Bills with Bears, Eagles
The LMC softball team continued its strong start to the season last Monday, Feb. 7, splitting a doubleheader with Shaw University as the Bears rallied for a 9-8 extra-inning victory in game one before the Bobcat offense exploded for a 15-3 rout in the night cap.
Paige Coleman and Kim Coley paced the Bobcats with five RBI each on the day, as Coleman joined Huntsinger, Anna Carter and Laurel Gregg with one home run apiece. Carter and Coley each tallied four base knocks on the afternoon for the Bobcats, while Karli Robb recorded a team-high two triples.
Gregg (1-1) got the nod in game one, allowing six runs (two earned) on five hits in six and two-thirds innings of work. Magen West (2-0) earned the win in the night cap, allowing three runs on six hits and striking out four Bears. Hollie Crickenberger threw an inning of relief in game two, allowing three runs (two earned) on two hits.
LMC opened the scoring in the top of the third inning, pushing across three runs on a Coley RBI single, a Bear error and a one-run double by Huntsinger to take an early 3-0 lead. Shaw answered in the bottom of the frame, plating three runs of its own to knot the score at 3-3 on a two-run home run by Lafrades and an RBI double by Grimmage.
The Bobcats countered with two runs in both the fourth and fifth innings to reclaim a 7-4 lead, as Coley roped a two-run single in the fourth and Carter delivered a two-run shot in the fifth. Shaw rallied with a run in the fourth and two in the sixth, cutting the lead to 7-6 heading into the seventh inning.
LMC added to its total in the seventh, taking an 8-6 advantage on an RBI single by Meagan Knowles. The Bears would rally once again, scoring twice in the seventh on a two-run home run by Montgomery to send the game into extra innings. Shaw then produced the deciding tally in the eighth when Pledger reached on a Bobcat error, allowing Jolene Arroyo to score the winning run.
LMC rebounded to split a doubleheader against Carson-Newman College last Tuesday, Feb. 8, rallying to defeat the Eagles by a score of 13-6 in non-conference action.
LMC (4-2) continued its strong start to the season, rebounding from a 10-2 setback in game one to defeat the Eagles (2-2) by a score of 13-6 in the night cap.
Huntsinger continued her hot run to open the season, going 3-for-5 with her second round-tripper of the season, as she helped pace the Lady Bobcats to a 13-6 victory in game two of the double-header. Knowles added a 1-for-2 performance, crossing the plate three times with a triple and three walks on the day.
West took the ball in game two, pitching six solid innings and scattering 11 hits to hold the Eagles to just six runs, and earn her third victory of the season.
Eagle pitcher Mary Shealy took the circle for game one and hurled a gem, spreading four hits over five innings while allowing two runs in the opener.
The Eagles opened the scoring in the home half of the first, piecing together a two-out rally to plate a run and taking the early 1-0 lead when Shealy doubled home Bre Shoemake after a two-out walk. The Bobcats battled to close out the inning with just a one-run deficit.
The score remained 1-0 until the bottom of the third when the Eagles rallied to plate four runs on four hits, and followed it with a four run fourth to push the total to a 9-0 lead after four innings.
In the top of the fifth, Knowles opened with a walk and moved to second after a Lori Fulmer sacrifice bunt put her into scoring position. Robb followed with a two-out double to plate Knowles to cut the deficit to 9-1. Robb scored on a Huntsinger single to make it a 9-2 Eagle lead.
The Eagles closed out the contest in the bottom of the inning, piecing together a two-out rally to plate the game-winner, as Shealy crossed to earn the 10-2 victory.
The Bobcats opened game two picking up where they closed game one, matching their final inning tally by plating two runs to take the early 2-0 advantage at the end of the first when Gregg singled home two runs on a one-out shot to right field.
The Eagles cut the deficit in half in the home portion of the inning, plating a run when Shoemake singled up the middle. Carson-Newman tied the contest in the bottom of the second with a run on three hits to even the tally at 2-2.
In the top halves of the third and fourth innings, the Bobcats pulled away with three runs, grabbing the lead with a Huntsinger blast to right in the top half of the third. The Bobcats added two more in the top of the fourth frame, plating Alison Armstrong and Knowles to take a 5-2 advantage.
The Eagles rallied in the bottom half of the fifth inning, plating three runs to even the tally at 5-5. The Bobcats then pieced together their best inning of the day with an eight-run sixth. Kierstie Moon opened the inning with a single to right before taking second on a passed ball. Following walks to Robb and Huntsinger to load the bases, Coley laced a double to right-center to clear the bases and push the advantage to 8-5.
Knowles then cleared the bases for a second time in the inning, lining a triple to right-center to plate Anna Carter, Armstrong and Gregg, and scampered home on an Eagle error to tally the 13th and final run. West closed out the home half of the inning allowing one-run on two hits and stranding one on base for the complete game victory.
