Box score
MOUNT OLIVE, N.C. --- The Lees-McRae College
men's basketball team battled back with a 23-5 run late in the
second half, nearly cutting a 31-point deficit to single digits as
Mount Olive College held on for a 96-84 win on Saturday evening in
Conference Carolinas play.
Five Trojans (13-11, 8-8 CC) registered in double-figures, with
Brandon Allen (Woodbridge, Va.) and Derek Staton (Norfolk, Va.)
leading the way with 26 points each. Dory Hines (Kinston, N.C.)
dished a game-high 16 assists on the evening for Mount Olive.
Adam McFerran (Stowe, Ohio) paced the Bobcats (6-17, 2-13 CC)
with a game-high 27 points, while Daniel Sepokas (Illawong,
Australia) fell three rebounds shy of a triple-double, tallying 17
points with 10 assists and seven rebounds. Sam Youse
(Winston-Salem, N.C.) also registered 18 in the scorebook for the
Bobcats.
The Trojans opened the contest with a quick 5-0 spurt, ended by
Sepokas grabbing a defensive board and taking it to the rim for the
score. The Trojans then rattled off a 17-6 run to open a 14-point
lead at the 9:20 mark in the opening half, capping the run on a
three-point basket from Mahamed Ibrahim (Annandale, Va.).
Sepokas sliced the lead to 11, nailing a jumper from beyond the
arc to make it a 22-11 Trojan advantage. The Bobcats battled
back, cutting the lead to six when Reshon Benjamin (Valdosta, Ga.)
with just over four minutes remaining in the first half. The
Trojans then closed the half with an 11-5 spurt to take a 43-31
lead to intermission.
In the second frame, the Trojans exploded out of the locker
room, extending the lead to 31 points with 9:42 remaining in the
contest, taking a 72-41 advantage on a Staton jumper. The Trojans
continued to hold a large advantage, maintaining a 31-point
advantage with 7:52 remaining in the contest.
The Bobcats refused to give in, digging deep and sparking a 23-5
run over the next four minutes when McFerran dropped in a lay-up to
make it an 85-72 Trojan margin. The Bobcats battled, but were
unable to cut the contest closer than 11 points over the final
three minutes, with Mount Olive holding on to earn the 96-84
victory.
Lees- McRae returns to the hardwood on Feb. 22, traveling to
Belmont, N.C. to take on Belmont Abbey College in Conference
Carolinas action at 7:30 p.m. Belmont Abbey won the teams' first
meeting of the season by an 80-67 margin on Jan. 27 in Banner Elk,
N.C.
-LMC-
