MOUNT OLIVE (Nov. 23) – After scoring 35 fastbreak points and shooting 52.6 percent (10-of-19) from beyond the arc, the Trojans earned a 99-89 victory over league newcomer Shorter on Saturday afternoon in the Conference Carolinas opener at Kornegay Arena.
With the win, the University of Mount Olive men's basketball program improves to 3-2 this season with a 1-0 mark in conference action. It marked the first meeting in program history between the sides after the Hawks joined the Conference Carolinas this year. Meanwhile, Shorter falls to 3-3 overall behind a 0-1 record in league play.
Freshman
Chase Dawson tied a game-high with 21 points on 8-of-12 shots while adding three rebounds, six assists, and two steals in 27 minutes. Junior
Shane Peterson also tallied 21 points after converting 6-of-10 from the floor with three rebounds and four steals in 27 minutes on the court. Redshirt sophomore
Lureon Walker finished with 14 points, five rebounds, two assists, and one steal in 21 minutes. Redshirt junior
Redford Dunton reached double-figures with 11 points, five rebounds, two assists, and one steal in 22 minutes.
Shorter established a 12-6 advantage in the opening five-plus minutes of the half before the sides exchanged baskets with the Hawks maintaining an 18-13 edge at the 9:00 mark. Over the next four minutes, the Trojans rallied with an 18-1 run, led by Walker with 10 points to claim a 31-19 lead. Mount Olive finished a perfect six-of-six from the field to close the first half and take a 45-32 advantage in the break.
UMO stretched the lead to 53-36 in the initial minutes of the second half before the Hawks battled back to trim the deficit to 59-52 at the 12:56 mark. Later in the half, the Trojans mount an 11-1 run on a perfect four-of-four attempts to hold an 18-point advantage at 78-60 with 9:42 to go. Shorter managed one last push to close the gap to 89-78 before Mount Olive finished the contest by knocking down four of its last five shots to win by a 99-89 margin.
Mount Olive finished the contest shooting 35-of-62 (56.5 percent) from the floor while converting 52.6 percent (10-of-19) from three-point range. Meanwhile, Shorter posted a .492 field goal percentage (31-of-63) and made 21-of-37 (56.8 percent) from the charity stripe. The Hawks finished with a 43-26 rebounding advantage while scoring 48 points in the paint. The Trojans totaled 30 bench points and 30 points off 21 forced turnovers.
Shorter featured a pair of 20-point scorers, led by junior Donovan Shangase, who totaled 21 points, three rebounds, seven assists, and three steals. Senior Jabiri Smith finished with 20 points, three rebounds, and two steals in 29 minutes.
The Trojans return to the court on Tuesday, Nov. 26, when they travel to face King in Conference Carolinas play at 2 p.m.
