Tayon Gleaves highlighted a game-breaking 17-2 run with a field goal, steal and three-pointer in a span of 44 seconds late in the game as University of Mount Olive withstood a second-half rally for a 92-76 victory over regionally fifth-ranked King University in Conference Carolinas men's basketball Tuesday at Kornegay Arena. The Trojans saw a 15-point lead sliced to a single point before pulling away in the final eight-plus minutes. Dontrell Brite flirted with triple-double numbers with 21 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.
Mount Olive (10-7 overall, 5-4 Conference Carolinas) shot 10-for-17 (58.8 percent) from beyond in the second half, connecting on six consecutive three-point attempts during one stretch shortly after halftime. Brite, who scored 14 points in the second half, hit three 3-pointers in a row, followed by a three by JaQuan Blount. Brite hit from long range again and Jacque Brown's three-pointer with 14:35 left in the contest gave the Trojans their biggest lead at 65-50.
King (12-5, 7-2) came back with an 8-0 run, triggered by Shon'Dre Dukes' three-point play and a three-pointer by C.J. Good. Mount Olive pushed the lead back up to nine points after Jamaal Matin hit a pair of free throws, but Hunter LeVeau's three-pointer and a layup by Good capped a 15-2 run and pulled the Tornado within 67-65 with 10:21 left to play.
After Blount hit a three-pointer for Mount Olive, a King free throw and Calvin Walker's three-pointer made it a one-point game at 70-69 with 8:55 remaining. But Mount Olive would limit the Tornado to a field goal and a pair of free throws until the final 10 seconds of the contest.
Mike Moore knocked down a pair of free throws on the Trojans' next possession followed by a three-pointer by John Wieland and a layup by Mykel Hart off a steal by Moore. After a King layup, with 6:27 remaining, Moore sank two more free throws a minute later to extend Mount Olive's lead to 79-71 and set the stage for Gleaves.
Gleaves drove the left side of the lane and put in a left-handed layup with 3:59 left to return the score to double digits at 81-71. On King's next possession, Gleaves force a held ball with the possession arrow pointing the Trojans. Gleaves capped his spurt with a three-pointer from just left of the top of the key with 3:14 remaining. Hart added a free throw and finished a fast break on a dish by Brite to make the score 87-71 with 2:17 remaining and put the game out of reach.
Mount Olive opened the game with a five-point play as Hart drew a foul on a layup and after a King foul on the free throw rebound, Brite followed with a three-pointer from the left wing. The Trojans built the lead to nine points before Good knocked down a pair of three-pointers for King to pull the Tornado within 18-16 with 13:55 left in the first half.
The Trojans pushed the lead to double digits as Brown hit a pair of three-pointers and Matin found Dominique Reed under the basket with 5:58 left before halftime to give Mount Olive a 39-28 advantage. King answered with three-pointers by Good and Mikquell Jackson as the Tornado pulled within a field goal with 1:37 remaining. Reed's offensive board kept Mount Olive's final possession alive and Blount's putback gave the Trojans a 44-40 halftime lead.
Mount Olive matched a season high with 15 three-pointers for the game. Blount finished with 17 points and Brown added 11 points. Both players hit three 3-pointers off the bench for the Trojans.
Good hit 9-of-18 three-pointers and led all players with 31 points for King. He was 7-for-11 from three-point range in the first half for 21 points. LeVeau added 15 points and a game-high nine rebounds. The Tornado entered Tuesday's contest ranked No. 5 in the D2SIDA Southeast Region Top 10.
Mount Olive returns to action Saturday as the Trojans travel to Central, S.C., to take on Southern Wesleyan University in a Conference Carolinas match-up. The Trojans defeated the Warriors 98-56 in the two teams' first meeting December 1 at Kornegay Arena. Tip-off is 4 p.m.