Final Stats
SALISBURY, NC – The Livingstone men's basketball team won its season series with Morris College Thursday evening, downing the Hornets 90-77 inside New Trent Gymnasium.
Morris, coming off a victory over the Blue Bears less than two weeks ago, started off very strong, keeping pace with the Blue Bears on both ends of the court. Livingstone was able to open a 10-5 lead over the Hornets less than three minutes into the contest, but Morris battled back to grab its first lead of the game at 13-12 with 14:58 remaining in the first half.
The Hornets continued to lead 18-16, but the Blue Bears went on a 7-0 run to take a 23-18 edge with 8:40 on the clock. Morris responded with a 5-0 run of its own to tie the game at 23-23. The two teams went back and forth trading buckets for the final eight minutes of the first half and the Blue Bears were able to get a little separation at the break, leading 35-31.
Livingstone got the ball to start the second half and Greg Henry drained a quick three then the Blue Bears forced two turnovers that resulted in buckets to quickly extend their lead to 42-31 less than a minute into the second half.
Morris continued to stay within striking distance of the Blue Bears through the first 10 minutes of the second half as the Hornets trailed by only five with 9:37 left in the contest. Livingstone then went on a 9-0 run to open a 68-54 lead with 7:50 on the clock.
The Blue Bears increased their lead to as much as 20 points in the second half and thanks to some clutch three-point shooting by the Hornets, Morris was able to cut slightly into the Blue Bear lead, but in the end was in too big of a hole to recover.
Nasir Austin led three players in double figures Thursday, finishing with 18 points. Trone Jackson and Josh Hodge each also scored 14 points. Tyler Johnson led all players on the boards with 11 rebounds.
Livingstone shot 46.2 percent for the game including 51.3 percent in the second half. The Blue Bears also shot 29.4 percent from the three-point line and converted 71.4 percent of their free throws.
Livingstone will complete its four-game home stand on Saturday when the Blue Bears host the Fayetteville State Broncos at 7:30 p.m.
