DUE WEST, S.C. -- Redshirt freshman Dionte Alexander tallied 24 points but Erskine held off a late rally for a 68-62 victory over Belmont Abbey in Conference Carolinas men's basketball action Tuesday night. The Crusaders trailed by 14 with 4:07 remaining but used a 16-5 run to close to within three in the final minute.

With the result, The Abbey falls to 1-14 overall and 0-12 in league play, while the Flying Fleet improve to 7-12, 4-8.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Alexander hit six of his eight field goals from beyond the three-point circle and made both tries at the line for his scoring total. It was just two points shy of the career-high 26 he tallied against King six days ago.
• Two other players topped double figures -- Khamani Wertz with 12 and Jaden Peters at 10.
• Alhousseny Diallo just missed a double-double with eight points and a career-high 12 boards.
• Judah Sault dished out a career-best six assists to go along with six points.
• The Crusaders grabbed 40 rebounds as a team, the second-highest total of the season. The +8 rebounding margin was the biggest in conference play.
• After trailing 6-0, Belmont Abbey used an 11-0 run to grab the lead, but the Flying Fleet held an eight-point lead at the break, 30-22. Erskine built a double-digit lead several times in the second half, culminating at 60-46 with 4:07 remaining. But runs of five points and six point around an EC layup closed the gap to five, 64:59 at 1:12.
•  An Alexander three at 49 seconds closed the gap with 49 seconds left, but the host made three of four free throws in the final time to seal the victory.

UP NEXT

• Belmont Abbey plays its only home contest in a six-game stretch on Saturday.
• The Crusaders host Francis Marion at 4 p.m. in the Wheeler Center.