MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Spring Hill College led LeMoyne-Owen College by four points midway through the first half, but the Badgers were unable to sustain their momentum and the Magicians rallied and pulled away for a 96-85 victory in a Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference matchup Saturday night at Bruce-Johnson Hall.
Gresyn Rogers made a free throw to give Spring Hill (8-18, 4-13) a 26-22 lead with 8:38 to go in the first half, but LeMoyne-Owen (18-9, 12-6) scored the next nine points to open up a 31-26 advantage. Later in the half, a
Brandon Fischer layup tied the game at 36 with 3:57 remaining before the Magicians finished with a 13-6 burst to take a 49-42 lead into halftime.
Spring Hill was 15-of-32 (46.9 percent) from the field, including 7-for-17 (41.1 percent) from three-point range, in the first half. Meanwhile, LeMoyne-Owen was an impressive 20-for-35 shooting (57.1 percent) in the opening 20 minutes, including a sizzling 17-for-26 (65.4 percent) on its two-point shots.
The Badgers hung around for most of the second half and were still within five points at 77-72 with 6:50 remaining following a layup by Fischer. However, the Magicians took control of the game for good by going on an 11-0 run over a span of 3:19 to go up 88-72. LeMoyne-Owen - which has won two straight and four of its last five - stretched its lead to as much as 19 points, at 94-75 after a pair of Devin Booker free throws with 1:13 remaining, before the Badgers closed the game with a 10-2 run.
Christian Brandt led Spring Hill with 25 points and five rebounds. Fischer stuffed the stat sheet with 19 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists,
David Daniels had 12 points and four rebounds and
Quinn Sutton chipped in 11 points and four rebounds in the loss.
Booker paced five double-digit scorers for LeMoyne-Owen with 22 points, six assists, three rebounds and three steals. Martez Briggs had 17 points, nine rebounds and three assists, Tory Mason had a double-double with 16 points, 15 rebounds and three steals, Tyrone Banks tossed in 15 points, seven assists and four rebounds and Toriano Stokes netted 13 points and five rebounds. The Magicians finished the game 36-for-68 (52.9 percent) overall, including 30-for-48 (62.5 percent) from inside the three-point arc.
Spring Hill closes out its regular season Monday, traveling to Jackson, Tenn., to take on Lane in an SIAC matchup. The Dragons knocked off Spring Hill, 81-68, on Jan. 31 in the teams' previous meeting this season. Tipoff for Monday's game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
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