Banner Elk, NC – Lees-McRae held off the Flying Fleet to win 64 to 56 in Conference Carolinas men’s basketball action.   Erskine drops to 2-17 overall and 1-11 in conference and Lees-McRae moves to 6-14 and 2-10 in conference.

After Lees-McRae scored the first six points of the game, Erskine responded to tie the game at 8 a piece on consecutive 3-point shots by freshmen DeShaun Hall (Inman, SC, Landrum High School) and Troy Griffith (Augusta, GA, Evans High School) followed by a layup by junior Brandon Quarles (Landrum, SC, Landrum High School).  Lees-McRae kept a slight lead until three minutes in the half when Hall converted a traditional three-point play to give the Fleet their first lead of the game at 24-22.  Lees-McRae countered to close out the half on a 7-0 run to retake the lead 29-22 at halftime.

Opening the second half, the Fleet quickly scored on their first two possessions to tie the game on 3-point basket by Hall and a layup by freshman Casey Sorrell (Walton, KY, Simon Kenton High School).  Over the next seven minutes, Lees-McRae slowly built an eight point lead to 45-37 only to see the Fleet rally down the stretch to take a one point lead at 49-48 on a 3-point bucket by junior Filip Pejovic (Prijepolje, Serbia, Palm Beach Atlantic University) with six minutes remaining.   Two minutes later Pejovic tied the game again at 52-52 on 3-point basket.   Lees-McRae answered the Fleet rally scoring three consecutive baskets within a minute to seal the victory.

Hall scored a team-high 15 points for the Fleet while Sorrell added 14 points.  Chris Gore (Myrtle Beach, SC, Myrtle Beach High School) pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds.

Lees-McRae’s Daniel Sepokas led all scorers with 20 points.  Adam McFerrin and Gerry Hairston contributed 14 and 11 points respectively.

Erskine opens a four-game home-stand this Saturday when the Fleet host Mt. Olive College.  Tip-off is set for 4:00 p.m.

Box Score