SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Converse University men's basketball team scored 41 points off the bench on Tuesday evening as they defeated Lees-McRae 75-68 inside the Weisiger Center.

With the win the Valkyries improve to 7-10 overall on the season and 5-4 in Conference Carolinas action. Converse snapped a five-game losing skid and set a new single season record for wins in a season. The win also gave the Valkyries their first win in program history against Lees-McRae.

Trey Smith led the Valkyries offense with 21-points off the bench, while Jay Mitchell tied his career high in points with 19 on the evening. Bosko Bojovic scored 12-points and has extended his double-digit scoring streak to eight games. Uzziah Dawkins rounded out the Valkyries scoring with 11-points on the night.

First Half Notes:

• Jeremy Golson scored the first six points of the game with back-to-back three-pointers for Lees-McRae. The Bobcats opened the game on a 9-1 run but the Valkyries were able to make it to the media break without spending a timeout.
• Trey Smith scored the first field goal of the game for Converse with a three-pointer at the 14:35 mark of the period.
• The basket seemed to jolt the Valkyries offense back to life as Uzziah Dawkins scored five straight points to cap off an 8-2 run for Converse.
• With 9:38 to play in the half, Jordan Warlick hit a three-pointer to give the Valkyries their first lead of the game at 16-15.
• The two squads traded buckets over the final nine minutes of game time, but it was Lees-McRae who took a 34-30 lead into the halftime break.
• Converse shot 39 percent in the opening half, 33 percent from three-point range and 42 percent from the free throw line.

Second Half Notes:

• Mitchell found Bojovic for the first points of the second half as the Valkyries set the tone early by going to the post.
• The Valkyries and the Bobcats went back-and-forth for the majority of the half as they matched one another offensively. The Bobcats were never able to put the Valkyries away as Converse hung around within two possessions of Lees-McRae.
• With 5:28 to play the Valkyries began to take over and feed off the home crowd energy. Smith knocked down a jumper to make it 62-59, on the Valkyries next possession down the court Mitchell hit a jumper and the Valkyries were back within a single point.
• Smith high back-go-back three-pointers and the Valkyries took their first lead of the second half with 3:20 to play in the game.
• With 1:49 to play in the game Sidney Dollar made a pair of free throws to tie the match at 68.
• Converse finished the game on a 7-0 run with all seven points coming at the free throw line. The Valkyries outscored the Bobcats 45-34 in the second half and shot 52 percent from the field. Converse also shot 55 percent from the three-point line and 76 percent from the free throw line.

Stat Leaders:
Points – Smith (21), Mitchell (19), Bojovic (12), Dawkins (11)
Rebounds – Bojovic (9), Dawkins (6), Warlick (5)
Assists – Dawkins (5)

Next Up:
Converse will have almost a week off before they travel to Mount Olive on Monday afternoon. The game is set for a 4:00 p.m. tip-off in Mount Olive, N.C.

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