ROME, Ga. (Jan. 25) – Facing an eight-point deficit with 6:11 left in the game, the University of Mount Olive men's basketball team stormed back to capture a 92-90 victory at Shorter in Conference Carolinas play on Saturday evening.
With the win, the Trojans collect a critical victory on the road to improve to 8-12 overall with a 6-6 record in conference action. Mount Olive sweeps the season series over conference newcomer Shorter in a pair of high-scoring affairs. Meanwhile, the Hawks drop to 4-12 this season behind a 2-9 mark in league play.
Redshirt sophomore
Lureon Walker scored a game-high 26 points on 10-of-13 shooting with a trio of three-pointers. Additionally, he added three rebounds and one assist in 29 minutes off the bench. Walker has nine 20-point performances this season while averaging 18.3 points per game.
Freshman
Chase Dawson finished with 17 points while converting 10-of-12 from the free-throw line. He also totaled three rebounds, one assist, and two steals in 28 minutes on the court. Fellow freshman
Raul Perez contributed 12 points on five-of-seven attempts with three rebounds, one assist, and two steals in 26 minutes. Sophomore
Christopher Brown posted 11 points and six rebounds while sophomore
Josiah Watkins also scored 11 points with three rebounds in 15 minutes off the bench.
The Trojans established a 7-2 edge to begin the contest after converting three-of-five from the field. The Hawks countered with back-to-back jumpers to cut into the deficit before Mount Olive made seven of the next nine points to lead by a 14-8 margin with 14:33 remaining. Shorter claimed its first lead of the game following a 9-2 run, but Dawson nailed a three-pointer to put UMO ahead by a score of 19-17. With the Trojans leading 21-19 with 10:49 to play, the Hawks stormed back with 10 unanswered points to regain the lead, 29-21. Mount Olive made six-of-eight from the field to tie the contest at 35-35 as Walker and Watkins combined for 10 points in that stretch. The contest was tied two more times in the final three minutes before the Hawks went into the break ahead 45-44 after sinking three free throws to finish the first half.
Mount Olive claimed the lead to start the second half on a jumper by Dawson before a 10-1 run by Shorter put the opponent ahead by a 55-47 margin. The Hawks continued to hold a multi-possession lead late in the half with a 75-67 lead with 6:11 left in regulation. Mount Olive managed to score eight straight points to tie the contest at 75-75, but Shorter reclaimed its advantage at 81-79 with two-plus minutes remaining. The Trojans went four-of-four from the field, including a three-point play by junior
Shawn Wilson, to take an 88-85 edge with 16 seconds left. UMO maintained its lead in the final seconds as a last-second jumper by Shorter fell short as Mount Olive secured the win, 92-90.
UMO shot at a 53.1 clip (34-of-64) from the floor while going 20-of-28 (71.4 percent) from the free-throw line. Meanwhile, Shorter finished the game shooting 50.8 percent (33-of-65) and converted 19-of-25 (76.0 percent) from the charity stripe. The Trojans held a 34-32 rebounding advantage with 56 points off the bench. The Hawks tallied 50 points in the paint and 10 points off turnovers.
Shorter junior Donovan Shangase finished with 22 points on 7-of-14 shooting while adding five rebounds, four assists, and two steals in 40 minutes. Fellow junior CJ Williams totaled 21 points, eight rebounds, and one block in 35 minutes.
Mount Olive will be idle for a week before returning to Kornegay Arena for the 43rd Annual Church Night on Saturday, Feb. 1, versus King at 6 p.m.
