Wednesday, January 2, 2008

NO. 22 MOUNT OLIVE EDGES TUSCULUM 60-59

GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Kendrick Easley scored 21 points and posted the winning free throw with 10 seconds remaining as No. 22 Mount Olive edged host Tusculum College 60-59 Wednesday night in men’s basketball action at Pioneer Arena.

The Trojans (6-3) rallied from a seven-point deficit in the second half and used a 10-4 run in the final four minutes to record a victory in the inaugural meeting between the two schools.

Tusculum’s Kyle Moore led the home team with his 21 markers as he shot 8-for-14 from the floor, including five 3-pointers. Jordan Lear added 15 points and nine rebounds, while Lavonti Jeter finished with 14 markers and seven boards in the loss.

Brandon Streeter tallied a double-double for Mount Olive with 10 points and 11 rebounds. One of those buckets came on a put-back lay-up with 2:13 remaining as the Trojans took their first lead of the second half at 57-56.

Tusculum (5-6) used a 10-3 run over a 3:25 span to move ahead 43-36 with 15:03 remaining in the game, capped off by a Moore three-pointer. MOC’s Montel Jones answered with five straight points to trim the deficit to 43-41 with 13:39 left.

With TC leading 55-50 with 4:25 on the clock, Justin Melton drained a three-pointer and Streeter followed with a lay-up to cut the lead to 56-55, with less than three minutes remaining. Following a miss by the Pioneers, Streeter rebounded a missed jumper by Easley and banked it home to move the Trojans ahead for the first time since the 48-second mark of the first half.

Easley added a lay-up with 52 seconds left in the contest to move MOC up 59-56. Tusculum tied the game on Moore’s three-pointer from the right wing with 33 seconds remaining.

Mount Olive worked the clock down as Easley drove through the lane and was fouled with 10 second remaining. He made the first free throw, but missed the second giving TC a chance at the win. Lear’s three-pointer from 21-feet away was just off the mark at the buzzer as the Trojans held on for the win.

In the first half, Mount Olive led through most of the first 20 minutes, including a 26-19 advantage with 5:23 left before the intermission.

Tusculum put together a 10-2 run over the next four minutes as Darren Hobbs’ driving lay-up at the 1:42 mark gave the Pioneers a 29-28 lead. Easley tied the game with a free throw and Streeter canned a jumper to put the Trojans up 31-29. Jeter tied the game with his fade-away jumper in the final seconds of the period as the score was tied 31-31 at the break.

Both teams are in conference action this Saturday. Tusculum will open its South Atlantic Conference season at Lenoir-Rhyne for an 8 p.m. contest in Hickory, N.C. Mount Olive will be at Anderson for a Conference Carolinas tilt.

- TC -