MOUNT OLIVE, North Carolina - The University of Mount Olive men's basketball team defeated the Crusaders of Belmont Abbey College on Piggly Wiggly Blackout Night Wednesday night inside Kornegay Arnea in Conference Carolinas men's basketball action. UMO improves to 11-7, 5-5 on the season, while Belmont Abbey falls to 11-6, 7-3. 

INSIDE THE SCORE
Mount Olive grabbed the first points of the game and took a small lead before Belmont Abbey knotted the game at six. The half went on to be tied five more times before the Crusaders ended the half on a 9-to-2 run and took a 37-32 lead into the break.

In the second half, the Trojans did not see a lead change until the 14:29 mark when Johnathan Mebane made a jumper to give UMO a 48-47 lead. The lead changed hands four more times before Calvin Washington broke the tie. Washington's layup began an 11-0 run in which UMO took a 72-61 with just over five minutes left in the game. The game became a foul-fest near the end as the Crusaders tried to keep the game close but the lead for UMO never left the hand of the Trojans and the home five took the final score 91-82.

MOUNT OLIVE LEADERS
The Trojans were led by Darius Spragley with 26 points. Johnathan Mebane, Michael Brown, Calvin Washington, and Johnny Hughes III also added double-digit points with 14, 12, 11, and 11 points respectively. Hughes III also had a double-double with 12 boards on the day.

BELMONT ABBEY LEADERS
The Crusaders had four athletes in double figures but were led by Sean Halloran with a team-high 22 points.

KEY MOMENT
The key moment of the game came in the second half when an 11-0 run put together by the Trojans allowed them to get enough separation to hold the lead until the final horn.

UP NEXT
Mount Olive hits the road to take on the Crusaders of North Greenville University on January 18 at 4 P.M.