SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Converse University men's basketball team shot 64 percent from the field and 69 percent from three-point range in the second half on Tuesday night as they knocked off Erskine 94-83.
Converse (3-1, 2-0 Conference Carolinas) remains unbeaten in conference action this season and the Valkyries have now eclipsed the 90-point mark in two games this season. "I'm excited to start 2-0 in league play," Converse head basketball coach
Ryan Saunders said. "We've done a good job of taking care of home court so far this season."
Erskine (0-5, 0-2 Conference Carolinas) won the opening tip-off but missed their first shot of the match, allowing
Sigurd Lorange (Trondheim, Norway) to score the first points of the game for the Valkyries. Erskine countered on with a made three-pointer of their own, but
Jordan Warlick (Irmo, S.C.) gave the Valkyries a 6-3 advantage with 18:56 to play in the half. The match appeared to be headed towards a scoring affair from the start as both teams went into the first media timeout knotted at 11.
Coming out of the second timeout break Eli Pitts (Gainesville, Ga.) and
Will Searl (Orlando, Fla.) helped give the Valkyries a little bit of breathing room against the Flying Fleet. With 10-minutes to go in the period, Searl made a layup to give Converse a 27-18 advantage over Erskine. For the remainder of the half the two teams traded baskets as the Flying Fleet started to chip away at the Converse lead. Then with 24 seconds to play in the half, Erskine took a 43-42 advantage going into the locker room.
The Valkyries offense got off to a hot start in the second half. Warlick and Lorange scored back-to-back baskets to give Converse a 54-46 lead with 17:01 to play in the game. However, the Flying Fleet withstood the early run and took the lead at 55-54 off a De'Lanyc Shuler basket. Over the next five minutes of game time the two squads would trade baskets with one another, until Warlick nailed a three-pointer with 10:11 to play. The made basket gave Converse a 69-65 edge over Erskine.
Converse began feed off the energy from the crowd and the momentum began to grow for the Valkyries. With less than five minutes to play in the game
Jimmie Sanders III (Dallas, Texas) and Lorange hit back-to-back three-pointers to put the game out of reach for Erskine. Leading 85-73 with 3:15 to play in the match, the Valkyries were able to close out the Flying Fleet and pickup their second consecutive win.
A trio of Valkyries ended the match in double-figures on Tuesday evening. Lorange led the team with 24-points, Warlick contributed 13-points and
Earl Burgess III (Spartanburg, S.C.) added 10-points in the win. Sanders III, Pitts and
Nate Gordon (Alpharetta, Ga.) all finished with nine points in the match. Burgess led the team with nine rebounds and had a team high five blocks for the second straight game. Sanders led the team with 11 assists on the night, while Pitts and Lorange each had a pair of steals in the game.
Next Up:
The Valkyries will have about a week off between games due to the Thanksgiving break. Converse will host Mount Olive next Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m.
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