Trojans drop two in 45 Second Classic

WILSON — The University of Mount Olive men’s basketball team dropped two close games to Coker and St. Augustine’s in the 45 Second Classic.

The Trojans fell in the closing seconds by a 96-95 margin versus Coker on Nov. 19. With the loss, the Trojans dropped to 1-4 overall with all losses coming by five or fewer points this season. Meanwhile, the Cobras improved to 4-1 this year while playing all their contests against teams from the Conference Carolinas.

Senior Michael Brown unleashed another electric performance leading all players with 26 points on 10-14 shooting with seven assists and five rebounds while playing all 40 minutes. A John Handley product, he is pacing the conference with 37 assists this season while continuing to average over 20 points per game.

Fellow senior Trayvon Ferrell delivered a season-high 21 points on 7-of-11 from the field and converted 6-6 from the free-throw line with seven rebounds in 30 minutes of action. Freshman Shane Peterson reached double figures for a second straight game after tallying 18 points on 6-9 shooting from beyond the arc with four rebounds in 28 minutes. Freshman Brent Randleman notched 15 points on 5-9 shots with three rebounds in 24 minutes off the bench.

In the initial four minutes of the contest, Mount Olive built a 13-6 advantage after converting 4-5 from three-point range. The Cobras trimmed the deficit to 13-11 before the Trojans extended the lead to 20-14 with 11:52 remaining. Over a three-minute stretch, Coker responded with a 14-6 run to take the lead 28-26 with 8:44 left. With five minutes left in the first half, Coker held a 36-31 advantage before UMO countered with a 22-9 rally, led by Randleman with 10 points to take a 53-45 lead into the break.

The Trojans continued the offensive pressure over the opening five minutes of the second half to build the advantage to 70-53 with 14:48 remaining. The Cobras answered with a 20-9 rally to close the gap to 79-73 with 9:10 left. Coker eventually regained the lead 87-86 with 4:51 remaining before the contest was tied three different times in the closing minutes. The Cobras grabbed the lead 94-93 with 31 seconds left before Brown converted to put UMO ahead, 95-94, with 26 seconds to go. Coker countered with another basket with five seconds left before Ferrell missed a running floater at the buzzer.

UMO finished the contest shooting a season-high 57.9 percent (33-57) from the floor while knocking down 10-24 from three-point range. Meanwhile, Coker posted a .493 field goal percentage (35-71) and shot 19-23 (82.6 percent) from the free-throw line. The Trojans held a 37-30 rebounding advantage with 36 points in the paint. The Cobras totaled 52 points in the paint and scored 34 points off the bench.

The Trojans yielded a season-high .571 shooting percentage in a 80-77 loss versus St. Augustine’s.

Ferrell led the team with 19 points on 7-12 from the field with four rebounds, two assists and three steals in 28 minutes of play. The Garner Magnet product has been in double-figures all four games this season, while averaging 16.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game.

Peterson registered a season-high 15 points on 5-13 shooting with all five-made shots coming from beyond the arc. He also added three rebounds and two steals in 26 minutes. Brown finished with a season-high nine assists behind 11 points and three steals in 38 minutes. Fellow senior Cole Johnson totaled 10 points on 4-7 from the floor with four rebounds in 19 minutes.

St. Augustine’s opened the contest with back-to-back baskets before UMO went on a 15-2 run to take a 15-6 lead with 13:39 left. Over the next two-plus minutes, the Falcons scored seven straight points to close the gap to 15-13. The Trojans stretched the lead to 27-17 with 7:19 remaining the first half, led by Peterson with six points. St. Augustine’s cut the deficit to 33-27  before Ferrell and Johnson made a pair of three-pointers with 14 seconds left to put UMO ahead 39-30. The Falcons converted a three-point play to head into halftime trailing 39-33.

In the second half, St. Augustine’s rallied early with an 11-4 run over a four-minute span to take a 44-43 advantage. After a near two-minute scoreless stretch for both teams, the Falcons continued to build their lead with nine-straight points to lead 53-43 with 12:29 left. St. Augustine’s held a 10-point advantage down the stretch before UMO closed the gap to 71-68 with 4:56 remaining. After the Falcons extended the lead to 77-70, Mount Olive went on a 7-2 rally to trail 79-77 with 21 seconds left. The Trojans would miss a game-tying three-pointer as time expired to fall by an 80-77 margin.

UMO shot at a 44.6 clip (25-56) from the floor after going 12-32 (37.5 percent) from three-point range. Meanwhile, St. Augustine’s finished the game shooting 57.1 percent (32-56) and converted 13-18 (72.2 percent) from the free-throw line. The Falcons held a 31-27 edge in rebounds and scored 44 points in the paint. The Trojans made 15-17 (88.2 percent) form the charity stripe and tallied 25 points off turnovers.

— From University of Mount Olive Athletics