A 35-8 run in the final 12 minutes of the first half turned a three-point game into a 30-point halftime deficit as No. 7 seed Mount Olive fell to second-seeded Limestone 96-70 in the quarterfinal round of the 2013 Conference Carolinas Men's Basketball Tournament Monday at Gaffney, S.C. Senior Darrell Patterson led the Trojans with a game-high 25 points in his final collegiate contest.
After starting the season 1-7, Mount Olive won nine of its next 10 games to get back into contention. The Trojans finished the season with a 14-13 mark.
Patterson's three-pointer with 16:12 left in the first half gave Mount Olive a 16-13 lead as the Trojans led during much of the early going. After Limestone (20-7) rallied to tie the game, Dory Hines hit a pair of free throws to put Mount Olive back on top 20-18 with 13:59 left.
Limestone tied the game again and P.J. Foster's three-pointer with 12:49 remaining put the Saints on top for good at 23-20. Joe Raga followed with a layup to complete Limestone's 7-0 run.
Patterson hit a layup with 11:54 left before halftime to pull Mount Olive within 25-22. The rest of the half would be all Limestone.
The Saints scored the next seven points as another layup by Raga gave Limestone its first double-digit lead at 32-22. A basket by Hines ended a three-minute scoring drought for Mount Olive, but the Trojans were held to just one field goal over another three-minute span and Phillip Moultrie's dunk with 6:38 left extended the Saints' margin to 42-26.
Patterson sank a pair of free throws and Kendall Hargrove answered a Limestone field goal with a basket to make it a 45-30 game with 5:43 remaining. The Trojans would not score again the rest of the half.
The margin reached the 20-point mark for the first time on Moultrie's three-point play with 4:14 left. Jamal McNeill hit a pair of free throws with 35 seconds left for the final points of the half to give Limestone a 60-30 lead.
Patterson (14 points) and Hines (10 points) combined for 24 of the Trojans' 30 first-half points.
In the second half, the margin grew to as many as 34 points. The final score was the closest margin after halftime.
Hines finished with 13 points, while Dontrell Brite added 11 points.
Moultrie led four Limestone players with 21 points. The Saints outrebounded the Trojans 49-26.
Along with Patterson, Monday's contest was the final collegiate game for fellow seniors Jordan Gaffney, Deshaune Green, Caleb Henderson and Mahamed Ibrahim.