MOUNT OLIVE, N.C. – Mount Olive toppled the Flying Fleet of Erskine College on Saturday night in Conference Carolinas men's basketball action in front of a great Church Night crowd at Kornegay Arena in Mount Olive, N.C. Jamaal Matin tied the program record for three-pointers scored in a game at 10, while also setting a new career-best 41 points in the 96-75 win over Erskine.
GAME INFORMATION
Score: Mount Olive 96, Erskine 75
Records: Mount Olive (9-13, 8-5), Erskine (11-8, 6-5)
Location: Kornegay Arena | Mount Olive, N.C.
How It Happened
Play-by-Play
FIRST HALF
- Cameron Robinson got things started for the Trojans with a three-point jumper 22 seconds into the game to give UMO a 3-0 lead.
- The Flying Fleet scored their first basket just over a minute later to close the gap and but the Trojans took a six-point lead, 8-2, following a layup from Tanner Poole and Matin's first three of the night.
- A 9-3 run by Erskine knotted the score at 11 all as the clock hit the 14:20 mark following a three for the Fleet.
- UMO kicked it into gear with an 11-0 run, capped off with Matin's second three, that put the Trojans up 22-11 as the clock approached the 12-minute mark.
- Following a pair of Fleet free throws, Matin hit another three that put Mount Olive up 25-13 with 11:36 til the halftime horn.
- A 7-3 spurt by Erskine decreased the Trojan lead to single-digits, 28-20, before UMO opened up an 11-point lead following a 10-7 run that put the score at 38-27 with six and a half to go.
- The Trojans maintained an eight to ten-point lead the remainder of the half as UMO entered halftime with a 48-39 lead.
SECOND HALF
- The Flying Fleet cut the Trojan lead to seven points, 48-41, with a jumper 90 seconds into the second half.
- Over the next two minutes, Mount Olive increased their lead back out to 14 points, 55-41, with Poole, Darius Spragley and Don Pigford scoring a quick seven points for the Trojans.
- A three by Matin put UMO ahead 17 points as the clock ticked under 15 minutes with the score sitting 60-43.
- Erskine made an 8-0 run to cut the lead to nine points, but Michael Brown hit a three and Jonathan Mebane added a jumper to give Mount Olive their double-digit lead back at 65-53.
- The Flying Fleet came within seven points twice but Matin went on a 13-point run that gave the Trojans a 12-point cushion, 77-65, as the clock neared the six-minute mark.
- A pair of free throws by Brown put UMO back up by 17 points, 84-67, with 3:48 to play.
- Matin closed out the scoring for Mount Olive with the teams' final 12 points, including his last bucket of the night which was the program tying 10th three-pointer, as UMO won 96-75.
KEY STATS
- Jamaal Matin led the Trojan offense with 41 points, a new career-high, and a program tying 10 three-pointers, as the senior guard shot 76.9 % from behind the three-point arc.
- Junior Cameron Robinson put up a respectable 20 points in the contest while Michael Brown and Jonathan Mebane joined the double-digit club with 10-points each.
- Tanner Poole led the team with 12 rebounds while Matin was one shy from a double-double.
- UMO as a team shot 14-of-15 from the free throw line, a 93.3% mark on the evening.
UP NEXT
Mount Olive is home for a midweek non-conference contest against the Big Blues of Bluefield State for the annual "Black Out Night" sponsored by Piggly Wiggly.