Banner Elk, NC – The Emmanuel Men's Basketball team traveled to Banner Elk, NC today to face Lees McRae College in conference play. The Bearcats got off to a hot start, taking a 10-point lead into the half, 46-36. The Lions answered in the 2
nd half, outscoring the Bearcats 44-32 to take the lead late and earn the 80-78 victory behind another 39-point performance from senior,
Devin Story. With the win, the Lions improve to 12-12 on the season, 9-7 in conference play.
The Bearcats jumped out to a 15-4 lead early in the first half. The Lions responded with buckets from
Devin Story,
Sam Thacker, and
Andrija Vujacic to pull within 18-11. The Lions pulled within 6 points of the lead on a three-pointer from Story to make it 24-18, Lees McRae with 9:35 to play but the Bearcats pulled ahead by 15 with 6:05 to play, 35-20. Layups from Story and Thacker pulled back within 10 points of the lead, and a three-pointer from Vujacic made it 39-30, Bearcats with 2:50 to play in the half. The Bearcats closed out the half strong to take a 10-point lead into the break, 46-36.
The Bearcats pushed their lead to as much as 14 points early in the 2
nd half, but the Lions chipped away at the lead on a three-pointer from
Isaac Jones and layups from
Ezra McKee and Story to make it 63-56, Bearcats with 8:47 to play. Story and McKee stayed hot on the offensive end, cutting the Bearcats lead to two, 69-67 with 4:52 to play. A three-pointer from Thacker pulled the Lions within a point of the lead and
Devin Story gave the Lions the lead at the foul line, 72-71 with 3:08 to play. The teams traded points and the lead until late in the game, with the Lions earning the win at the foul line, closing the game going 4-6 in the final 30 seconds to earn the 80-78 win.
Devin Story led the Lions with 39 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks on the night.
Ezra McKee added 14 points and led the team in rebounds with 7.
Next up, the Lions will host King University on Monday at 7PM in a WHITE OUT.
For more information on Emmanuel University athletics, visit goeulions.com.