Box Score

BLUEFIELD, Va. – The Bluefield College men's basketball team opened Saturday's game on a 12-1 run at the Dome Gymnasium and never trailed, picking up a 73-63 win over Mid-South Conference foe Lindsey Wilson College at the Dome Gymnasium.
 
Bluefield (8-4, 2-3 MSC) allowed LWC (10-8, 1-5 MSC) to pull within one point on a couple of occasions, but always had an answer to deny the visitors a lead.
 
The Rams were paced by Kearsten Marion's game-high 18 points, with Josh Nesbit tacking on 17 points. Nesbit also had a big night on the boards, grabbing a game-high 12 rebounds. LWC's Tyrie Orosco had the next highest individual total, with seven.
 
Three Blue Raiders tallied double-digit totals, led by Keshaun Mayfield's 12 points. Tony Horne and Daronte' Clark added 11 apiece.
 
The opening tip went to Nesbit and the Rams were off as the forward quickly went to the hoop for BC's first score of the evening. Lindsey Wilson tallied a free throw for its first point before Bluefield reeled off 10-straight points for its 12-1 advantage.
 
Marion knocked down a three to start the run, while Alex Lubsey threw one home and hit a jumper before Kyle Grisby closed the stretch with a three of his own.
 
But, the Blue Raiders pulled back to within one, 13-12, as Horne tossed in six.
 
A pair of free throws from Eric Dukes halted the charge, while Nequan Melvin knocked down a jumper to stretch BC's advantage to five, 17-12, with 11:53 left in the opening half.
 
A Clark jumper once again closed the visitor's gap to just one point, 27-26, but Marion responded with a trey on the other end with just over a minute to play. Nesbit fed Melvin for a hoop underneath as time expired and the Rams took a 32-26 lead at the break.
 
BC came out of the half with five-straight points, making it a 10-0 run stretching over the two halves and earning the hosts a 42-28 lead.
 
LWC scored eight-, six- and five-straight points in attempts to make a charge, but BC always answered to extend the lead once again; Nesbit and Dukes tallied back-to-back layins to halt the first threat, Wilson hit a pair of free throws followed by a Nesbit dunk to put another at bay, while Wilson knocked down a trey and then added a pair of free throws to stop LWC's final bid to make it a manageable deficit.
 
Wilson's free throws with 7:29 to play made it a 10-pont lead for BC, 57-47, and the Blue Raiders wouldn't get closer than seven points the rest of the way.
 
Teams shot similar numbers from the field (BC 48.1%, LWC 45.3%), but LWC struggled from the charity stripe, shooting 11-for-20 (55.0%) compared to the Rams' 18-for-22 (81.8%).
 
Bluefield hits the road next week for MSC play, facing Cumberlands (Ky.) on Thursday and Georgetown on Saturday.