Mount Olive fell behind by 15 points early in the second half and never got closer than seven the rest of the way as the Trojans fell to Limestone 82-68 in Conference Carolinas men's basketball Saturday at Gaffney, S.C. Jordan McCain hit 8-of-8 free throws and led four Trojans in double figures with 17 points.
Mount Olive (13-11 overall, 10-8 Conference Carolinas) trailed 52-37 early in the second half before Darrell Patterson's basket capped a 9-1 run to cut the margin to single digits with 14:38 left to play. Limestone (17-7, 13-5) pushed the lead to as many as 14 points after Rashod Chavis' basket gave the Saints a 64-50 advantage with 9:12 remaining.
The Trojans made one last rally as Dontrell Brite's three-pointer closed the gap to 72-64 with 3:22 left. But Limestone connected on eight straight free throws down the stretch to seal the win.
Mount Olive scored the first five points of the game and took an 8-3 lead as Mahamed Ibrahim and Patterson both hit three-pointers for the Trojans. Limestone rallied and led by as many as six points, but three's by Ibrahim, Patterson and McCain put Mount Olive back on top 30-26 with 6:24 left in the first half.
Limestone used Phillip Moultrie's three-point play and Rashod Chavis' layup to regain the lead with 5:36 left. McCain hit a pair of free throws to give the Trojans a 32-31, but Chavis answered with another basket and the Saints led the remainder of the half.
Mount Olive was held to two field goals the rest of the half and the Trojans trailed 47-37 at the break.
Patterson finished with 13 points, Dory Hines scored 11 points and Ibrahim added 10 points. Deshaune Green led the Trojans on the glass with eight rebounds, while Hines added four assists and three steals.
Charles Blue recorded a double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds for Limestone, while Moultrie also pulled down 11 boards. The Saints outrebounded the Trojans 46-29.
Mount Olive plays its first home game in nearly two weeks and celebrates Senior Night as the Trojans play host to Pfeiffer in Conference Carolinas action Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. at Kornegay Arena. Trojan men's basketball seniors Jordan Gaffney, Deshaune Green, Caleb Henderson, Mahamed Ibrahim and Darrell Patterson, along with senior team manager J.R. Proffitt, will be recognized during intermission between the Mount Olive women's and men's basketball games.