SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Converse University men's basketball team overcame an eight point halftime deficit to defeat Erskine 73-64 on Saturday afternoon inside the Weisiger Center.
 
With the win Converse improves to 11-14 overall and 10-9 in Conference Carolinas action. Converse is now 8-3 at home this season and head coach Nick Pasqua picked up career win No. 100 in the process. Pasqua has won 44 of his 100 games at Converse and is the programs all-time winningest head coach.  
 
For the second time this week, Joel Pullen led the team in scoring after a 22-point outing against the Flying Fleet. Jay Mitchell finished second on the team with 14-points and Caleb Reams scored 12-points off the bench. Mitchell, Pullen and Reams all tied for the team lead with three assists each, while Mitchell led the team with nine rebounds.    
 
First Half Notes:

• Converse won the opening tip-off and Isac Ahnstrand scored the first points of the game. Nearly three minutes of game time passed before Erskine scored back to baskets to make it a 5-2 advantage for the Flying Fleet.
• Erskine went on to open the match on a 9-2 run against the Valkyries, before Ahnstrand ended the scoring drought for the Valkyries with 14:10 to play in the half.
• Converse continued to cut into the Flying Fleets lead and a Jay Mitchell dunk at 11:04 tied the match up at nine. The Valkyries took their second lead of the half following a Sigurd Lorange three pointer.
• With 5:40 to play in the half, Ben Jones hit a three pointer and the match was tied once again at 18. The Flying Fleet then used a 7-0 run to gain some separation against the Valkyries.
• Converse went into halftime trailing 33-25, the Valkyries shot 26 percent from the floor, 18 percent from three-point range and 60 percent from the free throw line.  

 
Second Half Notes:

• Coming out of the halftime break, Erskine scored the first four points of the period and forced Converse to take an early timeout.
• Pullen hit a three-pointer coming out of the media timeout to get the Valkyries on the board in the second half.
• A Valkyrie 6-0 run highlighted by a Mitchell dunk with 15:15 to play in the game had Converse back within a trio of points down 37-34.
• Over the next five minutes of game time the Valkyries pulled within single digits of Erskine on multiple occasions, but each time the Flying Fleet countered with a run of their own.
• Finally, with 5:32 to play in the game, Pullen made a contested layup and tied the game at 58. Pullen sank the ensuing free throw and the Valkyries had their first lead of the second half.
• With the momentum and the crowd on their side the Valkyries offense came back alive. Earl Burgess III posted a personal 5-0 run over a minute of action and the Valkyries lead was back to 66-58.
• Converse converted on most of their free throw attempts down the stretch and secured the victory over the Flying Fleet.
• The Valkyries outscored Erskine 48-31 in the second half, shooting 50 percent from the field, 31 percent from three-point range, and 81 percent from the free throw line.  

 
Stats:
Points: Pullen (22), Mitchell (14), Reams (12)
Rebounds: Mitchell (9), Burgess III (8), Lorange (6)
Assists: Pullen (3), Mitchell (3), Reams (3)

Next Up:
The men's basketball team will hit the road this week and travel to the Volunteer State on Wednesday evening when they take on King.      
 
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