Craig Hayes scored a career-high 35 points, including a three-pointer as the shot clock expired late in the game, as Mount Olive held off Coker 68-62 in Conference Carolinas men's basketball Tuesday at Kornegay Arena. Hayes also pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds to help the Trojans open conference play with a win.

Mount Olive (8-3 overall, 1-0 Conference Carolinas) led by as many as 17 points in the second half as Hayes hit a pair of free throws after a Coker technical and followed with a layup to give the Trojans a 53-36 advantage with 13:14 left in the game. Coker (6-4, 0-1) used the three-point shot to get back in the game as Bryce Arnott hit a pair of three's and Julian Nelson hit from beyond the arc to cut the margin to single digits at 57-49 with 8:37 remaining.

Kason Cheeks had a dunk off a pass from Hayes, but the Trojans' lead never got above nine the rest of the way. Jonathon Gardner hit a three-pointer for Coker with 6:17 left to pull the Cobras within 58-54.

Coker was still within four and appeared to be on its way to forcing a shot clock violation when Hayes hit a 25-foot three-pointer from above the top of the key just before the buzzer to give the Trojans a 63-56 lead with 4:20 remaining. The Cobras scored the next four points and forced Mount Olive to run the shot clock down again, but Derek Staton launched a three from the right wing at the buzzer to extend the Trojans' lead to 66-60 with 1:24 remaining.

Austin Harper hit a layup for Coker 22 seconds later, but the Cobras would not score again. Kendall Hargrove blocked a Coker three-point attempt into the stands with nine seconds left to help seal the win.

In the first half, Mahamed Ibrahim's three-pointer and Hayes' basket capped a 7-0 run in the first two minutes of the game to put Mount Olive on top for the remainder of the half. The Trojans took their first double-digit lead of the contest with 7:52 remaining after Hayes converted a three-point play to make the score 27-17.

The lead grew to 11 before Coker hit 6-of-6 free throws in a span of 56 seconds and Charles West nailed a three-pointer to pull the Cobras within 31-28 with 3:19 left before intermission. Hayes answered with a three-pointer and Mount Olive limited Coker to a single field goal the rest of the way as the Trojans went into the locker room with a 39-30 halftime lead.

Hayes' previous career best was 30 points on February 9, 2009, against Pfeiffer. Hayes also recorded a double-double in that game with a career-high 17 rebounds.

Cheeks narrowly missed a double-double of his own with 14 points and nine rebounds. Dory Hines, who is tied for 12th in the nation in assists, reached double figures for the third time this season with 10 assists.

Arnott had team highs of 13 points and four assists for Coker, while Andrew Norris added 11 points and Nelson finished with 10. Austin Harper led the Cobras on the boards with eight rebounds.

Mount Olive opens a three-game Conference Carolinas road trip Thursday as the Trojans travel to Misenheimer, N.C., to take on Pfeiffer. Tip-off is 7:30 p.m.