DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Dec. 20) – Despite featuring five players in double-figures on Friday night, the University of Mount Olive men's basketball program dropped a 122-101 decision at Embry-Riddle in non-conference play at the Bahama House Classic.
With the loss, the Trojans fall to 5-7 overall after playing their last three games on the road, with one contest remaining before the holiday break. It was the first meeting between the sides in program history. Meanwhile, the Eagles improve to 9-2 this season with an 8-1 record at the Rubin Arena.
Redshirt sophomore
Lureon Walker delivered a team-high 20 points on 8-of-14 shooting with three rebounds, two assists, and three steals in 30 minutes. Freshman
Chase Dawson scored 19 points on 8-of-17 attempts while adding one rebound, two assists, and four steals in 24 minutes on the court. Fellow freshman
Raul Perez finished with 12 points, three rebounds, one assist, and two steals in 21 minutes in his first career start. Junior
Shawn Wilson contributed 11 points while redshirt junior
Kobe Jones totaled 10 points, three rebounds, one assist, and three blocks in 16 minutes off the bench.
Embry-Riddle established an early 11-3 advantage in the first half before the Trojans countered by hitting five of their next eight shots to close the gap to 17-14 with 14:14 remaining. Mount Olive tied the contest at 18-18 with a pair of free throws from Wilson before the sides exchanged the next 10 points. With 10:30 left in the first half, the Eagles delivered an offensive surge with a 29-8 run on 12-of-17 shots to hold a 52-31 advantage. UMO converted four-of-five to finish the half and headed into the break trailing by a 60-43 margin.
In the second half, both sides traded baskets in the initial eight minutes as Embry-Riddle maintained a 90-66 lead. With the Eagles ahead 104-76 with 8:20 remaining, the Trojans worked the deficit down to 112-95 following a 19-8 rally, led by Dawson with six points, as 2:33 was left in regulation. Embry-Riddle made four of its final seven shots to capture a 122-101 victory.
UMO shot at a 47.5 clip (38-of-80) from the floor while going 17-of-18 (94.4 percent) from the free-throw line. Meanwhile, Embry-Riddle finished the game shooting 58.2 percent (46-of-79) and converted 24-of-33 (72.7 percent) from the charity stripe. The Eagles held a 55-24 rebounding advantage with 33 second-chance points, while the Trojans scored 44 points off the bench.
Embry-Riddle featured five players with double-digit points, led by junior Yassin Hussein with a game-high 21 points on 6-of-12 shooting while adding 9-of-14 from the free-throw line.
Mount Olive continues play at the Bahama House Classic when it faces No. 16 ranked Coker with the tip-off set for 1 p.m.
