Preseason favorites Limestone defeat St. Andrews

GAFFNEY, S.C.—St. Andrews Presbyterian College was held to a season-low 29.3-percent shooting as host Limestone College pulled away to an 85-54 Conference Carolinas men’s basketball victory on Wednesday night in the Timken Center.

The Saints (3-1 Overall, 1-0 Conf.) – picked at the beginning of the season to win the conference title – opened up league play with a convincing win by firing at 45.6% accuracy and controlling the backboards, 51-41.

Senior Marvin Jackson (Gloucester, Va.) and junior Ross Williams (Washington, D.C.) led the Knights (1-5, 0-1) by bucketing 13 points apiece. Junior Ryan Streater (Charlotte, N.C.) added eight points as the trio accounted for 63% of the Knights offensive production.

St. Andrews led for most of the first 10 minutes with a junior Antonio Moffitt (Raleigh, N.C.) layup at the 15 minute mark giving the Royal Blue and White its largest lead at 11-5. Classmate Aaron Christian (New Bedford, Mass.) made a pair of free throws to keep the Knights in front, 15-11, before Limestone rallied.

The Saints catapulted ahead with an 18-4 run over the next eight minutes. A senior Marcus Connor (Charlotte, N.C.) dunk was the Knights only made field goal over that span. Limestone added the final two hoops of the first half on a pair of made layups to give the hosts a 33-21 cushion at halftime. Limestone maintained the momentum out of the locker room and pulled away by firing at 58.6% precision in the final 20 minutes.

For the game, Limestone shot 9-of-23 (39.1%) from three-point distance and 14-of-20 (70.0%) from the free throw line compared to just 4-of-14 (28.6%) from behind the arc and 16-of-28 (57.1%) from the charity stripe by SAPC.

Christian and junior Keith Davis (Orlando, Fla.) both scored five points for the Knights. Sophomore Barry Tucker (Brooklyn, N.Y.) pulled down a team-high seven rebounds and Connor rejected three Limestone shots. Connor and Williams both corralled six boards.

Limestone used balanced scoring to remain undefeated at home. A quintet of Saints scored in double digits with senior Danny Friend (Morrow, Ga.) pace the group with 14 points. Junior Jarrell Douglass (Leesburg, Fla.) provided a double-double with 12 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.

St. Andrews will next host Conference Carolinas rival Erskine College on Saturday at 4 p.m.