GREENVILLE, N.C. – In the final exhibition contest of the 2024-25 season, the University of Mount Olive men's basketball program suffered a 110-73 loss at East Carolina on Tuesday night at the Williams Arena.
With the loss, the Trojans remained at 1-1 following the exhibition contest and are set to continue regular season play on Friday, Nov. 15, at the 59th Annual Pickle Classic. It marked the third meeting between the sides in program history with ECU moving to 3-0 in the series. Meanwhile, the Pirates improve to 3-0 this season while playing teams across all three divisions.
Freshman
Chase Dawson totaled a team-high 13 points on 6-of-12 from the field with three rebounds and one steal in 17 minutes off the bench. Redshirt sophomore
Lureon Walker finished with 12 points, two rebounds, and one assist in 25 minutes. Freshman
Raul Perez delivered 11 points and five rebounds while sophomore
Kennard Davis contributed 10 points, one assist, and two steals in 18 minutes.
East Carolina started the contest with 10 unanswered points in the initial two minutes of the first half before Dawson scored the opening nine points for the Trojans to trail 16-9 at the 14:33 mark. The Pirates stretched the lead to 26-9 before Mount Olive made four of its next six shots to close the gap to 31-18. The Trojans managed to trim the deficit to just eight points at 39-31 with 5:02 to go in the first half following a three-pointer by Perez. ECU produced a strong final four-plus minutes with a 19-9 run to take a 58-40 lead into the break.
In the second half, the Pirates mounted a 19-4 run on 7-of-12 from the floor to extend their lead to 77-44 at the 14:17 mark. The two squads traded points over the next five minutes, as Walker led Mount Olive with seven points, 91-58. East Carolina closed out the final eight minutes of the second half to secure a 110-73 win.
UMO shot at a 34.6 clip (27-of-78) from the floor while going 12-of-15 (80.0 percent) from the free-throw line. Meanwhile, ECU finished the game shooting 53.2 percent (42-of-79) and converted 20-of-33 (60.6 percent) from the charity stripe. The Pirates held a 61-34 rebounding advantage with 72 points in the paint, while the Trojans scored 44 points off the bench.
East Carolina featured five players in double figures, led by graduate student C.J. Walker, who scored a game-high 24 points on 11-of-16 shots and added nine rebounds and two blocks in 25 minutes.
Mount Olive will host the 59th Annual Mt. Olive Pickle Classic on Friday, Nov. 15, when it faces Georgia Southwestern in its home opener at Kornegay Arena, starting at 7 p.m.
