Trailing 40-30 at the half, the Belmont Abbey men's basketball team outscored Erskine 27-23 in the second half, but its late rally fell short as the Flying Fleet escaped with a 63-57 win this evening at the Wheeler Center. Erskine improves to 6-5 overall and 3-3 in Conference Carolinas, while the Abbey falls to 6-6 overall and 2-4 in Conference Carolinas.

The contest was deadlocked for the third time with 9:14 remaining with both teams having 51 points as the Abbey whittled a nine-point deficit down to zero, but Erskine closed the game on a 12-6 run in the final 8:28 to earn the win.

Erskine led for the entire first half, building its lead to as high as 11 at 33-22 with 3:38 left. The Crusaders responded with a 9-4 run to cut the lead down to five, taking advantage of a pair of free throws after Jay Boulware was whistled for a technical foul for hangning on the rim after a dunk. Richard Barbee's two ensuing free throws, followed by a jumper by Chad Patus, closed the lead to five, but Erskine scored five points in the final 34 seconds to take a 40-30 lead into the break.

Barbee led the Abbey with 18 points, six rebounds and three steals. He was the only Crusader to reach double figures as the Abbey shot 40 percent from the field.

Brandon Wright led the Flying Fleet with a game-high 24 points, while Marko Latinovic added 13 points. Erskine shot 48 percent from the field.