RALEIGH (Nov. 1) – Despite outscoring their opponent by 10 points in the second half, the Trojans suffered an 89-79 loss at NC State on Wednesday night in an exhibition contest at PNC Arena.

With the loss, the University of Mount Olive men's basketball program continues to prepare for the official start of the 2023-24 campaign and will face UNCW in another exhibition matchup on Monday, Nov. 6. Meanwhile, NC State is set to begin the season on Nov. 6 with a home contest against The Citadel in Raliegh, North Carolina.

Redshirt sophomore transfer Redford Dunton tied a game-high with 14 points while adding three rebounds, two assists, and one steal in 31 minutes of action. He joins the Trojans after playing the previous two seasons at Purdue Fort Wayne. Freshman Darrell Johnson had a great performance in his first appearance with the program after totaling 11 points on 5-of-11 shots with six rebounds, one assist, and a steal in 24 minutes. Additionally, sophomore Colin Radcliffe reached double-figures with 10 points behind a trio of three-pointers while recording three rebounds, one assist, and a steal in 14 minutes.

Sophomore Brent Randleman finished with eight points and three rebounds in 16 minutes, while teammate Trey Nelson tallied seven points on Wednesday night. Freshman Josiah Watkins registered six points, eight rebounds, four assists, and a steal in 24 minutes.

The Wolfpack established an early 4-0 advantage in the opening two-plus minutes before UMO answered with six straight points on three-of-three shooting to take a 6-4 lead. NC State countered with a 9-0 run and forced four turnovers to reclaim the advantage at 13-6 with 13:52 left in the first half. Randleman responded with back-to-back layups to cut the deficit to 13-10 before the Wolfpack mounted a 13-0 run to extend the lead to 26-10. Mount Olive halted a four-plus minute scoreless drought with a layup by Nelson before the sides traded baskets over the final eight minutes of the first half. NC State went into the break with a 44-24 advantage after shooting 41.7 percent from the field.

In the second half, the Trojans found a rhythm in the initial minutes after scoring eight of 10 points, including three-pointers by Dunton and Nelson, to close the gap to 46-32. With 15:33 left, the Wolfpack held a 54-36 lead before converting five-of-seven from the floor to stretch the advantage to 66-44. UMO answered with a 9-2 rally to trim the deficit to 68-53 with 9:01 remaining before the teams exchanged points over the next five minutes, 82-66. The Trojans followed up with six consecutive points to cut the deficit to 10 points before hitting three of their final five shot to fall by an 89-79 margin.

Mount Olive finished the contest shooting 30-of-74 (40.5 percent) from the floor while converting 32.1 percent (9-of-28) from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, NC State posted a .435 field goal percentage (30-of-69) and made 24-of-27 (88.9 percent) from the free-throw line. The sides tied 42-42 on rebounds, while the Wolfpack scored 38 points in the paint. The Trojans totaled 26 points off 15 offensive boards in the loss.

NC State featured five players in double figures, led by graduate student Casey Morsell with 14 points. Fellow graduate student DJ Burns Jr. finished with 13 points on 6-of-12 shooting with five rebounds and three assists. Junior Jayden Taylor tallied 13 points on 5-of-10 shots with three rebounds on Wednesday.

The Trojans return to action on Monday, Nov. 6, when they travel to face UNCW in an exhibition contest, starting at 7 p.m.