Box Score Due West, S.C. – Erskine entered tonight looking to beat the conference leader for the second straight game but came up short losing 61 to 54 to Limestone College in Conference Carolinas men’s basketball action at Belk Arena.

Coming into tonight’s contest, Erskine had won their last three games, including an 82-68 upset victory over conference-leading Barton College this past Saturday night.

Fueled by a passionate home crowd, Erskine sprinted out to an early 8-0 lead on a couple of 3-point baskets by Mike Gabbard (Erlanger, KY, Boone County High School) and Jake Haslam (Lithia, FL, Tampa Preparatory School).  Limestone took a brief one point lead but the Fleet countered by scoring 12 unanswered points and led 32 to 25 at halftime.

Limestone quickly took the lead to open the second half, scoring the half’s first eleven points.  P.J. Foster hit three consecutive shots from behind the arc to spark the Saint run. 

Trailing most of the half by five to eight points, senior Corey Sorrell (Walton, KY, Holy Cross High School) made a nice move in the post to trim the Saint lead to three points at 57 to 54 with two minutes remaining.  The Fleet had several good looks but could not get a shot to fall.  Foster hit four free throws in the final 30 seconds to seal the 61 to 54 victory for Limestone.

Gabbard led the Fleet with a game-high 18 points.  Sorrell earned his second double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

The Saints had three players finish in double-figures, led by Phillip Moultrie's double-double of 17 points and 16 rebounds.  Foster finished with 16 points while Rashod Chavis scored 13 points.  Joe Raga and Charles Blue also finished in double-figure rebounds with 12 and 10 respectively.  Limestone dominated the boards to a tune of 56 to 33 resulting in 18 second chance points.

Erskine closes out the regular season at 17-9 overall and 11-9 in conference.  It is the most victories for the Flying Fleet since joining the NCAA Division II ranks in 1992.

Erskine has clinched a spot and will go on the road in the upcoming conference tournament starting next Monday, March 4th.  Erskine will enter the tournament as either the #6 or #7 seed depending on the outcomes of this Friday’s last conference games.