FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Paine College men's basketball team secured a hard fought 78-76 win at Fort Lauderdale Friday evening.
The Lions are now 10-5 on the season having won their last five outings.
Quinnton Jackson posted a game-high 22 points and eight assists to go along with three steals.
Calvin Johnson notched 15 points, seven boards and two blocks while
Kelvin Johnson added 13 points and four rebounds.
Kole Taylor contributed 11 points and four assists while
Amarie Kirby chipped in nine markers.
Najai Moody and
Jocqua Keaton added four points apiece.
PC took an 8-7 lead when Jackson found Keaton for a jumper at the 16:48 mark. A free throw by Jackson gave the Lions a 21-20 lead. Kirby added to the advantage at the 5:15 mark with a pair of charity tosses. Jackson hit two free throws to go up by five, 25-20. A basket by
Calvin Johnson and a free throw by Kirby made it 31-24 at the 4:42 mark and the visitors maintained a 33-28 advantage at the break.
After being up by seven on multiple occasions early in the second half,
Quinnton Jackson found Taylor for a lay-up at the 17:45 mark. Fort Lauderdale tied the game at 41-41 and the teams traded points until a three-ball from Kirby extended the advantage to four, 53-49.
Tied at 57-57, Taylor converted a three-point play at the 7:27 mark. The home team knotted the score at 68-68, but
Kelvin Johnson took a pass from
Quinnton Jackson for the lay-up. He absorbed the foul and made the free throw to go up 71-68 with 3:57 to play.
Kelvin Johnson hit a three-ball off a pass from Taylor, but Fort Lauderdale cut the margin to one. With 2:10 to go, the score was tied at 75-75.
Down by one,
Calvin Johnson made a lay-up with 1:40 to play.
Quinnton Jackson made a free throw with 30 ticks remaining.
The PC defense stayed strong and forced a pair of misses by the home team, securing the win.
For the game, PC hit 22-of-46 from the floor and 32-of-44 from the foul line. The team grabbed 19 rebounds and dished out 16 assists. The team stole the ball 11 times.
The Lions scored 28 points in the paint and tallied 16 points off turnovers.
The Lions return to action Monday when they play at Johnson & Wales at 4 p.m.
