Box score
BANNER ELK, N.C. --- The Mount Olive College
men's basketball team shot a blistering 64 percent from the field
in the second half en route to an 85-77 come-from-behind victory
over Lees-McRae College on Sunday afternoon in Conference Carolinas
action.
Mount Olive (7-5, 2-2 CC) edged the Bobcats (3-8, 0-4 CC) by a
35-34 margin on the glass, including a 12-10 advantage on the
offensive boards, while outscoring LMC by a 17-9 spread in second
chance points. Both teams shot well from the field and the free
throw line, as Mount Olive posted a 45.6 percent clip from the
floor after knocking down 16-of-25 field goal attempts in the
second half.
Lees-McRae connected on 43.6 percent of its attempts on the
afternoon, including 44.4 percent of its shots from beyond the arc.
Each team converted at least 80 percent of its attempts at the free
throw line, as Mount Olive posted an 81.3 percent mark from the
stripe while Lees-McRae connected on 84 percent of its chances at
the line.
The Bobcats placed five players in double figures for the first
time this season, led by senior Adam McFerran (Stow, Ohio), who
poured in 20 points and went a perfect 5-for-5 at the free throw
line. Dairl Scott, Jr. (Pfafftown, N.C.) and Daniel Sepokas
(Illawong, Australia) joined McFerran in double figures with 14 and
13 points, respectively, while Sam Youse (Winston-Salem, N.C.) and
Tevin Friday (Gastonia, N.C.) each tallied 10 markers.
Scott also paced the Bobcats with a contest-best eight rebounds,
while tying DeAndre Tillman (Charlotte, N.C.) for the game-high
with two blocked shots. Reshon Benjamin (Valdosta, Ga.) dished out
a game-high six assists, while Tillman recorded a contest-best
three steals.
Mount Olive also placed five players in double figures, and was
paced by Ewon Wright's (Fayetteville, N.C.) game-high 23 points, as
the freshman knocked down 5-of-10 attempts from downtown and went
6-for-8 at the charity stripe. Dory Hines (Kinston, N.C.) joined
Wright in double figures with 16 points, connecting on 6-of-8
attempts from the field while grabbing a game-high eight rebounds.
Brandon Allen (Woodbridge, Va.) and Derek Stanton (Norfolk, Va.)
each recorded 15 points on the day, while Mahamed Ibrahim
(Annandale, Va.) chipped in 10 markers.
The Trojans opened the first half strong, taking an early 9-5
lead on a Hines layup at the 15:47 mark before the Bobcats
responded, launching a 13-2 run to claim an 18-11 advantage on a
jumper by Friday with 9:19 to play in the period.
Mount Olive would trim the margin to 20-19 on a pair of Staton
free throws at the 7:22 mark before Lees-McRae answered once again,
pushing the lead to 33-23 with a 13-4 spurt that was capped by a
Tillman free throw with 3:28 left on the clock. Mount Olive would
close out the first half on a strong note, outscoring the Bobcats
by a 6-2 margin over the final three minutes to cut the lead to
37-31 at the intermission.
Lees-McRae maintained the lead in the early moments of the
second half, stretching the advantage to 42-33 on a Scott layup
with 18:44 to play. Mount Olive would stay with striking distance
for much of the next six minutes until the Trojans caught fire,
launching a 7-0 run to take a 60-58 lead on a layup by Aleks
Mitrovic (Montreal, Ontario, Canada) at the 9:33 mark.
The Bobcats would quickly even the score on a pair of McFerran
free throws before Mount Olive took control, launching a 14-6 run
over the next three minutes to take a 74-66 lead on a Wright triple
with 4:11 to play. Mount Olive continued its hot shooting over the
next several possessions, opening an 81-72 lead on a Wright layup
with just over a minute and a half to go.
Stanton would convert a pair of free throws with 33 seconds left
to give Mount Olive its largest lead of the game at 83-72 before
the Bobcats began to rally, forcing two turnovers on back-to-back
inbound plays and cutting the lead to 83-77 on a Sepokas triple
with 20 ticks remaining. Mount Olive would regain control from
there, converting a pair of last-second free throws to equal the
final margin of 85-77.
Lees-McRae returns to the court on Monday when the Bobcats
travel to Gaffney, S.C. to take on conference-leading Limestone
College (10-2, 5-0 CC) in a pivotal league battle. Tip-off is
slated for 7:30 p.m. in the Timkin Center.
- LMC -
