ROME, Ga. – The Converse University men's basketball fell to Shorter University 96-86 on Wednesday evening inside the Winthrop-King Centre.
With the loss Converse falls to 8-14 overall and 6-11 in Conference Carolinas action, while Shorter improved to 9-15 overall and 7-11 in Conference Carolinas play. Junior guard
Tre Locklear (Boiling Springs, S.C.) scored a career high 29-points against the Hawks and tied the program record for three-pointers in a single game with seven.
Camden Edmonds (King, N.C.) finished second on the team with 20 points, while
Jordyn Surratt (Spartanburg, S.C.) finished with his 10
th double-double of the season, passing Bosko Bojovic for the most double-doubles in a single season. Jonathan Pickering (Savannah, Ga.) finished fourth on the team with 14 points on the evening.
Shorter won the opening tip-off and started the game on a 7-0 run against the Valkyries.
Finley Pruever found Surratt for the Valkyries first points of the game at the 17:28 mark of the first half. Going into the first media timeout of the game the Valkyries trailed 12-5 to the Hawks.
Over the next 10 minutes of game action, Shorter held a double-digit advantage against the Valkyries. With 5:40 to play in the half, Locklear hit back-to-back three pointers and the Valkyries trailed 31-26. Converse continued to put the pressure on the Hawks and eventually closed the gap to two points.
The Valkyries went into the halftime break down 46-42, shooting 60 percent from the field, 63 percent from three-point range and 83 percent from the free throw line.
Coming out of the halftime intermission, Surratt scored the opening bucket for either side with 19:45 to play in the game. Shorter scored the next two baskets before the Valkyries responded at the 18:11 mark. One minute later, Locklear connected on one of his seven three pointers of the night and pulled the Valkyries within a single point down 51-50.
Locklear then stole the basketball on the Hawks next possession and raced down the court to give Converse their first lead of the evening at 52-51. Over the next seven minutes of game action the two teams traded the lead multiple times. Then Shorter went on a small run starting at the 9:48 mark of the second half and built a 75-67 advantage against the Valkyries.
A few possessions later the Hawks built a double-digit lead against Converse. The Valkyries ran out of time before they were able to make one last run against Shorter. Converse was outscored 50-44 in the second half, shooting 50 percent from the field, 42 percent from three-point range and 100 percent from free throw line.
Stats:
Points: Locklear (29), Edmonds (20), Surratt (16), Pickering (14)
Rebounds: Surratt (11), Pickering (4)
Assists: Taylor (5), Locklear (4)
Next Up:
The men's basketball team will be back at home this Saturday for Senior Day against Lees-McRae. Senior Day will start around 4:00 p.m. inside the Weisiger Center.
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