Feb. 14, 2013. The King College men’s basketball team placed four players in double figures, and outscored Lees-McRae College by a 53-30 margin in the second half en route to an 88-64 victory in Conference Carolinas play on Wednesday evening in Williams Gymnasium.
King (16-6, 11-5 CC) shot 42.9 percent from the floor on the night, including a 53.6 percent clip in the second half, while holding Lees-McRae (2-19, 2-13 CC) to a field goal percentage of 39.3 percent in the final 20 minutes. The Tornado won the battle on the glass by a 40-32 margin, including a 17-9 advantage on the offensive boards, while converting 21 Bobcat miscues into 25 points.
Daniel Sepokas (Illawong, Australia) poured in a game-high 28 points to pace the Bobcats, knocking down 11-of-19 attempts from the floor and going 3-for-5 from three-point range. The senior guard also pulled down a team-high six rebounds, as DJ Brown (Anderson, S.C.) added 10 points and four assists.
Logan Lyle led the way for King with 26 points on 8-of-10 shooting, including a 6-for-8 night from beyond the arc, as Eddie Piccinini added 10 markers and a game-high six assists. Michael Fortune chipped in 15 markers, while Jason Seymore posted 12 points and a game-high seven rebounds.
Lees-McRae got off to a strong start in the first half, taking a 16-6 lead following a seven-point solo run by Sepokas that was capped by a steal and a lay-in at the 13:01 mark. King would respond with a 4-0 spurt, trimming the margin to 16-10 before the Bobcats answered with an 8-3 run, pushing the advantage to 24-13 following a layup by DeAndre Tillman (Charlotte, N.C.) at the 7:14 mark.
King countered with a 17-3 surge, taking a 30-27 lead on a Fortune triple with 2:20 to play in the half. The teams would trade baskets over the next two minutes, capping the period with answering treys by Seymore and Sepokas to send the Tornado into the intermission with a narrow 35-34 advantage.
The Tornado carried the momentum into the second half, opening the period with a 13-0 run to push the margin to 48-34 with 15:09 to play. King would continue to dictate play over the next several minutes, stretching the lead to 70-45 following a four-point play by Lyle with 8:53 left on the clock.
Lyle and the Tornado would close out the win from there, holding off a late push by the Bobcats that included a strong 10-2 run that was capped by a dunk from Sepokas with just over three minutes to play. King then countered with a 5-2 spurt to equal the final margin of 88-64.
Lees-McRae returns to the court on Saturday when the Bobcats travel to Wilson, N.C. to take on Barton College at 7:30 p.m. in conference play.
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