YOUNG HARRIS, GA. – The Converse University men's basketball team fell in heartbreaking fashion on Saturday afternoon as they lost 72-70 to Young Harris College.
 
With the loss the Valkyries have now lost two straight games and have dropped to 7-11 overall and 6-6 in Conference Carolinas action. Meanwhile, Young Harris improves to 15-5 overall and 10-2 in Conference Carolinas play.
 
Joel Pullen led the team with 20-points off the bench, Leo Da Campo finished second on the team with 16-points and Isac Ahnstrand contributed 12-points in the loss. Edoardo Buffo led the team with seven rebounds and Earl Burgess III finished second on the team with five boards. Jay Mitchell, Ben Jones, and Buffo all tied for the team lead with a trio of assists each.
 
Young Harris opened the game on an 8-2 run, before Buffo and Mitchell connected on back-to-back three pointers to tie the game at eight with 15:16 to play in the half. A few plays later, Mitchell drilled another three-pointer and Converse held their first lead (11-10) of the afternoon with 14:22 to play.
 
At the 6:29 mark of the opening half, Buffo drilled a jumper and Converse held their largest advantage of the half at 24-19 over the Mountain Lions. Young Harris countered and finished the first half on a 16-4 run. Converse trailed going into the halftime break 35-29, shooting 44 percent from the field, 38 percent from three point range, and 100 percent from the free throw line.
 
Coming out of the halftime break, Young Harris increased their lead to 39-29 and forced Converse to call an early timeout. Joel Pullen scored out of the timeout break to end the Mountain Lions scoring run. Pullen continued to power the offense as he drained a three pointer on the next possession down the court and the Valkyries were back within striking distance ant 39-35.
 
Young Harris countered and quickly held a double-digit lead over the Valkyries once again. Converse did not give up as Ahnstrand hit back-to-back three-pointers and the Valkyries were back within two possessions of Young Harris at 47-42. With 10:48 to play in the game the Valkyries had almost completed the comeback when Kyle Monk hit a jumper in the paint to make it 47-46.
 
Over the next several minutes of game time the two teams matched each other possession for possession. With just 24 seconds left in the game, Young Harris held a 70-67 lead over Converse. Following a missed free throw, Converse raced the length of the court where Ahnstrand hit the game tying three pointer. With three seconds to go in the game Young Harris stepped to the line with two free throw attempts. The Mountain Lions connected on both attempts to hold onto the 72-70 victory over the Valkyries.   
 
Stat Leaders:
Points – Pullen (20), Da Campo (16), Ahnstrand (12)
Rebounds – Buffo (7), Burgess III (5)
Assists – Buffo (3), Mitchell (3), Jones (3)

Next Up:
The men's basketball team will head to Central, S.C. on Wednesday evening to take on the Southern Wesleyan Warriors. The game is set to tip-off at 7:00 p.m.
 
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