Jan. 22, 2013. BRISTOL, Tenn. — The King College men’s basketball team outscored Lees-McRae College by a 44-32 margin in the second half behind a double-double from Jason Seymore en route to a 72-48 win in Conference Carolinas play on Monday evening.
King (12-3, 7-2 CC) posted a field goal percentage of 41 percent on the evening, including a 42 percent clip in the second half, while holding Lees-McRae (1-14, 1-8 CC) to a mark of 25.8 percent from the floor. The Tornado won the battle on the glass by a 48-37 margin, including a 33-24 advantage on the defensive boards, while converting 15 offensive rebounds into 18 points.
Lees-McRae fought hard throughout the game, battling for every ball and contesting every shot, while converting a season-high 91.7 percent (11-for-12) of its attempts from the charity stripe.
Asad Lamot (Mebane, N.C.) led the way for the Bobcats with 15 points, including four three-pointers, as Daniel Sepokas (Illawong, Australia) nearly added a double-double with 13 markers and a team-high nine rebounds. Freshman Aaron Bluitt (Indianapolis, Ind.) turned in a strong performance off the bench, scoring seven points on 3-of-4 shooting.
Seymore paced the Tornado with a double-double, posting game-highs of 16 points and 15 rebounds, while knocking down a trio of three-pointers and dishing out three assists. Eddie Piccinini added 10 points with a 4-for-9 night from the floor, while Jordan Steele chipped in nine markers.
King got off to a strong start in the first half, opening the game with a 14-2 run before DJ Brown (Anderson, S.C.) answered with a three-pointer at the 10:14 mark. After King stretched the lead to 24-9 on back-to-back triples by Piccinini and Seymore, Lees-McRae responded with a 7-4 spurt to close out the half, trimming the margin to 28-16 on a last-second trey by Lamot.
The Bobcats carried the momentum into the second half, cutting the advantage to 31-21 on a lay-in by Jeremi King (Fort Myers, Fla.) with 17:37 to play after Sepokas was fouled on a three-pointer, and converted all three freebies to open the period. King would counter with a 15-4 run, pushing the lead to 46-25 following a Logan Lyle triple with 11:33 left on the clock.
The Tornado continued to push the tempo over the next several minutes, stretching the margin to 59-31 on a Piccinini layup before the Bobcats fought back with a 13-3 run, closing the gap to 62-44 with a tough running jumper by Bluitt with 1:31 to play. King would counter with a 10-4 spurt over the final minute, equaling the decisive margin of 72-48 thanks to a trio of late free throws by Joshua Smith.
Lees-McRae returns to the court on Thursday when the Bobcats host Erskine College in conference play at 7:30 p.m. in Williams Gymnasium.