BARBOURVILLE, Ky. — Lance Blakely and Dominique Lindsey each registered a double-double in leading No. 14 Union College to an 88-72 Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) victory over visiting Tennessee Wesleyan on Wednesday.

The win improved Union to 8-6 overall and 5-2 in conference play, while Tennessee Wesleyan falls to 4-9 overall and 2-4 in the AAC.

Blakely scorched the nets, hitting 9-of-13 shots including 5-for-7 from 3-point range in posting a game-high 25 points. He also hauled in a game-high 14 rebounds.

Meanwhile, Lindsey hit 7-of-11 shots in netting 17 points to go along with his 10 assists.

It was a game of runs, but Union would have the last laugh in recording the 16-point victory.

Union opened things up with an 8-2 lead with Kamill Richards draining a pair of 3-pointers early on. Tennessee Wesleyan countered with a 7-0 run to take a 9-8 lead with 16:30 left in the half. After the teams traded baskets, Union embarked on a 21-4 run to open up a 31-15 advantage with 6:56 to go.

Not willing to give up just yet, Tennessee Wesleyan stormed back to cut the margin to 36-30 with 3:12 still to play. Union bounced back to stretch the lead to 45-32, but Tennessee Wesleyan accounted for the final four points of the period to make it 45-36 at the break.

Richards hit back-to-back 3-pointers to start the second half, giving Union a 51-36 lead with 17:38 remaining. Still, Tennessee Wesleyan countered with a 15-5 run. Kenny Dean capped the surge with an old-fashioned, three-point play to make it 56-51 at the 13:49 mark.

Tennessee Wesleyan kept pushing Union, cutting the deficit to 60-57 following a Aundre Reid 3-pointer with 12:36 to play.

But that would be as close as Union allowed the visitors to get as it pushed the margin to 16 points en route to the 88-72 victory.

Richards hit 7-of-12 from behind the arc in scoring 24 points for Union, while Austin Cummins chipped in 10 points and six assists.

For Tennessee Wesleyan, Dean led the way with 24 points with Jalen Oliver following with 19.

Union dominated the glass, outrebounding Tennessee Wesleyan 44-29.

Up Next

Union will have over three week off, as it will next play on Dec. 30 when it hosts Asbury for a 2 p.m. tip.