Elijah Rouse scored eight of the game's first 10 points and
finished with 17 points as Mount Olive held off a late rally
Lees-McRae rally to extend its winning streak to seven with a 95-85
victory over the Bobcats Saturday afternoon in Carolinas-Virginia
Athletics Conference men's basketball action.
Mount Olive (18-5 overall, 12-4 CVAC) jumped out to a 10-0 lead
in the first two minutes of the contest, highlighted by a pair of
dunks and pair of jumpers in the paint by Rouse. Henry Williams'
basket with 15:40 remaining gave Lees-McRae (5-16, 4-10) its first
points of the game and the Bobcats whittled the lead down to 17-14
midway through the first half.
The Trojans' lead was still three with less than five minutes
left before the break when Coffield's three-pointer ignited a 10-2
run to close out the half and Mount Olive went into the locker room
with a 39-28 halftime lead. Rouse had 13 points at the half.
Mount Olive extended the lead to 17 points early in the second
half, fueled by three-pointers by Justin Melton and Kendrick
Easley, and dunks by Lydell Walker and Mike Holloman.
Three-pointers by Williams and Darius Roper sparked a Lees-McRae
and the Bobcats pulled within 55-51 with 12:21 remaining.
Easley's three-pointer put Mount Olive back up by seven and the
Trojans' defense helped built the lead up to 20 points. Mike
Holloman scored a transition basket of Brandon Streeter's outlet
pass and Coffield's slam dunk off his steal at midcourt gave the
Trojans a 78-58 lead with 6:15 left to play. After Mount Olive
emptied its bench with three minutes remaining and a 16-point lead,
a series of Lees-McRae three-pointers cut the lead down to single
digits. But the Trojans scored their last 13 points from the free
throw line to seal the win.
Rouse, who is ranked nationally in four NCAA II statistical
categories, improved his averages in three of the four. Rouse was
8-for-9 from the field, while recording five steals and two blocked
shots. He also pulled down six rebounds to share game-high honors.
Melton matched Rouse with five steals and dished out four
assists.
Roper, (pictured top left), led all scorers with 24 points for
Lees-McRae, while Williams finished with 20 points and Aaron Dugger
added 13 points and a game-high seven assists. Roper and Williams
pulled down six boards apiece as Lees-McRae outrebounded Mount
Olive 41-25.
Mount Olive hit 17-for-23 field goal attempts (73.9 percent) in
the second half and shot 55.8 percent (29-for-52) for the game. The
two teams combined for 113 points in the second half, including a
combined 33 points from the free throw line.
The Bobcats will resume their four game road swing away from
Williams Gymnasium when they travel to Queen's University of
Charlotte. Tip off is scheduled for
7:30pm.
