November 24, 2007 

 

Livingstone defeats Knights at Holiday Classic

 

PEMBROKE, N.C.—Senior forward Benny Zacharias (Raeford, N.C.) had career-highs of seven points and seven rebounds to lead St. Andrews Presbyterian College but Livingstone College won its second straight game in the 2007 UNCP Holiday Classic (hosted by UNC Pembroke) with a 77-64 non-conference men’s basketball victory on Saturday afternoon in the English E. Jones Center.

 

Livingstone improved to 4-1 on the season with a balanced scoring attack that included seven Blue Bears with seven or more points. Sophomore Calvin Gunning (Camden, N.J.) paced the designated visitors with 15 points in the neutral site showdown.

 

Senior Joseph Gripper (Charlotte, N.C.) scored 10 of his team-high 12 points in the first half to keep the winless Knights (0-4) within striking distance at halftime. However, junior Tayloe Taylor (Memphis, Tenn.) scored all nine of his points in the opening period to lead the Blue Bears into the intermission leading 39-33.

 

A pair of made free throws by senior Bradley Hippolyte (Brooklyn, N.Y.) pulled St. Andrews to within one basket at 47-44 with 16:41 left. Livingstone responded with a 20-5 run over the next 10 minutes to take control and then held on for the 13-point victory.

 

The Blue Bears were on fire shooting 51.7-percent from the field including an impressive 58.3% in the second half. Livingstone also controlled the boards with a 40-29 advantage on the glass. While St. Andrews shot 40-percent from the game, the Knights were ice cold from 3-point distance only converting on 5-of-22 (22.7%) attempts from behind the arc.

 

Four Blue Bears reached double-digits in scoring including 12 apiece from sophomore William Bryant (Virginia Beach, Va.) and senior Michael Duncan (Cleveland, Ohio). Senior Mario Satterhwaite (Greenville, N.C.) added 10. Duncan and Satterhwaite were both 5-for-7 from the floor. Taylor added a game-high nine assists and a team-high seven boards to his nine points.

 

Freshman Zack Garst (Huntersville, N.C.) and junior Charles Phillips (Decatur, Ga.) bucketed nine and eight points, respectively, for the Knights. Zacharias and sophomore Ron Deas (Clayton, N.C.) followed with seven points apiece. Zacharias pulled down a team-high seven boards while Hippolyte dished out a team-high six assists.

 

St. Andrews will try and bounce back in the finale of the Holiday Classic when they face host UNC Pembroke on Sunday at 3:00 p.m. Livingstone will host Bowie State University on Tuesday, November 27th at 7:30 pm