The King College women's basketball team utilized a 13-2 run midway through the second half, grinding out a 61-44 victory over visiting Lees-McRae College in Conference Carolinas play on Monday

evening. King (9-5, 5-5 CC) posted a field goal percentage of 36.4 percent in the contest, including a 45.5 percent clip in the second half, while holding Lees-McRae (6-7, 4-6 CC) to a mark of 25.5 percent from the floor. The Tornado won the battle on the glass by a 57-32 margin, including a 23-9 advantage on the offensive boards, converting that margin into 16 second-chance points.
Layana De Souza (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) led the Bobcats with a game-high 14 points on 4-of-8 shooting, as Kerri Belcher (Roanoke, Va.) nearly added a double-double with 12 markers and nine rebounds to go along with a game-high five steals. Lauren Lewis (Concord, N.C.) chipped in nine points with a trio of three-pointers.
Bonnie Durrett paced the Tornado with a double-double, posting game-highs of 14 points and 14 rebounds, as Kelly Jackson added 10 boards of her own. Allison Bosse nearly chipped in a double-double with 13 markers and nine rebounds, while Alley Sprouse posted a contest-best three blocks.
Both teams struggled to find the twine in the first half, combining for a 17-for-65 clip from the field. King took an early 12-10 lead at the 9:01 mark, when Tia Keitt knocked down a jumper before Lewis answered with a triple for the Bobcats, giving Lees-McRae a narrow 13-12 advantage with 7:59 left in the half.
The Tornado responded with a 9-0 run, claiming a 21-13 lead on a Bosse jumper with 2:00 remaining the period. Lees-McRae would counter with a 5-0 spurt, closing the gap to 23-18 heading into the intermission following a late jumper by Tayler Collins (Fayetteville, N.C.).
The Bobcats came out firing in the second half, taking a 26-25 lead on Lewis' second triple of the period at the 17:59 mark. King would answer with a 10-3 run, claiming a 35-29 advantage following a Mikki Oliver jumper with 13:23 left on the clock before a Belcher jumper cut the margin to 35-31 with 11:12 remaining.
King countered with a 13-2 run, surging out to a 48-33 lead on a three-pointer by Brittany Kinser at the 6:01 mark. The Bobcats would switch into the press, forcing five turnovers over the final five and a half minutes as the Tornado closed out the win with an 11-4 run.
Lees-McRae returns to the court on Thursday when the Bobcats host Erskine College in conference play at 5:30 p.m. in Williams Gymnasium.

KING COLLEGE 61, LMC 44

Score By Periods  1st  2nd  Total
Lees-McRae         18   26 - 44
King (Tenn.)       23   38 - 61

          Lees-McRae             King (Tenn.)
Pts: Layana De souza - 14  Pts: Bonnie Durrett - 14 
Reb: Kerri Belcher - 9     Reb: Bonnie Durrett - 14 
Ast: Kerri Belcher - 2     Ast: Brooke Johnson - 3 

Team Statistics    Lees-McRae    King (Tenn.)
Field Goal %      25.5% (14-55 ) 36.4% (24-66 )
Rebounds               32             57
Assists                 3             12
Turnovers              15             17
Pts off Turnovers      11             14
2nd Chance Pts          6             16
Pts in the Paint       16             24
Fastbreak Pts           2              0
Bench Pts               4             24

King Bests Bobcats, 72-48

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.

KING COLLEGE 72, LMC 48

Score By Periods  1st  2nd  Total
Lees-McRae         16   32 - 48
King (Tenn.)       28   44 - 72

       Lees-McRae           King (Tenn.)
Pts: Asad Lamot - 15     Pts: Jason Seymore - 16 
Reb: Daniel Sepokas - 9  Reb: Jason Seymore - 15 
Ast: Charles Clarke - 2  Ast: Michael Fortune - 4 

Team Statistics    Lees-McRae    King (Tenn.)
Field Goal %     25.8% (16-62 ) 41.0% (25-61 )
Rebounds              37             48
Assists                6             18
Turnovers              9              5
Pts off Turnovers      8              6
2nd Chance Pts        12             18
Bench Pts             30             27

Photo Courtesy: Layana de souza, LMC Athletics