LEXINGTON, Va. — St. Andrews University senior Jared Key captured the 197-pound title Saturday at the Washington and Lee Invitational in Virginia.
Key won three matches en route to the championship, including a 8-3 decision victory over VMI’s Taylor Thomas in the title tilt. Key’s title was his first at the collegiate level.
The 197-pound crown helped the Knights finish ninth overall in the 12-team field with 24.5 points. John Carroll won the team championship with a score of 129.5.
Key opened with a 14-4 major decision win over Southern Virginia’s Caleb West, then advanced to the finals when he scored a 7-4 victory against John Carroll’s Russell Porter.
The next highest Knight to place was 165-pounder Kavoris Perry, who came in sixth. Perry notched a pair of decision wins before losing in the semifinals, then falling in the fifth-place bout. Perry knocked off Gettysburg’s Brandon Carcuffe by a 9-4 decision, then he bested Ferrum’s Sam Solomon with a 9-7 decision win.
Eventual champion Tyler Hardtke of John Carroll sent Perry to the consolation bracket with a 7-2 victory. Perry was then eliminated when he was pinned by Scranton’s Zach D`Apolito.
Junior Devin Washington went 2-2 in the 285-pound bracket to place in the top eight, and sophomore Argie Burnette (184 pounds) tallied his first collegiate pin when he downed Southern Virginia’s Simon Buchkovich in 35 seconds in the consolation bracket.
The Knights return home today to battle Spartanburg Methodist at 7 p.m.
Men’s basketball rallies for win
LAURINBURG — St. Andrews came back from a double-digit halftime deficit to defeat visiting Johnson & Wales University 71-65 on Monday.
The Knights (7-8) trailed 37-27 at halftime but outscored the Wildcats (5-9) by 16 points in the second half.
After shooting 27 percent in the opening 20 minutes, St. Andrews responded to hit 50 percent of its field goal attempts after the break. Junior Titus Gary led all scorers with 19 points on 5-for-15 shooting — four of his makes came from beyond the 3-point arc. Senior Kwasean McCaskell added 18 points, junior Alex Tharp netted 14 points and 10 rebounds and senior Jeff Gulley chipped in eight points and 13 rebounds for the Knights.
St. Andrews outrebounded Johnson & Wales 50-38 and sank 11 more shots from the charity stripe.
The Wildcats were led by Nick Crawford’s 17 points and 12 rebounds. Rickey Porter was second on the team with 16 points and he also tacked on five rebounds and three steals.
St. Andrews will return to the court Thursday at 6 p.m. to battle Morris College (S.C.) on the road.
St. Andrews swim team edges Mars Hill
LAURINBURG — The St. Andrews men’s swim team defeated Mars Hill University 128.5-123.5 Saturday at home for its second win of the season.
The meet came down to the wire as the last event of the day, the 200-yard freestyle relay, determined the winner. The Knights’ relay team of juniors Nick Souza, Josh Dixon, Cameron Dixon and Elliot Boon outpaced the Lions’ relay team by .47 seconds to capture the victory.
Junior Georgi Krastev paced the Knights with 38 team points, winning all four races that he entered.
On the women’s side, Mars Hill edged St. Andrews 111-99.
Senior Triniti Counter was the Knights’ top swimmer, winning the 100- and 200-yard butterfly.
St. Andrews will compete again Saturday at 1 p.m. when it travels to South Carolina to take on Limestone College.
Logan Martinez can be reached at 910-506-3170. Follow him on Twitter @L_Martinez13.