BANNER ELK, N.C. – Five Bobcats scored in double figures, led by
London England with a team-high 13 points, but it was not enough as visiting Mount Olive connected on 18 three-point field goals en route to a 92-75 win over the host Bobcats in the Conference Carolinas action this evening.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: Mount Olive – 92; Lees-McRae – 75
LOCATION: McNair & Debi Tornow Court – Banner Elk, North Carolina
RECORDS: Mount Olive (5-4/4-1), Lees-McRae (6-3/4-2)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- England shot 5 of 10 from the floor and 3 of 6 from distance to go along with three rebounds, two assists, three steals, and a block.
- Drew Gardner and Malik McConnell both scored 12 points and combined to tally 12 rebounds, five assists, and a steal.
- Justin Nichelson added 11 points and four rebounds, while Jaylin Stewart chipped in 10 points and five assists off of the bench.
- Mount Olive sprinted out of the gates by scoring 30 of the first 41 points and connected on 13 three-point field goals in the first 20 minutes of action en route to taking a 49-32 halftime lead.
- Lees-McRae slowly chipped away at the deficit in the opening minutes of the second half and used a layup from Nichelson with 13:42 remaining cut the lead down to 61-45.
- The Trojans maintained a sizeable lead down the stretch to clinch the conference win.
- Mount Olive held a 48-37 edge in rebounding en route to a 25-7 advantage in second-chance points.
- The Bobcats held a 27-16 advantage in fastbreak points and scored a game-high 36 points in the painted area.
FOR THE FOES:
- Four Trojans scored in double figures, led by Trayvon Ferrell and Cole Johnson who each scored 18 points.
- Matthias Caver and Derreco Miller scored 12 and 11 points respectively.
NOTEWORTHY:
- With his 12 points against Mount Olive, senior Drew Gardner is now only 41 points away from reaching the 1,000-point plateau for his career.
UP NEXT:
The Bobcats will close out the first semester of action on Saturday, Dec. 18 as they visit Barton in a Conference Carolinas match happening at 4 p.m.
For more information on Lees-McRae Athletics, follow the Bobcats on Twitter (@LMCBobcats), on Facebook (Lees-McRae Athletics), and on Instagram (leesmcraeathletics).
