COLLEGE HOOPS: Thanks to Piccinini, King still perfect in CC play

In a pinch, King College turned to Piccinini.

With his team leading just 67-61 midway through the second half after starting the game on a 29-5 run, Tornado guard Eddie Piccinini scored seven straight points on daring drives to the basket and ensuing free throws as King survived Limestone 85-75 on Thursday to remain undefeated in its first season of Conference Carolinas play.

“I knew once I got the ball to keep attacking the basket,” Piccinini said. “That’s what I do well. During the end of the game they were guarding us pretty well at the 3-point line so going to the hole strong was key.”

King (17-3, 9-0) has now won nine straight and nabbed its second win of the season over the Saints (8-13, 1-8), who were picked preseason No. 1 in Conference Carolinas but are now languishing at the bottom of the West Division after losing NCAA Division II All-American Jarrell Douglass to a torn ACL in their league opener against King back on Nov. 29.

Behind a fired-up crowd decked out in bright blue wigs for “Solid Blue” night at the Student Center, King got off to a scorching start, getting three 3-pointers from Brian Hewitt in the opening 3:11 and a bucket from Brandon Goss for a quick 11-0 lead. The Tornado proceeded to expand that advantage to 35-10 at the midpoint of the first half with 9-of-13 shooting from beyond the 3-point line.

“We just were not getting back and couldn’t match up,” said Limestone coach Brandon Scott. “They were just destroying us.”

The Saints, however, began chipping away at the advantage behind a 3-point barrage of their own and had a chance to make it a one-possession game before Piccinini slammed the door.

While King cooled off some after its blazing start, the Tornado still knocked down 16 of 34 3-pointers on the night. Limestone hit 12 of 29 from long range.

“We played really well for the first eight or 10 minutes and got a big lead,” said King coach George Pitts. “From that point on, we pretty much got out-played.”

“We shot it well, but we’re having trouble guarding people.”

Piccinini led all scorers with 22 points, while freshman Logan Lyle, a former Unicoi County High School star, contributed 18 on 7-of-11 shooting.

Michael Fortune (18 points) and Hewitt (13) also reached double figures for the Tornado, while Lio Gedeon had 11 rebounds as he continued to dominate the boards.

Scott was happy with his team’s fortitude, but said he may have waited too long to switch from the zone defense the Saints tried at the start of the game.

“I guess we fought,” Scott said. “We didn’t fold, but at the end of the day you want to win.”

Charles Blue led the Saints with 21 points and 11 rebounds, while Josh Corry had 18 points on the strength of six 3s.

Despite his concern about the Tornado’s defensive lapses, Pitts said he can’t be too upset as long as King continues to rack up victories atop the West Division.

“I’m very glad we won,” he said. “We’re still No. 1 in the league – that’s the bottom line.”

While King has had a number of close calls in its perfect Conference Carolinas start, Scott said there’s no doubt that the Tornado can win a title in its first season in the league.

“They didn’t take me by surprise because I’ve been following them for two years,” he said. “… They’re tremendous and [Pitts] is an unbelievable coach.”

“They’re the best team in the league. I think they’re the team to beat.”

WOMEN

Limestone 54, King 45

King hung with the Conference Carolinas West Division leaders for most of the night, but managed just 15 second-half points as Limestone defeated the Tornado for the second time this season.

“I felt like we obviously struggled to score in the second half,” said King coach Josh Thompson. “I feel like that’s the big difference is just being able to make shots. You’ve got to be able to make shots to win.”

King (3-15, 3-7) trailed by just two at the half and was still within five with 5:38 to play before Kaileigh West scored seven straight to put the game away for Limestone (16-4, 10-0).

West led the Saints with 13 points and added seven rebounds.

Freshman center Alley Sprouse was the only King player to reach double figures as she scored 15 points and grabbed six rebounds. Leading scorer Brooke Johnson put in nine points for the Tornado, but made just 3 of 11 shots as King shot just 35.7 percent for the game and 26.3 percent in the second half.

King was without junior guard Mikki Oliver, who injured her right knee at Erskine on Tuesday. Thompson said Oliver had an MRI and X-ray done on Wednesday, but her status going forward is unknown.

Despite its second straight loss following an upset Saturday of 2010-11 regular-season CC champion Barton, the Tornado remains in fifth place in the West Division – a position that would earn King the final spot in the conference tournament.

“That’s a motivating factor,” Thompson said. “We’re sitting right there in that fifth spot.”

King’s showing Thursday was also a marked improvement over its first matchup with Limestone, an 85-57 wipeout in the midst of a 0-10 start to the season.

“I definitely think that we’re improving and that’s encouraging for us,” Thompson said. “We’re really looking to finish strong.”

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