Mount Olive Upsets No.20 USC-Aiken 90-76 In Opening Round Of Barton 45-Second Classic

Mount Olive Upsets No.20 USC-Aiken 90-76 In Opening Round Of Barton 45-Second Classic

Jordan McCain dropped 23 points for University of Mount Olive as the Trojans upset No. 23 nationally ranked USC-Aiken 90-76 Friday night in the opening game of the Barton 45-Second Classic. McCain was one point away from tying a single game career high for points in a game.

USC-Aiken got the game's first points off a three-pointer and took the early lead. Dominique Reed made two free throws to tie the game at eight with 15:55 left in the first half. The Pacers regained the lead with a pair of free throws with over 14 minutes left.

The lead changed hands seven times before Dontrell Brite nailed a 3-pointer with 3:40 on the clock and Mount Olive did not give up the lead for the remainder of the first half. USC-Aiken trimmed the lead to 36-34 just before halftime with two made free throws by Gavin Stephenson and the first half came to a close.

The Trojans never surrendered the lead for the entire second half as they expanded their lead to as high as 15 with a three-pointer by James Rucker at the 9:07 mark as Mount Olive led 68-53. The Pacers converted on four free throw opportunities and cut the Mount Olive lead to 11 with just under 8:30 left in the game.

With 5:15 left in the game USC-Aiken started to make a run against the Trojans. The Pacers went on a 9-to-2 run that lasted only 1:14 to take the Mount Olive lead under double digits for the first time in the second half. Andre Anthony finished the run with two free throws as the score went to 78-69.

McCain hit two free throws with 2:10 to start a 6-0 run to push Mount Olive ahead 86-74. The Trojans finished the game with four unanswered points to take the game.

McCain finished the night with four rebounds to go along with his 23 points. Kendall Hargrove helped the Trojans in a big way as well with a double-double 18 points and 14 rebounds. Reed had 14 points to finish out the top three scorers for the Trojans. Mount Olive was 85.7% from the free throw line.

Mount Olive had 32 points off the bench compared to just nine for the Pacers. The Trojans also were on top of the Pacers in rebounds, assists, points off turnovers, and fast-break points.

USC-Aiken had four players score in double figures. Dominic Early led the team with 20 points.

Mount Olive closes out play in the Barton 45-Second Classic against Carson-Newman tomorrow. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. in Wilson, N.C.