TIGERVILLE, S.C. – The Erskine College men's basketball team (2-9, 2-9 CC) fell 96-90 at North Greenville University (6-4, 6-4 CC) in Hayes Gymnasium on Tuesday night despite a career-high 21 points from freshman Justin Morton.
 
GAME ESSENTIALS:
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THE SERIES
Erskine still clings to a lead in the all-time series 13-12 since the 2007-08 season, though NGU has now won the previous three meetings.
 
THE GAME
A pair of threes from Morton and Rod Culver in the opening minutes gave Erskine an early lead in what was a back-and-forth first half, at least in the early stages. An 11-4 NGU run gave the Crusaders a 27-18 lead, though at the halfway mark of the first half. Alex Cunningham scored the game's next five points to get the Fleet back within four, but that was close as Erskine got in the first half as North Greenville took a 48-34 lead at the break. The Fleet were held at arms length for much of the second half, until an Uzziah Dawkins layup at the 4:44 mark got Erskine back to within single digits. Then, with under a minute to play, Dawkins and Morton buried triples to cut it to a 92-87 game, but the Crusaders made enough free throws down the stretch to secure a 96-90 win.

THE PLAYER
Justin Morton scored a career-high 21 points on 7-15 shooting, including going 5-11 from three-point territory. In a team-high, 29 minutes played, Morton also added a pair of rebounds and three assists for the Fleet.

THE TEAM
Erskine shot 32-72 (44.4%) from the field as well as 14-38 (36.8%) from beyond the arc and was a perfect 12-12 from the free throw line. The Fleet got 35 points from their bench, led by Cunningham (13 points) and Matthew Brown (12 points). 

WHAT'S NEXT 
The Fleet return home following a four-game road stretch on Thursday night with a home bout against Belmont Abbey (12-4, 10-3) at 7:00 p.m. The Fleet lost at Belmont Abbey 87-72 back on February 10 and Erskine will look to end a six-game streak for the Crusaders in the series.

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