BANNER ELK, N.C. – The Erskine men's basketball team (0-1) opened its 2020-21 season with a 109-77 loss at Lees-McRae College (1-0) in Williams Gymnasium on Wednesday.

GAME ESSENTIALS:
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THE SERIES
Tonight's game was the 30th meeting between the Flying Fleet and the Bobcats all-time. With the win, Lees-McRae extends its winning streak to four over Erskine and holds 17-13 advantage in the all-time series. LMC has now won seven of the previous eight contests over EC.

THE GAME
After a slow start offensively for both squads, the Fleet pieced together six straight points (a pair of layups by Rod Culver and Travis Walters and a jumper from Matthew Brown) with the game tied at 4-4 to open a 10-4 advantage. The six-point lead was the largest Erskine would enjoy all night as the Bobcats countered with 4-0 run of their own to cut the game to 10-8. A Jalen Miller jumper then put the Fleet up four. With the Fleet leading 12-8, a 7-0 run boosted the Bobcats in front 15-12, giving the hosts the lead for good. Lees-McRae led 54-42 at the break.
 
In the second half, the Fleet came as close as 10 (56-46) after a Rod Culver bucket with 17:43 to play. From there, though, the Bobcats went on a 17-0 run, which lasted over three minutes, to put the game out of reach, 73-46. Lees-McRae won 109-77.

THE PLAYER
Jalen Miller neared a double-double, finishing with 17 points and nine rebounds. The freshman guard logged 35 minutes collecting five steals and three assists.

THE TEAM
Erskine went 30-74 from the field (40.5%) but were just 2-17 from beyond the arc (11.8%). The Fleet bench combined for 30 points while producing 14 points off 16 LMC turnovers.

WHAT'S NEXT 
The Fleet return to Due West to host Southern Wesleyan University (1-2) on Monday at 4 PM in Belk Arena.
 
The matchup with the Warriors on Martin Luther King Jr. Day kick starts a four-game week for the Fleet which includes a pair of home and road games.

MORE ABOUT THE ERSKINE COLLEGE FLYING FLEET

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