MURFREESBORO, N.C (Feb. 26) – Behind five players in double-figures, the Trojans secured an opening-round win over Lees-McRae by a 95-87 margin in the Atlantic Casualty Conference Carolinas Championship on Sunday night on the campus of Chowan.

With the win, the University of Mount Olive men's basketball team improves to 12-17 overall and moves on to the second round to face No. 5 ranked Chowan on Monday, Feb. 27, at 7 p.m. Meanwhile, Lees-McRae finishes the season with a 13-16 mark after winning seven of its final 10 games to reach the tournament.

Senior Michael Brown delivered a masterful postseason performance with a near triple-double behind a game-high 27 points on 8-of-16 shooting while converting seven-of-nine from the free-throw line. He also added nine assists and seven rebounds in 38 minutes of action. Brown achieved another career milestone after surpassing 600 assists to join his head coach Dory Hines as the only two individuals to reach the mark at Mount Olive.

Fellow senior Kaeleb Carter produced 17 points on five-of-seven attempts with four three-pointers against the Bobcats in 19 minutes. Freshman Ryan Roberts tallied 11 points, five rebounds, four assists, and one steal in 30 minutes. Senior Trayvon Ferrell finished with 10 points, nine rebounds, and two steals, while junior Derreco Miller also registered 10 points and three rebounds in 15 minutes off the bench.

UMO shot at a 51.7 clip (30-of-58) from the floor while going 23-of-27 (85.2 percent) from the free-throw line. Meanwhile, Lees-McRae finished the game shooting 53.4 percent (31-of-58) and converted 10-of-19 (52.6 percent) from beyond the arc. The Trojans tallied a massive 41-21 rebounding advantage with 32 points in the paint, while the Bobcats registered 32 points off the bench.

Mount Olive returns to action tomorrow, Monday, Feb. 27, when it faces Chowan in the second round of the Atlantic Casualty Conference Carolinas Championship in Murfreesboro, North Carolina.