BARBOURVILLE, Ky. – Lance Blakely and K.J. Duronslet registered career performances Wednesday in leading No. 24 Union College to a 97-80 Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) win over visiting Allen (S.C.).
The Bulldogs improve to 11-7 overall and 8-3 in conference play, while the Yellow Jackets drop to 12-4 overall and 6-4 in the AAC.
Blakely was lights out from long range, hitting 7-of-12 on 3-pointers in netting a career-high 29 points. His previous high was 25 points, which came earlier this season against Tennessee Wesleyan.
Meanwhile, Duronslet was a beast on the glass hauling in a season-high 15 rebounds with nine coming on the offensive end. He netted 23 points for his second double-double of the year.
Allen led early on but never more than by two points. A Duronslet bucket gave Union a 9-8 lead with 15:02 left in the opening frame, and the Bulldogs never trailed again.
After falling behind six, the Yellow Jackets pulled even at 21-all on a Brandon Moore jumper with 10:30 to go. Union responded with an 11-0 run to open up a 32-21 margin at the 7:49 mark. The margin hovered around double digits for much of the rest of the period, yet Allen used a 4-0 spurt to go into the break down 47-41.
The Yellow Jackets continued to battle as the second half unfolded, tying things up at 51-all Dhonte Ford 3-pointer with 17:36 to go. The Bulldogs countered with an 11-2 run in building a 62-53 lead. From that point on, Union forced the issue and eventually stretched the margin to 94-74 following a Blakely trey with 2:26 remaining en route to the 97-80 victory.
The deciding factors in the game came from behind the arc and on the glass. While Allen shot 47.1 percent from the field, it only connected on 2-of-11 (18.2 percent) from 3-point range. Conversely, Union drained 12-of-26 (46.2 percent) from long range.
On the glass, Union outrebounded Allen 44-34 and had 20 offensive boards.
Dominique Lindsey registered a solid, all-around game with 18 points, seven assists, and six rebounds. Austin Cummins helped out with 13 points.
For Allen, Moore led the way with 25 points, and Vernon Jackson and Ford contributed 18 and 13, respectively. Quincy Washington knocked in 10 points.
Up Next
Union steps outside of conference play on Friday to host Kentucky Christian. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.
