MURFREESBORO, N.C. (Feb. 8) – Senior
Michael Brown nearly posted a triple-double on Wednesday night, as the University of Mount Olive men's basketball team fell by a 112-92 margin at Chowan in Conference Carolinas play.
With the loss, the Trojans fall to 8-16 overall with a 6-10 mark in conference action. With four games left in the regular season, UMO sits ninth in the league standings with a critical matchup versus Lees-McRae this weekend. Meanwhile, the Hawks improve to 11-10 this season behind a 9-7 record in league play.
Brown delivered 29 points on 11-of-19 shooting with four three-pointers while adding 12 assists, eight rebounds, and two steals. He has registered three double-doubles this season and eclipsed 500 points in a single season for the first time in his career. Entering tonight's contest, Brown ranked sixth in the NCAA in assists and seven in total points.
Freshman
Colin Radcliffe produced 16 points on four-of-eight shooting and converted six-of-seven from the free-throw line in 16 minutes off the bench. Senior
Kaeleb Carter totaled 13 points, four rebounds, and one steal in 17 minutes, while freshman
Shane Peterson posted 12 points, five rebounds, one steal, and one block in 31 minutes.
Mount Olive found its offensive rhythm early in the first half after knocking down four-of-seven from the field with a trio of three-pointers to take a 13-4 advantage. The Hawks countered with 12 unanswered points to grab the lead 16-13 while UMO shot zero-of-five with two turnovers. The Trojans responded with an 11-2 rally, led by Brown with six points, to reclaim the advantage 24-18 at the 9:57 mark. Chowan quickly regained the lead at 27-24 with nine-straight points in under two minutes before the lead changed sides four more times down the stretch of the half. Over the final 4:21, the Hawks mounted a 19-6 run on seven-of-eight shots with four treys to head into halftime with a 51-39 advantage.
In the second half, both teams shot an identical 8-of-15 from the floor over the opening seven-plus minutes, as Chowan maintained a 70-58 lead. The Hawks slowly increased the advantage later in the half behind a 13-6 run to take a commanding 89-70 lead with just over seven minutes left. The Trojans attempted to chip away over the next three minutes with Brown scoring nine of 14 points to trail by a 100-84 margin. Chowan shot at a high percentage from the field and the free-throw line in the final minutes to seal the victory, 112-92.
UMO finished the contest shooting 45.6 percent (31-of-68) from the floor while converting 13-of-32 (40.6 percent) from three-point range. Meanwhile, Chowan posted a .560 field goal percentage (42-of-75) and made 13-of-32 (40.6 percent) from beyond the arc. The Hawks held a 39-36 rebounding advantage with 36 points off the bench, while the Trojans totaled 30 points in the paint.
Sophomore Daylan Askew finished with 26 points on 10-of-12 from the field with five assists and two steals in 29 minutes. Redshirt sophomore Christian Koonce produced 23 points on 10-of-15 shooting with two rebounds, two assists, and three steals in 21 minutes. Graduate student Jay Estime and sophomore Dovavon Martin registered 14 and 13 points in the win, respectively.
Mount Olive returns to the court on Saturday, Feb. 11, when they host Lees-McRae on Senior Day in Kornegay Arena, starting at 4 p.m.