King Athletics
Travis Chell, Director of Athletic Communications
GAFFNEY, S.C. – The 25th-ranked King University men’s basketball team clinched the outright Conference Carolinas regular season championship on Saturday with a 108-89 win at Limestone College. The Tornado offense shot nearly 60 percent as they were led by a season-high from James Brown and career-high from Mike Salomon.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
- King (21-6, 15-4 CC) started hot as back-to-back triples from Blake Atwood and Salomon gave King a 10-0 lead in the opening three minutes.
- However, Limestone (4-23, 3-16 CC) came back with a 14-4 run, evening the score six minutes into the contest.
- A Damion Ottman layup midway through the half got the Tornado offense going again as they started to gain separation.
- Justin Frazier made a layup that gave King a 31-21 lead and forced Limestone to take a timeout.
- With six minutes remaining until halftime, a Brown dunk gave King a 40-25 lead to cap the 17-4 Tornado spurt.
- However, Limestone closed the half on a 12-4 run, cutting the King lead to 49-40 at the break.
- Both teams shot well in the opening 20 minutes with King making 57.6 percent of their shots and Limestone connecting on 54.8 percent of their shots.
Second Half
- The offense picked up in the second half as King shot 55.9 percent from the floor and 58.8 percent from long range.
- However, the Saints shot well two, posting a 60.0 field goal percentage and making 66.7 percent of their shots from long range.
- Limestone cut their deficit to seven in the early going, but consecutive triples from Jordan Floyd and Salomon and a layup from Frazier gave King a 60-45 lead three minutes into the half.
- From there, the Tornado lead stayed in double figures the rest of the way with King leading by as many as 27 in the 108-89 victory.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Brown led the Tornado with 29 points, going 10-for-14 from the floor. He also grabbed seven rebounds and handed out three assists.
- Salomon followed with 27 points while Floyd chipped in with 12 points.
- Ottman added 11 points, six rebounds and three assists.
FOR THE FOES
- Dylan Spriggins led the Saints with 26 points while Ben Gahlert and Jaedon Willis added 20 points each.
- Miguel Diaz chipped in with 11 points.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- The 29 points for Brown set a season-high mark.
- Salomon set a career-high with 27 points, topping his previous best of 24 that was set last January against Erskine College.
- The win gives King the outright Conference Carolinas title and the top seed in the Conference Carolinas Tournament.
UP NEXT
- King closes the regular season on Tuesday night at North Greenville University. Tipoff from Tigerville, S.C. is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
- Limestone travels to Chowan University on Tuesday night.