HICKORY, N.C. (Nov. 29) – Despite four players in double figures on Wednesday night, the University of Mount Olive men's basketball team fell by an 81-73 margin at Lenoir-Rhyne in non-conference action.

With the loss, the Trojans drop their third consecutive contest to fall to 1-6 this season before the start of league play this weekend. In the all-time series, Lenoir-Rhyne moves to 6-5 against UMO after previously losing the last three games. Meanwhile, the Bears improve to 4-2 overall with a 3-2 record against Conference Carolinas opponents.

Redshirt sophomore Redford Dunton delivered a balanced performance with 14 points on 5-of-13 attempts while converting a perfect three-of-three from the free-throw line. He also tallied eight assists and six rebounds in 35 minutes on Wednesday. Dunton paces the Trojans with 14.7 points and 6.3 rebounds per game this season.

Freshman Josiah Watkins also contributed 14 points on six-of-nine shooting with four assists, three rebounds, and one steal in 27 minutes. Sophomore Aaron Murphy finished with 13 points on 6-of-12 shots with three rebounds and one steal in 22 minutes of action. Fellow sophomore Shane Peterson totaled 10 points, three rebounds, one assist, and one steal in 32 minutes. Sophomore Trey Nelson produced nine points, seven assists, four rebounds, and four steals in 38 minutes.

Mount Olive opened the contest with six unanswered points on three-of-five shooting, but the Bears countered with seven straight points to take a 7-6 edge at the 15:27 mark. Nelson answered with a three-pointer as part of a 9-2 rally to regain a 15-9 advantage. Lenoir-Rhyne tied the game at 15-15 with 11:36 left in the first half before the sides exchanged points over the next three-plus minutes. The Trojans hit four-of-five shots to take a 33-25 lead behind five points from Watkins, but the Bears finished the half with an 11-2 run to take a 36-35 edge at the break.

Lenoir-Rhyne hit five-of-five from the field to start the second half to hold a 49-42 advantage with 16:27 remaining. Mount Olive mounted a 7-2 rally in under a minute with a combined seven points by Dunton and Peterson to trail by a 51-49 margin. The Bears went on a 13-1 run to take a double-digit lead 64-50 with 9:41 left before UMO scored 10 of the following 12 points to cut the deficit to 66-60. The teams traded points over the final six minutes, as the Lenoir-Rhyne secured an 81-73 victory.

UMO shot at a 44.4 clip (28-of-63) from the floor while going just 8-of-23 (34.8 percent) from three-point range. Meanwhile, Lenoir-Rhyne finished the game shooting 55.0 percent (33-of-60) and converted 11-of-13 (84.6 percent) from the free-throw line. The Bears finished with a 38-30 rebounding advantage with 16 second-chance points, while the Trojans registered 22 points off 14 turnovers.

Junior Chase Mebane scored a game-high 18 points on eight-of-nine shooting with six rebounds in 28 minutes. Fellow junior Jaheim Taylor finished with 16 points, eight rebounds, and five blocks in 27 minutes off the bench. Graduate student Nas Tyson delivered 15 points on 7-of-12 shots with six rebounds and six assists in 34 minutes.

Mount Olive returns to the court on Saturday, Dec. 2, when it begins Conference Carolinas play against Lees-McRae at Kornegay Arena, starting at 4 p.m.