WILSON, N.C. (Nov. 18) – The Trojans yielded a season-high .571 shooting percentage in a 80-77 loss versus St. Augustine's in non-conference play at the 45 Second Classic hosted by Barton on Friday night.

With the loss, the University of Mount Olive men's basketball team fall to 1-3 overall after facing back-to-back programs from the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA). Meanwhile, the Falcons improve to 2-0 this season and win their opening two contests to start the year for the first time since the 2018-19 campaign.

Senior Trayvon Ferrell led the team with 19 points on 7-of-12 from the field with four rebounds, two assists and three steals in 28 minutes of play. The Garner Magnet product has been in double-figures all four games this season, while averaging 16.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game.

Freshman Shane Peterson registered a season-high 15 points on 5-of-13 shooting with all five-made shots coming from beyond the arc. He also added three rebounds and two steals in 26 minutes. Senior Michael Brown finished with a season-high nine assists behind 11 points and three steals in 38 minutes. Fellow senior Cole Johnson totaled 10 points on four-of-seven from the floor with four rebounds in 19 minutes.

St. Augustine's open the contest with back-to-back baskets before UMO made four-of-six three-pointers to go on a 15-2 run to take a 15-6 lead with 13:39 left. Over the next two-plus minutes, the Falcons scored seven-straight points to close the gap to 15-13. The Trojans stretched the lead to 27-17 with 7:19 remaining the first half, led by Peterson with six points. St. Augustine's cut the deficit to 33-27 after knocking down five-of-seven shots before Ferrell and Johnson made a pair of three-pointers with 14 seconds left, 39-30. The Falcons converted a three-point play to head into halftime trailing 39-33.

In the second half, St. Augustine's rallied early with an 11-4 run over a four-minute span to take a 44-43 advantage. After a near two-minute scoreless stretch for both teams, the Falcons continued to build their lead with nine-straight points, 53-43 with 12:29 left. St. Augustine's held a 10-point advantage down the stretch before UMO closed the gap to 71-68 with 4:56 remaining after making three-of-six shots and four-of-four from the line. After the Falcons extended the lead to 77-70, Mount Olive went on a 7-2 rally to trail 79-77 with 21 seconds left. The Trojans would miss a game-tying three-pointer as time expired to fall by an 80-77 margin.

UMO shot at a 44.6 clip (25-of-56) from the floor after going 12-of-32 (37.5 percent) from three-point range. Meanwhile, St. Augustine's finished the game shooting 57.1 percent (32-of-56) and converted 13-of-18 (72.2 percent) from the free-throw line. The Falcons held a 31-27 edge in rebounds and scored 44 points in the paint. The Trojans made 15-of-17 (88.2 percent) form the charity stripe and tallied 25 points off turnovers.

Junior George Jones paces all players with 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting with five assists, four rebounds and two steals in 29 minutes. Freshman Nemo Johnson finished with 19 points on 9-of-11 shots with nine rebounds, three steals and two blocks in 35 minutes of action. Sophomore Christopher Hill and junior Chance Jamison reached double-figures with 14 and 10 points, respectively.

Mount Olive returns to the court tomorrow, Saturday, Nov. 19, when it faces Coker in the non-conference play on the final day of the 45 Second Classic at 12 p.m.