Easley, Brown lead Mount Olive men

By MOC Sports Information
Published in Sports on November 7, 2007 1:50 PM

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MOUNT OLIVE -- Kendrick Easley shared game-high honors with 17 points and Josh Brown scored 10 of his 16 points in the second half as Mount Olive rallied from a two-point halftime deficit to defeat the Kazakhstan National Team 84-70 in a men's basketball exhibition game Tuesday at Kornegay Arena.

The Trojans led by as many as 24 points in the second half.

Mount Olive led by as many as seven points in the first half as three-pointers by Kendrick Easley and Josh Brown gave the Trojans a 21-14 lead with 11:08 remaining before halftime. After Anton Ponomarev's three-pointer capped a 9-2 Kazakhstan run and tied the game 23-23, Brown's second three-pointer put the Trojans back on top with 5:20 remaining.

The Trojans built the lead back up to five points, but Niyaz Isakov's three-pointer capped a 7-0 run and gave Kazakhstan its first lead at 32-30 with 2:15 remaining. After Mike Holloman's field goal tied the game, Kazakhstan hit 2-of-4 free throws in the final 44 seconds to take a 34-32 halftime lead.

Lydell Walker sparked Mount Olive early in the second half, scoring the Trojans' first three field goals. Brandon Streeter's dunk with 15:51 remaining put Mount Olive ahead to stay 43-42. Easley hit a three-pointer and Craig Hayes and Brown combined to hit 4-of-4 free throws during a 15-2 run to build the lead to 56-44 with 10:25 left in the game.

The lead stayed in double figures the rest of the way and Trojans took their biggest advantage with 3:41 remaining when Justin Foskey's three-pointer made the score 80-56.

Walker finished with 10 points for the Trojans, while Aaron Dobson and Justin Melton dished out five assists apiece. Melton led a balanced attack on the boards with four rebounds and also had a game-high four steals. Holloman added eight points and four steals. The Trojans forced 33 turnovers.