MOUNT OLIVE (Feb. 24) – The freshmen backcourt of
Chase Dawson and
Matt Kirby combined for 74 points on Monday night, as the Trojans secured a massive divisional win over Barton by a 110-105 margin in overtime at Kornegay Arena in Conference Carolinas play.
With the win, the University of Mount Olive men's basketball team improves to 11-16 this season with a 9-10 mark in conference action. The Trojans snap a six-game skid in the series against the Bulldogs and earn their first win since 2022. Additionally, it marked the first win for head coach
Zach Grant against his alma mater. Meanwhile, Barton falls to 14-13 overall behind a 10-9 record in league play.
Dawson led all scorers with a career-high 38 points on 13-of-25 shooting while knocking down 11-of-13 from the free-throw line. He added four rebounds and four assists in 41 minutes on the court. Dawson recorded his second 30-point performance of the season and continues to pace the Trojans with 21.2 points per game.
Kirby also registered a new career-high after tallying 36 points, including 26 in the second half, on 15-of-30 attempts with six rebounds, three assists, and one steal in 40 minutes. He has scored in double-figures in seven consecutive games while eclipsing 20-plus points in three contests.
Junior
Shane Peterson contributed 10 points, eight rebounds, and four steals, while redshirt sophomore
Christopher Brown added 10 points, two rebounds, one assist, and three steals.
In the first half, Barton raced out to an early 6-0 lead before the Trojans countered with an 8-2 run to tie the contest at 8-8 with 14:59 remaining. Mount Olive took the lead 14-13 following a layup by freshman
Raul Perez before the sides were knotted up again at 18-18 at the midway point of the half. The Bulldogs grabbed the advantage and remained ahead for three-plus minutes before the squads traded the lead in the closing minutes. Barton finished the half with a 13-6 run to hold a 41-37 edge at the break.
Mount Olive quickly cut the deficit to 45-43 at the 16:57 mark of the second half, but the Bulldogs maintained their lead until Kirby tied the game at 75-75 with just seven minutes to go in regulation. Barton reclaimed the advantage and held a 95-91 lead with 33 seconds left before Dawson hit a pair of free throws to trim the deficit to 95-93. With 1.7 seconds left on the clock, the Trojans found Brown in the left corner for a quick pull-up jumper at the buzzer to send the contest to overtime, 95-95.
Following a slow start by both sides in the overtime period, Barton managed to build a 103-102 lead with 1:58 left. Mount Olive countered with an impressive 8-2 run over the next 88 seconds, led by Dawson with four points to take a 110-105 lead with 13 seconds to go. The UMO defense held tough in the final seconds to secure the victory.
Mount Olive finished the contest shooting 40-of-81 (49.4 percent) from the floor while converting 81.5 percent (22-of-27) from the free-throw line. Meanwhile, Barton posted a .554 field goal percentage (41-of-74) and made 8-of-24 (33.3 percent) from three-point range. The Bulldogs finished with a 40-36 rebounding advantage with 58 points off the bench. The Trojans recorded 30 fast break points and 27 points off 20 forced turnovers.
Sophomore Sean Quick-Streeter scored a career-high 30 points on 8-of-15 shooting while going a perfect 10-of-10 from the free-throw line. Senior Shawn Nelson finished with 23 points, six rebounds, three assists, and three blocks.
Mount Olive closes out the regular season on Wednesday, Feb. 26 with a divisional matchup at UNCP with tip-off at 7 p.m.
