LAURINBURG — The St. Andrews Knights men’s basketball team suffered an 85-78 loss to the Truett McConnell Bears in an Appalachian Athletic Conference matchup at Harris Court Tuesday.

Truett McConnell (7-5, 5-4 AAC) went into halftime with the upper hand, leading the matchup 38-28. The Bears continued right where they left off coming out of the half, extending their lead to a hefty 17 points after a Raul Arias-Ortega layup with 13:10 remaining. Strong performances by the Bears’ bench and even stronger play in the paint saw them stay out of St. Andrews’ (3-9, 1-9 AAC) reach.

Mateu Escamilla cut the Truett McConnell lead down to 83-72 with 24 seconds left on the clock after Barnes pulled down one of his game-high 14 rebounds and made a quick outlet pass. Quwan Barnes sent Micah Stinson to the line for two shots with his foul, where Stinson made one. Barnes went to the free-throw line seconds later, making both shots to bring the score to 84-74.

Two more Knights baskets were added before the buzzer sounded, but it was not enough to overcome the Bears’ lead.

The Knights were surpassed in points in the paint 52-40 and points off the bench 33-21.

Barnes scored a game-high 20 points, with 8-for-15 shooting from the field, and had 14 rebounds, three steals, and two assists for St. Andrews; Jalen Mcafee-Marion had 18 points; and Xzavier McFadden had 15 points, seven rebounds, and six assists.

Jadon Yeh had 17 points for Truett McConnell; Cory Seitz had 15 points and six assists; Akil Covington and Arias-Ortega had 12 points and five rebounds each; and E.J. Smith had 10 points, four rebounds, and three steals.

The Knights travel to Durham to face NCAA Division I North Carolina Central in an exhibition contest on Friday.

Lady Knights drop home conference game against Truett McConnell

A.J. Price pulled the St. Andrews Lady Knights to within three points of the visiting Truett McConnell Bears with 7:06 left to play. The Lady Knights could not gather enough offensive momentum to secure a third conference win, though, falling 84-74 in Tuesday’s Appalachian Athletic Conference matchup at Harris Court in Laurinburg.

St. Andrews (3-7, 2-7 AAC) fought tooth and nail for three quarters to stay in stride with Truett McConnell (3-9, 3-5 AAC), trailing by as many as 10 two different times.

After Truett McConnell’s Ava Queen sunk both her shots from the free-throw line and Mahalah Stewart nailed a long 3-pointer, the Bears pulled out in front 68-60 as time ticked down.

Price tried to answer with a 3 of her own on the following possession but to no avail. After a Samantha Tougher offensive rebound, her second attempt did not find the net either, opening the door for the Bears to extend their lead.

Freshman Emily Cruz took her open look at the net from beyond the arc with 4:37 to go, making the field goal to cut the Bears’ lead back down to 68-63 and keeping the Lady Knights’ hopes alive.

The matchup took an unusual turn out of the 30-second timeout called by the Lady Knights with less than a minute left on the clock. In a two-possession game with the Lady Knights trailing 76-72, Cruz was called for a personal foul that was succeeded by a technical foul seconds later. The Bears’ Sydnie Smith was sent to the line for four shots, making two, putting the Bears out in front by six.

After a missed jumper from Price, the whistle was called for a dead ball. Lady Knights’ interim head coach, Randall Johnson, unhappy with no foul called on the previous play, received two successive technical fouls, allowing the Bears the final opportunity to slam the door shut on their opponents.

Alexis Brewster paced Truett McConnell with 21 points on 8-for-14 shooting and 10 rebounds; Queen also had 10 rebounds along with nine points; Brinkley Kate Reed had 15 points and three rebounds; and Stewart and Alysee Dobbs each had 12 points, with Stewart also dishing out four assists, and Dobbs pulling down seven rebounds.

Ashley Starks led the Lady Knights with 22 points; Price finished with 20 points, eight assists, and seven of the team’s nine steals; Tougher had 14 points and four rebounds; and Cruz had 10 points and seven rebounds.

The Lady Knights will take three weeks off for the holidays, then travel to Waleska, GA, on Jan. 2, 2024, to face off against Reinhardt.