MOUNT OLIVE – After yielding a season-high shooting percentage, the University of Mount Olive men’s basketball team was dealt a 101-74 loss against Emmanuel on Saturday afternoon at Kornegay Arena on Senior Day.
With the loss, the Trojans drop to 6-19 this season with a 5-10 record in league play. Emmanuel has won seven of the previous eight games in the series while breaking the century mark in back-to-back meetings. Meanwhile, the Lions improve to 21-5 overall behind a 13-2 mark in conference action.
Sophomore Shane Peterson produced a team-high 15 points on 5-of-10 shooting while adding three rebounds and three assists in 31 minutes. Fellow sophomore Aaron Murphy finished with 13 points on 6-of-12 attempts with three rebounds and four steals in 21 minutes off the bench. Freshman Kahlif Barnes totaled 10 points and two rebounds in 19 minutes, while teammate Josiah Watkins contributed 10 points, eight rebounds, three assists, and one steal in 25 minutes.
The teams exchanged points in the opening four-plus minutes with the game tied at 7-7. The Lions made five-of-nine shots, including a trio of three-pointers, to take a 21-8 advantage at the 8:17 mark. Watkins halted the run with a driving layup before Emmanuel made a perfect seven-of-seven from the floor to take a 36-13 lead. The sides traded points over the final three minutes, as the Lions held a 46-20 lead at the break.
In the second half, the Trojans scored nine of the initial 11 points to cut into the deficit before Emmanuel scored eight unanswered points to remain ahead by a 57-29 margin with 15:09 left. Both teams made 7-of-11 from the field over the next six-plus minutes with the Trojans featuring six different scorers. Mount Olive closed out the game by converting 8-of-12 shooting with five three-pointers, as the Lions secured a 101-74 win.
UMO shot at a 43.3 clip (26-of-60) from the floor while going 9-of-22 (40.9 percent) from three-point range. Meanwhile, Emmanuel finished the game shooting 62.1 percent (36-of-58) and converted 17-of-27 (63.0 percent) from beyond the arc. The Lions held a 33-24 rebounding advantage with 38 points in the paint, while the Trojans registered 29 points off the bench.
Senior KJ Jones finished with a game-high 31 points on 8-of-15 shooting while converting five-of-seven from beyond the arc. He also made a perfect 10-of-10 from the free-throw line with four rebounds, eight assists, and two steals in 37 minutes. Junior Jasper Gibson registered 23 points behind seven three-pointers while adding one rebound, four assists, and two steals. Juniors Kendall Latney and Chris Dees totaled 19 and 15 points, respectively.
Mount Olive returns to Conference Carolinas play on Wednesday when it hosts UNC Pembroke with a tip-off set for 7 p.m.
