NEED TO KNOW:
Score: Life U 89, Blue Mountain 63
Records: Life U, 15-8 (8-5 SSAC); Blue Mountain, 4-16 (1-11 SSAC)
BLUE MOUNTAIN, Miss. — The Life University men's basketball team traveled to face SSAC opponent Blue Mountain on Thursday night, taking home a dominant 26-point win. The Running Eagles carried a large, double-digit lead into half and never looked back.
Life U fell behind early as the home squad came out strong. At the first media break, the Running Eagles had just two buckets while the Toppers offense collected an early 12-5 lead. Battling through the middle minutes of the half, a steal and layup from Chase James-Robinson finally gave Life U its first lead of the game, 24-23, with 07:58 left in the half.
Both squads traded buckets as the Running Eagles looked to build momentum in the remaining minutes. Back-to-back buckets from Calvin Payton did just that as Life U looked poised to take a double-digit lead. Behind a Payton three with 02:24 to play, the lead reached ten (41-31) points. By the break, the Running Eagles led 45-31, with Shane Stevensen leading the offensive attack with ten points.
The half time break did little to slow the first half momentum. Stevensen and company picked up right where they left off, quickly pushing the lead to 20. Life U continued to hold the Toppers at bay, holding a lead of 14 or more for over fourteen minutes straight to end the contest.
TURNING POINT:
--Life U closed the half on a 17-6 run that spanned nearly eight minutes.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:
--Life U shot 51.6% from the floor despite shooting just 29.6% from beyond the arch.
--It was all Life U on the glass, 39-19.
STANDOUT PERFORMANCES:
--Shane Stevensen: 23 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists
--Calvin Payton: 17 points, 2 rebounds
--Sergio Corta: 10 points, 3 rebounds
--Josh Baugher: 7 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists
UP NEXT:
--The Running Eagles travel to UT Southern for another SSAC match up on Saturday, Feb. 7.
