November 7, 2008
EKPERIGIN SCORES 20 IN DOLPHINS' 85-54 EXHIBITION LOSS AT GEORGIA TECH
Atlanta, Ga. - Junior preseason All-American forward Laurence Ekperigin (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Walter Panas) scored 20 points and grabbed eight rebounds, but the Le Moyne College men's basketball team fell to Georgia Tech, 85-54, in an exhibition game at Alexander Memorial Coliseum on Friday night.
The Yellow Jackets jumped out to a 6-0 lead through the opening four and one-half minutes before the Dolphins got on the board on a lay-up by Ekperigin. After falling behind 18-7, Ekperigin scored his ninth consecutive point to open the game for Le Moyne. After a foul shot by Alade Aminu, freshman guard James Cormier (Grantham, N.H./Proctor Academy) hit a three-pointer to pull the Dolphins within seven at 19-12, the closest Le Moyne would get in the contest.
Sophomore Gani Lawal scored seven of Georgia Tech's final 11 points of the half to give the Yellow Jackets a 34-22 lead at halftime. Lawal, who tallied all but three of his points in the paint in the half, led the Yellow Jackets with 19 points in the opening 20 minutes of play. Ekperigin led the Dolphins with nine points in 19 minutes played in the half.
After a lay-up by junior guard Damani Corbin
(Brooklyn, N.Y./Frederick
Douglass) to open the second half, Georgia Tech went on a
33-10 run over the next 8:16 to open up a 33-point lead. Lawal
book-ended the streak with a dunk on each end as he tallied eight
points in the run. Aminu recorded four dunks and a pair of lay-ups
to post 12 points in the streak.
Le Moyne tallied eight of the game's next 10 points to pull within
27 with 8:21 remaining in the contest on a pair of free throws by
Ekperigin. The two squads traded points the remainder of the game
to give the Yellow Jackets the victory.
Ekperigin, named a preseason Honorable Mention All-American by The Sporting News, finished the game with 20 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Sophomore forward Kevin Roth (Lake View, N.Y./St. Francis) scored eight points and grabbed five rebounds, while senior Phil Barnes (Georgetown, Cayman Islands/Clinton C.C.) added seven points and Corbin scored six. Cormier dished out four assists to lead the Dolphins.
Lawal led all scorers in the game with 30 points on 13-of-16
shooting from the field, while adding 10 rebounds and four assists.
Aminu finished the contest with 17 points and 12 rebounds,
including 10 on the defensive end. Junior Zachery Peacock scored
nine points and had a game-high 13 rebounds. Freshman Iman
Shumpert, a McDonald's All-American last year, scored four points
and added a game-high eight assists.
Le Moyne opens regular-season play on Sunday, Nov. 16 at Syracuse
University at 6:30 p.m. as part of the O'Reilly Auto Parts CBE
Classic
-agate-
Georgia
Tech 85, Le Moyne 54
Le
Moyne
22
32
-
54
Georgia
Tech
34
51
- 85
