HIGH POINT, N.C. (Nov. 26) – In their final Division I exhibition of the season, the Trojans featured a trio of players in double-figures in a 122-73 loss at High Point on Sunday afternoon.

With the loss, the University of Mount Olive men's basketball team remains 1-5 overall after playing its third Division I exhibition this season. It marked the second-ever meeting between the teams with the last matchup in Dec. 1998. Meanwhile, High Point improves to 4-3 overall after playing three games earlier this week at the Gulf Coast Showcase in Florida.

Freshman Josiah Watkins produced 12 points on six-of-nine shooting while contributing seven rebounds, six assists, and two steals in 22 minutes. Sophomore Trey Nelson finished with 11 points on five-of-six attempts with two rebounds and one assist in 17 minutes. Fellow sophomore Aaron Murphy tallied 10 points on four-of-eight shots in 16 minutes, while redshirt sophomore Redford Dunton totaled nine points in 15 minutes.

In the first half, the Panthers established an early 10-3 advantage after shooting a perfect three-of-three from the field with a pair of three-pointers. The Trojans closed the gap with back-to-back layups before freshman Kahlif Barnes hit a deep jumper to trail by a 14-9 margin with 15:19 remaining. High Point countered with five unanswered points before Dunton nailed consecutive three-pointers to trim the deficit to 19-15 at the 12:53 mark. Nelson scored five straight points to close the gap to 23-20 before the Panthers responded with an 11-2 run to hold a 34-22 lead. UMO answered the four consecutive points by Watkins, but High Point mounted a 12-0 run to extend the advantage to 46-26 with 2:04 remaining in the half. Murphy and Dunton hit shots from beyond the arc in the final minute, as Mount Olive trailed 50-32 at the break.

The Panthers opened the second half by shooting six-of-eight from the field in the initial five minutes to stretch the lead to 64-40 before going on a 14-4 run to hold a 78-44 advantage. Freshman Ja'Merl Brockington scored five straight points for the Trojans, as the sides traded baskets with High Point remaining ahead by an 83-49 margin with 10:15 left. The Panthers found success from beyond the arc over the following six-plus minutes after converting six-of-eight from three-point range to extend the lead to 113-54. In the final four minutes, Mount Olive found its offensive rhythm after going on a 19-9 run on eight-of-nine attempts, led by senior Kristopher Clark with six points.

Mount Olive finished the contest shooting 31-of-73 (42.5 percent) from the floor while converting 37.0 percent (10-of-27) from three-point range. Meanwhile, High Point posted a .577 field goal percentage (41-of-71) and made 16-of-36 (44.4 percent) from beyond the arc. The Panthers finished with a significant 45-31 rebounding advantage while scoring 30 fastbreak points. The Trojans totaled 34 points in the paint and scored 31 points off the bench.

Junior Duke Miles scored a game-high 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting with six assists in 22 minutes, while teammate Kezza Giffa tallied 19 points, two rebounds, six assists, and two steals in 16 minutes. Junior Trae Benham contributed 12 points on four-of-eight attempts from beyond the arc, while sophomore Abdoulaye Thiam and freshman Titas Sargiunas posted 11 and 10 points, respectively.

The Trojans return to action on Wednesday, Nov. 29, when they travel to face Lenoir-Rhyne in non-conference play, starting at 7:30 p.m.