Trojans Celebrate With 68-60 Win Over Erskine
 | Article Courtesy MOC Sports Information Dept.
Photography by Troy Herring |
|---|
Saturday, February 21, 2009 - Kendrick Easley scored 15 of his game-high 23 points in the second half as regionally ninth-ranked Mount Olive withstood a late rally for a 68-60 win over Erskine in Conference Carolinas men's basketball Saturday at Kornegay Arena. The Trojans hit 6-of-8 three-pointers in the second half to build a 16-point lead before Erskine got as close as seven in the final seconds.Saturday's game was part of the 26th Annual Mount Olive College Basketball Church Night. The game also marked Senior Night as seniors Chris Holloway and Justin Melton were honored prior to the game.
Mount Olive (17-8 overall, 16-2 Conference Carolinas) took an early 6-3 lead on three-pointers by Justin Foskey and Easley. Erskine (7-18, 5-13) rallied to take its first lead and Victor Street's basket with 9:40 left in the first half gave the Flying Fleet their biggest advantage at 17-12.
Justin Melton's three-pointer with 9:14 remaining ended a five-minute scoring drought for Mount Olive and the Trojans limited Erskine to two field goals the remainder of the half. Easley's jumper with 4:18 left broke a 19-19 tie and Craig Hayes' backdoor layup with 33 seconds left on a bullet pass from Mike Holloman gave the Trojans a 25-21 lead at halftime.
Easley saw limited time in the first half after picking up two personal fouls eight seconds apart midway through the period.
Holloman's slam dunk early in the second half brought the capacity crowd of over 1,200 to their feet and Melton hit another three-pointer as the Trojans built the lead to 34-25 with 15:36 left to play. Erskine kept the margin within single digits as Brandon Wright hit three three-pointers in a span of four minutes as the Flying Fleet trailed by only 43-39 with 10:01 remaining.
Easley's basket with 8:45 left capped a 6-0 run and gave Mount Olive its first double-digit lead of the game. Marko Latinovic banked in a three-pointer for Erskine as the shot clock expired, but Melton answered with his fourth three-pointer in as many attempts to give the Trojans a 52-42 lead.
The lead was still 10 when Easley hit a pair of three-pointers and scored all the points in an 8-2 run to give the Trojans their largest lead of the night at 62-46 with 4:04 left in the contest. Mount Olive still led 65-52 with 1:56 left after Holloman found Hayes underneath for a basket, but Erskine made one last rally.
Dejan Nedelkowski hit a three-pointer for the Flying Fleet to cut the margin to 10 and Wright's driving layup with 36 seconds cut the lead to 65-57. Derek Staton hit a pair of free throws for Mount Olive to make it a 10-point game, but Jay Boulware answered with a three-pointer to bring Erskine within 67-60 with 20 seconds left. The Flying Fleet got a steal in the backcourt, but Holloman pulled down a defensive rebound for the Trojans and hit 1-of-2 free throws with 14 seconds remaining.
Holloway and Melton were pulled out to a standing ovation during Holloman's free throws.
Melton finished with 12 points and a game-high eight assists for the Trojans. Hayes finished with 11 points and nine rebounds, while Staton added 10 points and seven assists. Holloman had three blocked shots.
Boulware led Erskine with 16 points and four assists, while Wright finished with 15 points and seven rebounds.
The win, Mount Olive's 15th in its last 17 games, keeps the Trojans in sole possession of first place in the conference standings with two games left to play next.
