SPARTANBURG, S.C (Feb. 8) – Freshman
Matt Kirby scored a career-high 27 points on Saturday evening, as the Trojans captured a thrilling 115-108 overtime victory at Converse in Conference Carolinas play.
With the win, the University of Mount Olive men's basketball program improves to 10-13 this season with an 8-7 mark in league action. As Mount Olive enters the final three weeks of the regular season, the Trojans sit No. 7 in the KPI rankings, which determines league seeding for the tournament (tonight's results are yet to be calculated in updated rankings). Additionally, UMO holds a 5-1 edge in the all-time series with Valkyries, including three straight wins. Meanwhile, Converse drops to 8-12 overall behind a 7-7 record in conference play.
Kirby totaled 24 of his 27 points in the second half and overtime period to reach a new career-high on Saturday. He finished 8-of-10 shooting while converting a perfect seven-of-seven from the free-throw line. Kirby also added five assists, one rebound, and one steal in 31 minutes.
Freshman
Chase Dawson finished with 23 points on 8-of-15 attempts while adding four rebounds, three assists, and four steals in 35 minutes. Junior
Shane Peterson registered 20 points on 6-of-10 shots, including four three-pointers. He also contributed five rebounds, two assists, one block, and one steal in 32 minutes. Redshirt sophomore
Lureon Walker produced 17 points, four rebounds, one block, and two steals in 29 minutes. Freshman
Raul Perez totaled 15 points on 7-of-11 shooting with six rebounds, three assists, and one steal in 33 minutes.
Converse started the contest with a hot-shooting performance after converting 9-of-12 from the field to build a 20-13 lead at the 13:24 mark. Peterson kickstarted a run for the Trojans with a three-pointer to close the gap to 27-25 before the Valkyries made five of their next seven shots to take a double-digit advantage, 40-30. Mount Olive rallied with a 13-3 run on a perfect five-of-five shooting to tie the contest at 43-43 with 2:42 left in the half. Converse managed to regain the lead to take a 52-49 advantage into the break.
The Trojans scored six unanswered to begin the second half to take a 55-52 edge in the opening minutes. The sides remained within striking distance over the next four-plus minutes before UMO built a 76-71 advantage with 8:36 left in regulation. Mount Olive extended its lead to nine points at 89-80 before Converse slowly trimmed the deficit to 98-95 with 15 seconds left. After a pair of misses at the free-throw line for UMO, the Valkyries nailed a three-pointer with five seconds left to send the game to overtime, 98-98.
Converse scored a three-point play to start the overtime period before the Trojans countered with seven straight points to pull ahead 107-101 with 2:55 remaining. Kirby lead UMO in the final minute scoring seven of its final eight points to secure a 115-108 win.
Mount Olive finished the contest shooting 39-of-74 (52.7 percent) from the floor while converting 53.8 percent (14-of-26) from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, Converse posted a .528 field goal percentage (38-of-72) and made 20-of-23 (87.0 percent) from the free-throw line. The Valkyries finished with a 42-36 rebounding advantage while the Trojans scored 27 points off 22 forced turnovers.
Converse senior Earl Burgess III posted a double-double with 25 points and 11 rebounds in 31 minutes on the court. Fellow senior Edoardo Buffo finished with 16 points on 5-of-10 shooting with four three-pointers, while redshirt junior Caleb Reams tallied 15 points and seven assists in 27 minutes.
Mount Olive returns to Kornegay Arena on Tuesday, Feb. 11, to face FMU in Conference Carolinas play at 7 p.m.
