Box Score Harrogate, TN—The Lions men's basketball team took on Queens University of Charlotte in the NCAA Championship Tournament Quarterfinal round.
After finishing runner-up in the Conference Carolinas Championship to Belmont Abbey, the Emmanuel College Lions moved on to compete against Queens University of Charlotte Royals in the first round of the National tournament on Saturday night.
The first half of the game opened up with a Royals lead of 6 points before the first Lion point was put on the board. The Royals held their lead throughout the intense first half, ending 34-31.
Queens, a part of the South Atlantic Conference, went 16-6 overall and 13-3 in conference during regular season play. Emmanuel finished the season also 16-6 overall and 11-2 in conference play. The teams were evenly matched going into the game one Sunday, making for a nice fight from both sides of the court.
The second half was a major shift as the Lions fought hard to overturn the Royals. The Lions were able to catch up and tie up the score at 56 with ten minutes left in the second half. The remaining time was a point battle between the two teams, swapping baskets for the lead. With 50 seconds left in the game, the score was once again tied by a layup from Lion #4
Brandon Simpson. Both team defenses held strong, maintaining the tie until the final seconds when Lion #1 KJ Jones scored a game winning layup in the paint, resulting in a Lion win 80-78.
The Queens Royals were led by #4 Gavin Rains with 22 points, #15 Kenny Dye with 20 points and 10 rebounds, and #10 Quan McCluney with 16 total points.
The Lions were led by #1 KJ Jones with 28 total points and 13 rebounds, #55 Ty Stuckey with 15 points, #4
Brandon Simpson with 12 points, and #11
Michael Wright with 11 points.
The Lions continue Tournament play tonight at 7:45, once again taking on Conference Rival Belmont Abbey. Tune in to the game by visiting
https://portal.stretchinternet.com/lincolnmemorial/full.htm?eventId=627723&streamType=video and, as always, GO LIONS!!!
