MOUNT OLIVE (Jan. 20) – The Trojan starting lineup totaled 57 points, as the University of Mount Olive men's basketball program claimed a 77-71 victory over Converse on Saturday afternoon in Conference Carolinas action at Kornegay Arena.
With the win, the Trojans have won three of their last four games and improve to 4-13 overall with a 3-4 mark in conference play. Mount Olive holds a 4-1 all-time record against Converse, including a 3-0 record at home in the series. Meanwhile, the Valkyries drop to 11-6 overall with a 4-4 mark in league action.
Sophomore
Brent Randleman matched a career-high with 15 points on 7-of-10 attempts with eight rebounds, three assists, one steal, and two blocks in 27 minutes. Over the last three starts, he is averaging 13.7 points per game while shooting 73.9 percent from the field.
Freshman
Kahlif Barnes contributed 12 points, five rebounds, two assists, and two blocks in 28 minutes. Redshirt sophomore
Redford Dunton finished with 11 points on 5-of-10 shooting with four rebounds and two assists in 23 minutes. Sophomore
Trey Nelson registered 10 points, two rebounds, four assists, and two steals in 31 minutes.
In the first half, both teams converted shots in the opening four-plus minutes of the game with the Trojans holding a narrow 8-7 advantage. Mount Olive extended the lead after scoring 11 unanswered points, led by Dunton with seven points, to take a 19-7 edge at the 9:19 mark. After trading baskets, the Valkyries cut into the deficit by tallying eight of the next 10 points to trail by a 27-20 margin. In the final two minutes, each side made three shots from the floor, as the Trojans held a 34-28 lead at halftime.
Converse quickly closed the gap to 37-34 in the opening minutes of the second half before UMO made six-of-six from the field, including a pair from beyond the arc, to stretch the lead to 52-44. The Valkyries worked the deficit down to 56-50 with 7:51 left, but the Trojans responded by scoring 10 straight points to take a 16-point advantage with four minutes left, 66-50. Converse mounted a 17-6 rally in the closing minutes to trim the deficit to 72-67 with 46 seconds to go. UMO managed to seal the win after converting four-of-five from the free-throw line, 77-71.
UMO shot at a season-high 52.8 clip (28-of-53) from the floor while going 16-of-19 (84.2 percent) from the free-throw line. Meanwhile, Converse finished the game shooting 44.3 percent (27-of-61) and converted 8-of-28 (28.6 percent) from three-point range. The Trojans held a 35-27 rebounding advantage with 36 points in the paint, while the Valkyries registered 20 points off the bench.
Junior Kervens Yacinthe finished with 15 points on six-of-eight shooting in 14 minutes off the bench. Graduate student CJ Jamison registered 14 points, four rebounds, five assists, and one steal in 31 minutes of action. Senior Uzziah Dawkins tallied 13 points with three rebounds in 34 minutes, while junior Earl Burgess III produced 10 points, seven rebounds, two assists, and one steal in 28 minutes.
Mount Olive returns to the court on Wednesday, Jan. 24, when it travels to face rival Barton in Conference Carolinas play at 7 p.m.
