Box Score
LAWRENCEVILLE, VA -- Livingstone's defense forced 54 turnovers and set a school record with 31 steals Thursday evening in a 71-50 rout of the St. Paul's College Tigers.
Defense was the key for Livingstone (10-4, 5-2) Thursday evening as the Blue Bears scored 39 points off of the 54 Tiger turnovers.
Livingstone's defense came out very strong in the first half, holding the Tigers (2-13) to only eight points through the first 10 minutes. The Blue Bears jumped out to a quick 13-4 lead in the first four minutes and continued to lead 21-8 at the 10-minute mark of the opening period.
St. Paul's trailed by as much as 16 in the first half, but got back within eight at 29-21 with 5:24 left in the first half. Over the final two minutes of the first half the Blue Bear defense again came up strong as Livingstone outscored St. Paul's 7-3 over that span to take a 39-26 lead into the break.
In the second half, Livingstone didn't allow the Tigers any opportunities to get back into the contest. St. Paul's was limited to, at most, four points without a Livingstone response. The Blue Bears battled hard in the first five minutes of the second period and got its lead to 21 points with 14:38 left in the game. Livingstone comfortably came away with the 71-50 victory.
The Blue Bears shot 50 percent from the field in the first half, but only 26 in the second half. Livingstone struggled at the free-throw line, connecting on only 57.8 percent of its attempts. The Blue Bears got out-hustled on the boards, 48-28.
The Blue Bears will return to the Trent Gymnasium on Saturday for a 5:30 p.m. contest against the Shaw University Bears. Livingstone is 4-0 at home this season.
