Box Score Due West, S.C. – The Erskine Flying Fleet made a statement tonight, hammering #22 ranked and conference-leading King College 77 to 61 in Conference Carolinas men’s basketball action at Belk Arena.

After a slow offensive start by both teams, Erskine grabbed the lead for good on a short jumper by freshman Roderick Perkins (Smyrna, GA, Campbell High School) who followed it up with a steal and a dunk to put the Fleet up 11 to 8 midway through the opening period. 

The Fleet outscored the Tornado 14 to 2 to close out the half.  Perkins ignited the run with a layup followed by a steal and a feed to teammate DeShaun Hall (Inman, SC, Landrum High School) for the easy layup.  Junior Jake Haslam (Lithia, FL, Tampa Preparatory School) concluded the run with a 3-point basket with just seconds remaining.

Erskine continued their torrid shooting throughout the second half extending their lead to 30 points at one point.  King managed to trim the Erskine lead late after the outcome had been decided.     

With the early conference win, Erskine (8-2, 4-2) stays within a game of King (10-2, 5-1) in the conference standings.

For the second consecutive game, Perkins led the Fleet with a game-high 21 points and team-high 8 rebounds.  He also added 3 more blocks to his conference-leading 1.7 blocks per game total.  Haslam finished with 15 points on 5 of 11 from behind the arc while senior Corey Sorrell (Walton, KY, Holy Cross High School) filled the stat sheet from his post position with 15 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals.  Junior Mike Gabbard (Erlanger, KY, Boone County High School), who came off the bench tonight, finished an assist shy of a “double-double” with 9 assists and 11 points.  Gabbard currently leads the conference in assists, averaging 7.5 per game.

Logan Lyle led King College with 16 points while teammate Jason Seymore came off the bench to earn a “double-double” with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Erskine looks to extend their win streak to three games this Saturday as the Crusaders of Belmont Abbey visit Belk Arena.  Tip-off is set for 4:00 p.m.