Dory Hines came within four points of the first triple-double in Mount Olive men's basketball history, while Craig Hayes led five players in double figures with 18 points as the Trojans defeated St. Andrews 97-83 in Conference Carolinas men's basketball Wednesday at Kornegay Arena. Hines finished with season highs of 13 assists and 11 rebounds, while Hayes pulled down 10 boards for a double-double.

Kason Cheeks, Mahamed Ibrahim and Derek Staton also reached double-figures in points and all came through with big baskets down the stretch as the Knights continued to fight back from an 18-point deficit.

A Staton lay-up gave the Trojans their biggest lead of the game 55-37 four minutes into the second half. St. Andrews fought back, however, using a 20-8 run to close the gap to 63-57 with 10:07 remaining.

Dunks by Cheeks and Ibrahim slowed down the rally, then Wright connected on three three-pointers in less than two minutes to build the lead back to 15. Several times St. Andrews put pressure on Mount Olive's offense to respond after a rally. Each time, the Trojans responded.

Hayes, Staton and Ibrahim each hit a pair of free throws in the final three minutes to put the game away.

Mount Olive never trailed after a Jordan McCain three-pointer with 8:01 remaining. A 10-0 run to close out the first half extended the advantage to 47-34 by intermission. Cheeks, who finished with a career-high 16 points delivered three lay-ups and two blocked shots during the run.

St. Andrews responded with Chris Sumski, who connected on all five of his three-point attempts, including three during the Knights' comeback.

Hayes also finished in double-figures in rebounds with 10, five on offense. Mount Olive out-rebounded St. Andrews, 37-26.

Ibrahim also finished with 16 points, while Staton added 13 and eight assists. Wright came off the bench for 11 points, nine in the second half, while Kendall Hargrove and McCain added nine and eight points, respectively.

Ryan Streater led St. Andrews with 23 points and seven rebounds. Ross Williams added 17 points, followed by Sumski with 15.

The Trojans return to action Saturday afternoon when Mount Olive travels to Limestone College. The women tip-off at 5:30 p.m. The men start at 7:30 p.m.