Limestone stymies Tornado offense en route to conference tournament title
CONCORD, N.C. – They say defense wins championships, and
tonight in the championship of the Conference Carolinas Tournament
powered by OrthoCarolina proved true as fourth-seed Limestone
College defeated third-seed King University 69-54. The Saint
defense suffocated the King shooters en route to the victory to
take the conference’s automatic bid into the NCAA Division II
Men’s Basketball Tournament.
It appeared as though the Tornado, and Logan Lyle picked up where
they left off last night in the semifinals, as Lyle drained a
triple 19 seconds in to give King (16-13) lead. Shamarae Watts
followed with a three-point basket of his own before back-to-back
Limestone (21-8) buckets.
Hunter LeVeau and James Scales answered with back-to-back
trifectas before the Saints started to make a run. P.J. Foster and
Jamal McNeill hit consecutive three-point baskets to pull the
Saints within three. Michael Fortune then made a layup before Shaq
Dance sparked a 9-0 Limestone run. Foster drilled another triple to
give Limestone their first lead of the game at 19-17 with 11
minutes left in the first half.
A tip-in by Asaad Woods capped the run before Scottie Hendricks
got King back on the board with a three-point basket. The score was
tied at 25 before Limestone closed the half on a 9-4 run to take a
34-29 lead at the break.
The Saints continued their hot streak to start the second half a
Foster hit a jumper on the halves first possession. The Limestone
grew to 12 with 12 minutes left following a Foster triple, and the
lead stayed there until the Saints went on another run to the put
the game out of reach.
King whittled their deficit to nine before Avery Bomar started the
12-3 spurt with a jump shot. Dance had a dunk on the run, and Woods
hit a pair of free throws before Forster hit the dagger, a triple
that put Limestone up 67-48 with four minutes left. From that
point, the Saints cruised to the 69-54 victory to take tournament
title.
Woods led Limestone with 17 points while Foster followed with 16
and Dance chipped in with 12. The Saints shot 50.9 percent from the
floor and 38.1 percent from three.
The Limestone defense clamped down in the second half, holding
King to a 33.3 percent from the field in the second frame, and 39.6
percent in the game. King shot 31.0 percent from three in the game.
Lyle led the Tornado with 16 points. Watts added nine, and Malcolm
St. Louis chipped in with eight points and six rebounds.
Limestone receives the Conference Carolinas automatic berth in the
NCAA Division II Men’s Basketball Tournament that will take
place next weekend.