Mount Olive suffers loss at No. 8 UNCP

PEMBROKE  – Despite featuring four players in double figures on Jan. 25, the University of Mount Olive men’s basketball team fell by a 108-83 margin at No. 8-ranked UNC Pembroke in Conference Carolinas play.

With the loss, the Trojans had their three-game winning streak snapped and dropped to 7-13 this season with a 5-7 mark in conference action. Mount Olive surrendered a season-high in points allowed and fell to 3-6 in road contests. Meanwhile, the nationally-ranked Braves improved to 20-1 overall with a 12-1 record in league play.

Senior Michael Brown tied for game-high with 23 points on six of 18 shooting while converting a perfect 10 of 10 from the free-throw line with four assists in 38 minutes. He has scored over 20 points in three straight games and is one of three players in the conference averaging 22.0 points per game.

Freshman Colin Radcliffe finished with 15 points on five of eight from the floor with a pair of three-pointers, while senior Trayvon Ferrell tallied 13 points, two rebounds and two assists in 28 minutes. Freshman Ryan Roberts produced 11 points on four of five shots with three treys in 25 minutes.

Both teams converted their opening four of five shots from the floor with the Braves holding a slight 10-9 advantage at the 17:10 mark. Over the next four minutes, UNCP went on a 13-2 run with a trio of three-pointers to stretch the lead to 23-11, while holding UMO to just one of six shooting. The Trojans managed to halt the damage over the next two minutes before the Braves made a perfect four of four from the floor to hold a 42-24 advantage. UMO responded with a 9-3 rally, led by Brown with four points, to trail 45-33 with 5:11 left in the first half. In the final 2:33, sophomore Isaiah Bridges and Radcliffe combined for 10 points to trim the deficit to 54-46 at the break.

In the second half, UNC Pembroke quickly stretched the lead back to double figures with six-straight points before the Trojans mounted an 8-0 run over a two-minute span to close the gap to 60-54. With 16:09 left, the Braves increased the advantage after making five of six attempts, including a trio of threes, to extend the lead to 76-57. Mount Olive managed to cut the deficit to 84-70 with just over seven minutes remaining after scoring six consecutive points. From there, UNCP closed out the game.

UMO finished the contest shooting 50 percent (27 of 54) from the floor while converting 19 of 21 (90.5 percent) from the free-throw line. Meanwhile, UNC Pembroke shot 65.5 percent from the field (38 of 58) and made 13 of 21 (61.9 percent) from beyond the arc. The Braves held a 41-13 rebounding advantage with 48 points in the paint, while the Trojans totaled 27 points off the bench.

— From University of Mount Olive Athletics