BRISTOL, Tenn. – The Union College Bulldogs was unable to bounce back after a 13-point first half as No. 20 King (Tenn.) College handed the Bulldogs a 76-53 Appalachian Athletic Conference setback Saturday on the road.

Union scored the first two points of the game, a basket from Aaron Dunaway (Lexington, Ky.) After that, King went on a 14-1 run over the next three minutes. Dunaway broke the Bulldogs’ scoring drought at the 15:52 mark. In the next 29 seconds, James Johnson (Lexington, Ky.) scored his only two points of the half and Brian Kirk (Augusta, Ky.) knocked down a pair of free throws to make the score 14-9.

The Tornado defense kept the Bulldogs off the scoreboard for two long spans, first a five-minute drought and a seven-minute span. With the lack of Union offense and pressure from King, the Bulldogs went into the locker room down 31-13. The Bulldogs shot 5-of-18 from the field with 11 turnovers. King went 7-of-16 from behind the 3-point line and 11-of-27 in all.

The second half was a closer affair as King outscored Union 45-40 in the final 20 minutes. The Bulldogs shot 65.0 percent (13-of-20) in the half.

King used an 11-of-27 performance behind the 3-point line in the win. In comparison, Union was 4-of-13 for 30.8 percent. All four made 3-pointers came in the second half.

Dunaway scored a game-high 14 points while Kirk and Chris Stunson (Richmond, Ky.) poured in 11 and 10 points, respectively.

A pair of King players scored 12 points, Clarence Smith and DeShaud Johnson. Two more scored 11 each, Ben Bosse and Mark Dockery to go with a 10-point effort from Torrington Cox.

The Bulldogs owned a 26-24 advantage on the glass, however, King grabbed eight offensive rebounds compared to Union’s four.

With the loss, the Bulldogs drop to 4-6 in the conference and 14-8 overall. King moved to 15-7 overall and 8-2 in AAC play.

Union will play host to Montreat (N.C.) College for a 7:30 p.m. AAC contest Tuesday, Jan. 29. In the first meeting of the season, on Dec. 1, Montreat defeated the Bulldogs 88-77.

Bulldog Notes

• The 13 points in the first half is the fewest scored in a half by Union. The previous low was 21, in the second half against King on Nov. 11.
• The Bulldogs went 0-2 against King this season. The Tornado won the earlier game 67-45 on Nov. 11.
• Union dropped below .500 on Saturdays, with a 5-6 record now.
• The Bulldogs are 0-3 when scoring less than 59 points.