UMO advances past Lees-McRae

MURFREESBORO – Behind five players in double-figures, the Trojans secured an opening-round win over Lees-McRae by a 95-87 margin in the Atlantic Casualty Conference Carolinas Championship on Feb. 26 on the campus of Chowan.

With the win, the University of Mount Olive men’s basketball team improved to 12-17 overall and moved on to the second round to face No. 5-ranked Chowan. Meanwhile, Lees-McRae finished the season with a 13-16 mark after winning seven of its final 10 games to reach the tournament.

Senior Michael Brown delivered a masterful postseason performance with a near triple-double behind a game-high 27 points on eight of 16 shooting while converting seven of nine from the free-throw line. He also added nine assists and seven rebounds in 38 minutes of action. Brown achieved another career milestone after surpassing 600 assists to join his head coach Dory Hines as the only two individuals to reach the mark at Mount Olive.

Fellow senior Kaeleb Carter produced 17 points on five of seven attempts with four three-pointers in 19 minutes. Freshman Ryan Roberts tallied 11 points, five rebounds, four assists and one steal in 30 minutes. Senior Trayvon Ferrell finished with 10 points, nine rebounds and two steals, while junior Derreco Miller also registered 10 points and three rebounds in 15 minutes off the bench.

UMO shot at a 51.7 percent clip (30 of 58) from the floor while going 23 of 27 (85.2 percent) from the free-throw line. Meanwhile, Lees-McRae finished the game shooting 53.4 percent (31 of 58) and converted 10 of 19 (52.6 percent) from beyond the arc. The Trojans tallied a massive 41-21 rebounding advantage with 32 points in the paint.

— From University of Mount Olive Athletics