SAU roundup: Men’s basketball falls at Truett McConnell

CLEVELAND, Ga. — The St. Andrews Knights men’s basketball team went through first-half shooting woes and was unable to shake them enough to come back in the second half, falling 94-75 against the Truett McConnell Bears inside Benjamin F. Brady Arena Wednesday night.

St. Andrews (5-20, 3-20 Appalachian Athletic Conference) shot 10 of 31 (32.3%) in the first 20 minutes of action and trailed 50-28 at halftime. While the Knights improved their shooting to 18 of 35 (51.4%) and outscored Truett McConnell (11-16, 9-14 AAC) in the second half 47-44, the bid for a come-from-behind victory was unsuccessful.

Reserve K.J. Riley had a double-double with 24 points and 10 rebounds for the Bears; Jadon Yeh scored 14 points with two rebounds, two steals and two blocks; C.J. Brown also finished with a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds; Raul Arias-Ortega scored 10 points as well; reserve E.J. Smith scored eight points with four rebounds, three assists and two steals and Cory Seitz had six points, six assists and three rebounds.

Garrett McRae had a team-high 20 points with three assists for the Knights; Jalen Mcafee-Marion scored 12 points with three rebounds; Jordan Taylor had 11 points and six rebounds off the bench; Quwan Barnes neared a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds; Allan Taylor had eight points, seven rebounds and three blocks and Sincere Clark totaled six points, five rebounds and two blocks.

St. Andrews’ combined shooting for both halves was 28 of 66 (42.4%); Truett McConnell finished shooting 36-for-77 (46.8%) and 13 of 31 (41.9%) from distance.

St. Andrews’ men play their final game of the 2023-24 season on Saturday at Milligan in Tennessee.

Women’s basketball falters late in loss

The St. Andrews Knights women’s basketball team was outscored 9-2 in the waning moments of the fourth quarter and lost 71-64 against the Truett McConnell Bears in Cleveland, Georgia, Wednesday.

St. Andrews (6-16, 5-16 Appalachian Athletic Conference) and Truett McConnell (10-17, 9-12 AAC) were tied at 62-62 with 1:37 to go before the Bears went on their mini-run to get the win.

The Lady Knights were down 21-17 at the end of the first quarter and trailed 40-32 at halftime, but a 17-7 scoring advantage in their favor in the third quarter helped them take a 49-47 lead after three quarters.

Alexis Brewster had a massive double-double with 25 points on a 10 of 17 (2-for-3 from 3) shooting clip and 16 rebounds for Truett McConnell; Destinee Lovejoy scored 11 points with six rebounds and two assists; Brinkley Kate Reed had nine points and three rebounds and Sydnie Smith scored eight points with six rebounds, six assists and two blocks.

St. Andrews had just five players available to play; A.J. Price led the way with 25 points, nine rebounds, three assists and two steals; Ashley Starks scored 21 points with two rebounds and two steals; Emily Cruz had 13 points, seven rebounds and three assists and Madison Larrimore had eight rebounds and two steals.

Likewise, with the men’s team, the Lady Knights close their 2023-24 season at Milligan in Tennessee on Saturday.

Softball swept at Fayetteville State

The St. Andrews Knights softball team lost both ends of a nonconference doubleheader Wednesday against the Fayetteville State Broncos 3-1 and 3-0 at Lamont Street Park.

St. Andrews remains winless at 0-10 with the losses, while Fayetteville State improves to 4-6.

In game one, with the bases full in the third inning, Charlee Mullins was hit by a pitch which brought home Olivia Plybon for the game’s first run; Claira Stone singled in the bottom of the inning for Fayetteville State, and Aniya Caldwell scored to tie the game. Fayetteville State took its eventual game-winning lead in the sixth on an Angelica Locklear two-RBI hit that sent Laniyah Bethea and Sydney Jackson in for the 3-1 advantage.

Jackson went 2-for-3 at the plate and Treja Paterson and Aniya Caldwell had one hit each for the Broncos. Kevana Deberry was the winning pitcher.

Tess Rushman collected two hits, and Jaylin Joss and Haley Zimmerman each had one for the Lady Knights. Meghan Fritz went all six innings in the circle, allowing six hits with four strikeouts and taking the loss.

Game two saw Bethea and Locklear score in the first inning to put Fayetteville State up 2-0, and Jackson ran home in the second for the 3-0 lead that became the final after no more runs were scored.

Stone finished with two hits, while Olivia Jackson, Locklear, Xztashya Porter, Isabella Rumbold and Caldwell had one hit each for Fayetteville State; Olivia Jackson and Locklear had one RBI. Hannah Mills pitched the entire game, giving up only three hits with a walk while striking out eight to earn the win.

St. Andrews’ Maddy Taylor, Rushman and Mullins recorded one hit; Mullins pitched all six innings, suffering the loss.

The Lady Knights are back at home Thursday against Salem in another doubleheader.