BELMONT, N.C. -- LJ McCoy tallied 18 points and hit four free throws in the final 1:06, lifting Belmont Abbey to a hard-fought 76-74 victory over Emmanuel in Conference Carolinas men's basketball action Thursday night at the Wheeler Center. The win was the fifth in a row for the Crusaders, who improve to 6-1 overall and 4-0 in league play.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Belmont Abbey found itself leading by seven with 56 seconds left, but needed a defensive stop in the final five second to secure the victory.
• Mario Lacy, Jr. and Charles Solomon also reached double figures at 14 and 12 points, respectively.
• Lacy added eight rebounds, while Sean Halloran tallied seven boards and a team-best five assists.
• The Crusaders posted a season-low for shooting percentage at .446 (29-65), but also turned in their best field goal percentage defense number of the campaign at 41.2 percent (21-51).
• Belmont Abbey won the rebounding battle 37-33 and forced 22 turnovers.
• After Emmanuel scored the first five points of the game, Nate Davis hit three straight buckets to give The Abbey a 6-5 lead. With the score tied at 11, McCoy and Emmanuel Hernandez hit baskets and the Crusaders never trailed again.
• Seven straight points turned a one-point lead into eight, 33-25 with 5:07 left in the half, then margin reached its biggest point, 39-27 at the 2:56 mark. The score was 43-32 at the break.
• KJ Jones of Emmanuel led all scorers with 26 points.

UP NEXT

• The two teams meet again on Saturday afternoon in Franklin Springs, Ga.
• The contest will be the fourth in 16 days between the two clubs as they played a non-conference home-and-home series on Jan. 8 and 11.
• The home team has won all three meetings so far.