Mount Olive gave up the first 10 points of the game and never led in the contest as the Trojans fell to Coker 83-73 in Conference Carolinas men's basketball Saturday at Hartsville, S.C. Darrell Patterson led all scorers with a career-high 23 points - 18 in the second half - marking the second time in three games he's recorded a career best.
Saturday's loss was the Trojans' first to Coker since February 11, 2002, ending Mount Olive's streak of 23 consecutive wins over the Cobras.
Mount Olive (1-7 overall, 0-4 Conference Carolinas) was down 10-0 until Patterson's three-pointer with 16:24 left in the first half put the Trojans on the scoreboard. The Trojans played from behind the entire half, but McCain's three-point play with 2:04 remaining pulled Mount Olive within 31-29, the closest margin of the half.
Coker (3-4, 2-1) held the Trojans scoreless the remainder of the half and Larry Felder's putback with 29 seconds left gave the Cobras a 33-29 halftime lead.
The margin grew to nine early in the second half before Mahamed Ibrahim and Kendall Hargrove keyed another Trojan rally. After Ibrahim hit a jumper and a three-pointer, Hargrove recorded steals on two straight possessions, finishing the first steal with a fast-break slam dunk. Ibrahim's basket off of Hargrove's second steal pulled the Trojans within 44-41 with 15:19 left to play.
Coker used Sharod Williams' dunk and three-pointers by Julian Nelson and Andrew Morris to build its first double-digit lead at 56-45 with 10:55 remaining.
Patterson rallied Mount Olive again with 11 points in a span of just over three minutes. He hit a pair of three-pointers and converted a three-point play as the Trojans pulled within 62-68 with 7:56 left to play.
But that was as close as Mount Olive would get as Coker extended its lead to double figures. The margin grew to as many as 15 points with just under 90 seconds left.
Ibrahim scored 17 points for Mount Olive, while McCain finished with 12 points and Dory Hines added 11 points. Hargrove pulled down a team-high seven rebounds, but the Trojans were out-rebounded 44-29.
Coker was led by Williams, who finished with 20 points and 14 rebounds. Nelson added 16 points for the Cobras.
Prior to Saturday, Mount Olive had swept the regular season series over Coker in each of the last 10 years. The Trojans also recorded three conference tournament wins over Coker during the streak.
After a 1-1 start, the Trojans have lost six in a row.
Mount Olive returns to action Wednesday as the Trojans play host to Wingate in a non-conference match-up. Tip-off is 7 p.m. at Kornegay Arena.