TIGERVILLE, S.C. (Jan. 13) – The University of Mount Olive men's basketball program featured four players with double-digit points in a 79-68 victory at North Greenville on Saturday afternoon in Conference Carolinas play.
With the win, the Trojans record back-to-back league wins on the road to improve to 3-12 overall behind a 2-3 record in conference action. In the series, Mount Olive has won seven straight games in Hayes Gymnasium and holds a 17-5 record versus NGU since 2012. Meanwhile, the Crusaders drops to 5-8 this season with a 2-6 record in league play.
Redshirt sophomore
Redford Dunton scored a game-high 17 points while totaling six rebounds, four assists, and one block in 33 minutes. A product of Millbrook, he paces the Trojans with 14.8 points and 5.4 rebounds per game through 15 contests this season.
Freshman
Kahlif Barnes finished with a season-high 16 points on six-of-seven attempts with six rebounds and one assist in 23 minutes. Sophomore
Brent Randleman earned his third start of the season and tallied 14 points on six-of-seven shooting with seven rebounds, one assist, and two blocks in 23 minutes. Fellow sophomore
Aaron Murphy reached double-figures with 10 points in 17 minutes off the bench.
North Greenville made a layup in the opening seconds before UMO responded with seven straight points, including five from Dunton to take a slight 7-2 edge. The Crusaders countered with back-to-back baskets and eventually cut the deficit to 10-9 with 11:20 left in the first half. The Trojans answered back by scoring seven of the following nine points to extend the lead to 17-11 before NGU made consecutive three-pointers to trail 20-17 with 7:39 remaining. On the next possession, Murphy registered a three-point play to start a 10-1 run for UMO to build a 30-18 advantage with 5:21 left. The Crusaders followed up with an 8-2 run to close the gap, but Mount Olive answered with six consecutive points, 38-26. North Greenville cut the deficit to 38-33 with 41 seconds to go before Randleman made a layup at the buzzer to give UMO a 40-33 lead at halftime.
In the second half, the Trojans converted four-of-five from the field in the initial two minutes to build a 48-35 advantage. The Crusaders answered back with a 14-5 rally to close the gap to 53-49 before Dunton hit a jumper at the 11:35 mark. NGU trimmed the deficit to one point following five unanswered points, but Mount Olive made five-of-seven shots to extend the lead to 70-59 with 5:19 to go. The teams traded points in the closing minutes, as the Trojans sealed the 79-68 win on the road.
UMO shot at a 49.1 clip (28-of-57) from the floor while going 16-of-21 (76.2 percent) from the free-throw line. Meanwhile, NGU finished the game shooting 40.3 percent (25-of-62) and converted 9-of-37 (64.3 percent) from three-point range. The Trojans held a 39-35 rebounding advantage with 36 points in the paint, while the Crusaders registered 27 points off the bench.
Junior Max Topham tallied 15 points, three rebounds, and three assists in 33 minutes of action. Sophomore Savion Brown finished with 12 points after converting four-of-seven from beyond the arc in 15 minutes off the bench. Senior Zak Perdew registered 10 points, five rebounds, and five assists in 29 minutes.
Mount Olive returns to the court on Wednesday, Jan. 13, to face Chowan in league play at Kornegay Arena, starting at 7 p.m.
