Belmont Abbey freshman guard Richard Barbee broke a 61-61 tie with a 15 foot jumper with 19 seconds left, and senior forward Ric Marczenko sealed the win with a pair of free throws with 2.2 seconds left as the Crusaders held on to defeat Lees-McRae 65-61 this evening at the Wheeler Center. The Abbey improves to 12-9 overall and 10-4 in Conference Carolinas, while Lees-McRae slips to 4-16 overall and 4-10 in Conference Carolinas.

After the Bobcats tied the game at 61 on a Jesse Hoots three-pointer with 45 seconds left, Belmont Abbey called a timeout with 40 seconds left and ran the clock down, where Barbee drained a jumper at the free throw line to give the Crusaders the lead for good. After a Bobcats timeout, Hoots drove to the basket, and with four seconds left, released a layup that fell off the side of the rim, where Marczenko cradled his fourth and final rebound of the night, and was promptly fouled by Raysean Hairston. Marczenko sank both free throws to seal the win.

The Abbey shot 38.6 percent (22-57) from the field as junior guard Jonathan Jackson led all scorers with 22 points on 7-17 shooting from the floor. Marczenko added 14 on 6-13 shooting to go along with four rebounds, three assists and two steals. Barbee finished with 12 points and six rebounds, and sophomore forward Chad Patus notched a double double with 11 points and a career-high 14 rebounds, 13 on the defensive glass. Guard Deonte Murphy finsihed with four assists and five steals.

Lees-McRae was led Hairston's 13 pints, while Nick DeSchepper and Aaron Willey both finished with 10 points as the Bobcats shot 41.4 percent (24-58) from the field.

The Abbey is back in action Thursday night at 7:30 when it goes on the road to face St. Andrews Presbyterian.