MOUNT OLIVE (Nov. 19) – Despite a pair of 20-point scorers on Saturday night, the Trojans suffered a narrow 85-81 loss versus Georgia Southwestern in non-conference play at the 58th Annual Pickle Classic in Kornegay Arena.
With the loss, the University of Mount Olive men's basketball team falls to 1-4 after hosting a pair of home games over Homecoming Weekend. The two sides met for the first time since 2018 with the series now split at 1-1. Meanwhile, Georgia Southwestern improves to 3-1 this season after playing all four contests on the road.
Redshirt sophomore
Redford Dunton produced a career-high 25 points behind 10-of-11 shooting at the free-throw line. He also added three rebounds while playing 36 minutes against the Canes. Fellow sophomore
Trey Nelson also scored a career-high 21 points on 10-of-11 attempts with six assists, one rebound, and two steals in 30 minutes after battling foul trouble.
Sophomore
Aaron Murphy tallied 14 points on six-of-seven from the field with three rebounds, one assist, and two steals in 18 minutes.
The Trojans hit back-to-back three-pointers to open the contest, but Georgia Southwestern countered with six unanswered points to tie the game with 14:57 left, 6-6. The matchup remained close with a 14-14 tie at the 9:39 mark before UMO totaled seven straight points on three-of-four shooting to take a 21-14 edge. The Hurricanes rallied once again to trim the deficit to 24-22 before the sides traded points over the final four minutes. Mount Olive went into the break with a 32-29 advantage.
UMO opened the second half by shooting five-of-five from the field to maintain a 43-38 lead with 15:58 remaining. Following the media timeout, GSW rallied to tie the contest at 49-49 with 12:36 left before the lead was exchanged several times down the stretch. The Trojans reclaimed a 64-61 advantage at the free-throw line before the Canes registered a 12-0 run to take a 73-64 lead with just over four minutes remaining. UMO responded with 12 combined points from Nelson and Dunton to cut the deficit to 81-77 with one minute remaining. GSW made four-of-five from the free-throw line in the final 34 seconds to secure the win, 85-81.
Mount Olive finished the contest shooting 28-of-54 (51.9 percent) from the floor while converting just 58.6 percent (17-of-29) from the free-throw line. Meanwhile, Georgia Southwestern posted a .482 field goal percentage (27-of-56) and made 27-of-35 (77.1 percent) from the charity stripe. The Hurricanes finished with a 32-21 rebounding advantage while scoring 19 second-chance points. The Trojans totaled 36 points in the paint and converted eight shots from beyond the arc.
Senior Jalen Johnson scored a team-high 24 points on 6-of-13 shooting while converting 9-of-10 from the free-throw line. He also added three rebounds and four assists in 23 minutes off the bench. Freshman Justin Monden tallied 13 points, three rebounds, and two assists, while redshirt junior Christian Koonce finished with 12 points and three rebounds.
The Trojans return to action on Tuesday, Nov. 21, when they travel to face Claflin in non-conference action, starting at 7:30 p.m.
