Mount Olive men win seven straight

By David Williams
Published in Sports on January 18, 2004 11:13 PM

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MOUNT OLIVE -- Sharome Holloway scored all of his 11 points in the final seven minutes of the game as host Mount Olive withstood Erskine's comeback for a 68-60 win in NCAA Division II Carolinas-Virginia Athletics men's basketball Friday evening at College Hall.

Mount Olive, which recorded its seventh consecutive victory, saw a 19-point lead disappear before pulling away in the final minutes.

Mount Olive (10-2, 4-1 CVAC) scored 11 unanswered points midway through the first half and built a 32-13 lead with 4:29 left in the first half. Matt Odom's 3-pointer pulled Erskine to within 35-24 at halftime.

Sean Barnett scored all of his 11 points in the first half for the Trojans.

Erskine opened the second half with an 11-4 run as Bobby Isom's layup pulled the Flying Fleet within 39-36 with 16:10 remaining. Lindokuhle Sibankulu hit a pair of free throws to put Erskine on top 47-46 seven minutes later.

Holloway scored his first points of the game on a layup with 7:09 remaining.

The lead changed hands seven times during the final seven minutes before Holloway's three-point play with 2:19 left gave Mount Olive a 59-57 lead and put the Trojans ahead to stay.

Holloway and Johnny Galarza combined to hit 7-of-8 free throws in the final 1:22 to seal the win. Brad McDougald added 10 points for the Trojans, while Holloway pulled down eight rebounds.

Isom led all scorers with 21 points, while Sibankulu finished with 10 for Erskine.

Mount Olive welcomes Belmont Abbey for a CVAC contest Monday. Tip-off is scheduled for approximately 7:30 p.m.

Charles

paces Trojan women

Ladora Charles scored a game-high 22 points off the bench and Latoria Harvey posted her eighth double-double of the season as Mount Olive defeated Erskine 70-54 in women's action at College Hall.

The Trojans used a 19-2 run to overcome a four-point deficit midway through the second half of their NCAA Division II Carolinas-Virginia Athletic Conference game.

Mount Olive (6-5, 3-2 CVAC) led by as many as 11 points in the first half as Charles had 13 points before intermission. Darlisha Stanfield hit a jumper at the buzzer to give the Trojans a 32-23 lead at halftime.

Erskine (6-4, 3-1) pulled within three early in the second half as Melissa Woods hit a pair of three-pointers in the first three minutes.

Shakela Fuller's three-pointer with 10:50 remaining in the game gave the Flying Fleet its first lead at 46-44. A pair of free throws extended the lead to four, but Charles hit a 3-pointer and a two-pointer in a span of 15 seconds to put Mount Olive ahead to stay.

Erskine went more than eight minutes without a field goal as the Trojans took a 63-50 lead with 2:18 left in the game.

Harvey finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds, while Teneal Boone and Tanika Hudgins added 11 points apiece to give the Trojans four players in double figures.

Woods finished with 13 points and nine rebounds for Erskine while Lisa Jackson added 11 points.

Mount Olive snapped a two-game losing skid with the win and handed Erskine its first loss this season in CVAC play. Erskine started 3-0 in the conference for the first time since joining the league in 1995.

The Trojans entertain Belmont Abbey at 5:30 p.m. Monday.