MOC teams sweep Lees-McRae

Published in Sports on February 26, 2006 2:17 AM

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MOC Sports Information

BANNER ELK -- Chris Bartley led five players in double figures with 16 points as regionally sixth-ranked Mount Olive rallied from an early 10-point deficit to defeat Lees-McRae 90-80 in Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference men's basketball Saturday at Banner Elk, N.C. The win is the Trojans' sixth in a row as both teams concluded regular season play.

Mount Olive (22-5 overall, 16-4 CVAC) fell behind 10-0 within the first four minutes of the game, then responded with 17 unanswered points as Montel Jones and Justin Melton sparked the run with back-to-back three-pointers. The lead was the Mount Olive's biggest of the first half as the Trojans went into halftime with a 36-33 lead.

Three-pointers by Bartley and Elton Coffield helped the Trojans build the lead back up to seven, but Lees-McRae (4-16, 6-21) rallied as Lansen Leach hit a three-pointer and James Barbee's basket with 8:06 remaining tied the game at 64-64.

After Maurice Horton's basket started a 7-0 Trojan run, Lees-McRae came back to cut the lead to one. Melton hit a three-pointer with 4:12 remaining and Lees-McRae never got any closer than four points. The Trojans hit 9-of-10 free throws in the final 98 seconds of the game to seal the win.

Coffield and Elijah Rouse scored 14 points apiece for Mount Olive, while Horton and Melton each finished with 13 points. Rouse, who missed Monday's game against Pfeiffer due to a pregame injury, played 29 minutes Saturday.

Leach led Lees-McRae with a game-high 28 points, while Henry Williams added 18 points.

Mount Olive is the No. 2 seed and gets a first-round bye in the CVAC Tournament. The Trojans open play Wednesday, playing host to a quarterfinal-round game against either the No. 7 or No. 10 seed. Tip-off is 7 p.m. at Kornegay Arena.

Boone leads

Lady Trojans

BANNER ELK -- Teneal Boone notched her 15th double-double of the season with 22 points and 13 rebounds to lead Mount Olive to a come-from-behind 66-60 victory over Lees-McRae in Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference women's basketball Saturday at Banner Elk, N.C.

The win clinches the No. 6 seed for Mount Olive in the CVAC Tournament. The Trojans will play host to No. 11 Lees-McRae Monday at 7 p.m. at Kornegay Arena in the first round.

The win also assures Mount Olive of its best winning percentage since posting a 14-13 record in 1995-96.

Mount Olive (15-12 overall, 10-10 CVAC) took an early lead as Tomeka Prichard hit a pair of three-pointers in the first four minutes to extend her streak to 15 consecutive games with at least one three-point field goal. Lees-McRae (12-15, 1-19) forced the seventh lead change of the first half as Courtney Furr's three-pointer with 6:12 remaining gave the Bobcats a 21-19 lead.

Lees-McRae built the lead to as many as eight points in the first half before Boone's basket with 30 seconds left pulled the Trojans within 32-26 at halftime.

Lees-McRae took its biggest lead of the game at 40-29 with 17:16 left in the game, but Boone's basket with 10:55 remaining capped a 13-2 run as Mount Olive regained the lead.

There would be two ties and four more lead changes before Meaghan Vanderhorst's three-pointer with 3:55 remaining gave Mount Olive a 55-53 lead and put the Trojans ahead to stay. Lees-McRae pulled within one, but Vanderhorst converted a three-point play with 2:46 remaining and Boone and Prichard combined to hit 6-of-6 free throws down the stretch to seal the win.

Prichard finished with 18 points, while Vanderhorst added 11 points. Boone was 8-for-9 from the line and also recorded three blocked shots. Keona Corley dished out a game-high nine assists.

Stephanie Mullinax led Lees-McRae with 22 points, including 10-of-11 free throws. Taukia Hughes added 14 points, while Furr finished with 10 points.

Mount Olive, which has advanced to the quarterfinals of the CVAC Tournament in each of the last three years, hosts a first-round game for the third year in a row. Ironically, Mount Olive's final regular season opponent last year, Limestone, was also the Trojans' opponent in the first round of the tournament.