Men's Basketball Caps Regular Season With 96-65 Triumph At Lees-McRae

Belmont Abbey sophomore forward Kyle Phillips led all scorers with 25 points as the Crusaders men's basketball team wrapped up the 2009-10 regular season with a convincing 96-65 win at Lees-McRae this evening. Belmont Abbey moves to 14-13 overall and 9-11 in Conference Carolinas, while Lees-McRae ends its season with a record of 3-24 overall and 2-18 in Conference Carolinas.

The Abbey shot 56 percent as Phillips sank nine of 16 field goal attempts with six rebounds, one blocked shot and one steal. Tyshawn Good added 15 points, while Terrone Sheffey posted 12 points and Patrick Kuhlman added 11 with four assists. Chad Patus posted nine points and a game-high 11 rebounds. Richard Barbee also had nine points.

Lees-McRae shot 39 percent as Adam McFerran led the Bobcats with 16 points. He was the only Lees-McRae player to reach double figures.

Belmont Abbey led 37-28 at the half and outscored the Bobcats 59-37 in the final 20 minutes as it shot 57 percent from the floor in the stanza.

The Crusaders never trailed after being down 2-0 and led by as many as 14 points in the first half. In the second half, the the Abbey led by as many as 34 points at 95-61 with 1:32 left.

Belmont Abbey ends the regular season as winners of two straight and will open the Conference Carolinas Tournament as the seventh seed Tuesday night. The Abbey will play Limestone in the opening round.