ORANGEBURG, S.C. (Nov. 21) – Despite a season-high in points and four players in doubles figures, the University of Mount Olive men's basketball team suffered a 101-96 loss at Claflin on Tuesday night in non-conference play.

With the loss, the Trojans fall to 1-5 overall and have faced three opponents from the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) to begin the 2023-24 campaign. The two sides met for a consecutive year with Claflin earning both victories by single digits. Meanwhile, the Panthers improve to 2-0 this season after posting a 19-7 overall record last year, the most wins for the program since the 2017-18 campaign.

Redshirt sophomore Redford Dunton scored a career-high 26 points on 9-of-21 attempts while converting six-of-nine from the free-throw line. He also collected nine rebounds, three assists, and two steals in 37 minutes. Through the initial six games of the season, Dunton paces the team with 14.8 points and 6.3 rebounds while playing over 35 minutes per game.

Sophomore Aaron Murphy finished the game with 17 points on 6-of-11 attempts with five rebounds and one steal in 26 minutes. Fellow sophomore Shane Peterson registered 17 points, three rebounds, five assists, and one steal in 39 minutes. Sophomore Brent Randleman tallied 10 points, two rebounds, and two steals in 25 minutes, while teammate Trey Nelson contributed seven points, eight assists, two rebounds, and one steal in 34 minutes.

In the first half, the Panthers established an early 5-0 advantage in the opening minutes before UMO hit back-to-back three-pointers to take the lead 6-5 with 17:34 remaining. Later in the contest with the game tied at 13-13, Mount Olive grabbed the lead on a layup, but Claflin answered with a 9-2 rally to take a 22-19 advantage with 10:03 left. Dunton and Murphy combined for nine points over the next two-plus minutes to tie the game at 28-28 before the teams exchanged points over the final six minutes. The Panthers made a layup with 36 seconds left to take a 43-41 lead at the break.

Both teams were firing on all cylinders in the second half, as the Trojans trailed by a 57-54 margin with 14:34 remaining in the game. Claflin mounted an 8-2 run to take a 65-56 advantage behind a pair of three-pointers before eventually stretching the lead to 74-61 with just over nine minutes left. Murphy cut the deficit to 10 points with a three-pointer, but the Panthers continued to convert from the field to maintain an 81-68 lead. The Mount Olive offense countered with a 13-4 rally with Dunton and Peterson combining for 10 points to trail 85-81 with 4:10 remaining. The Trojans closed the gap to 97-96 with 35 seconds left before Claflin sealed the win at the free-throw line, 101-96.

UMO shot at a 49.3 clip (34-of-69) from the floor while going 12-of-23 (52.2 percent) from three-point range. Meanwhile, Claflin finished the game shooting 54.5 percent (36-of-66) and converted 23-of-32 (71.9 percent) from the free-throw line. The Panthers finished with a 44-32 rebounding advantage with 16 second-chance points, while the Trojans registered 26 points off 16 turnovers.

Claflin featured five players in double figures with senior DaiJohn Stewart scoring a game-high 28 points on 7-of-15 shots while converting 11-of-13 from the free-throw line. He also tallied six rebounds and two assists in 36 minutes. Fellow senior Bryson Dennis totaled 18 points, four rebounds, five assists, and four steals in 33 minutes. Junior Damerius Wash finished with 17 points on a perfect seven-of-seven shooting with seven rebounds, two assists, and two steals in 20 minutes.

Mount Olive returns to the court on Saturday, Nov. 26, when it travels to face High Point in an exhibition contest at 2 p.m.