MOC wins pair at Erskine
By MOC Sports Information
Published in Sports on January 17, 2010 12:12 AM
MOC Sports Information
DUE WEST, S.C. -- Kendrick Easley scored a game-high 23 points and moved into second place on the Mount Olive College all-time career scoring list as the Trojans defeated Erskine 68-50 in Conference Carolinas men's basketball Saturday at Due West, S.C. The win extends Mount Olive's winning streak to five and keeps the Trojans in first place in the conference standings. Easley, who ranks second in the nation in scoring this season, now has 1,862 career points.
Easley entered Saturday's contest needing 16 points to move past Elton Coffield (2003-07), who finished his career with 1,854 points. Easley's basket with 12:11 left in the game tied the mark and his free throw with 10:38 remaining moved him past Coffield.
Lamonte' Theus scored 12 of his 18 points in the first half for the Trojans and Craig Hayes recorded his second straight double-double with 10 points and 14 rebounds.
Mount Olive (10-4 overall, 7-0 Conference Carolinas) led from start to finish, but the Trojans saw a 20-point first half lead trimmed to 11 points early in the second half. Easley halted Erskine's run with a three-pointer and his field goal that tied him for second place capped a 9-2 run and extended the Trojans' lead to 48-30.
The Trojans appeared to have weathered Erskine's comeback effort as Hayes' putback pushed the margin past the 20-point mark and Easley's fourth three-pointer of the day gave Mount Olive a 61-40 lead with 3:54 left to play. But Erskine (6-6, 3-4) still had one more rally left.
Marko Latinovic and Brandon Wright connected on three-pointers and Erskine limited Mount Olive to a single free throw as Wright's basket pulled the Flying Fleet within 62-50 with 1:57 remaining. The Trojans would hold Erskine scoreless the remainder of the game to seal the win.
MOC women win
Helen Moore led all scorers with 26 points and Laporsha Davis scored 10 of her career-high 16 points during a 22-6 run midway through the second half as Mount Olive broke away from a four-point lead for a 77-62 victory over Erskine in Conference Carolinas women's basketball Saturday at Due West, S.C. The Trojans improved to 4-0 in conference road games and stayed within a game of first place in the conference standings.
Mount Olive (6-6 overall, 5-2 Conference Carolinas) led by as many as 10 points before Erskine rallied to pull within 48-44 with 14:29 left in the game. Davis hit a pair of free throws and followed up a Meaghan Vanderhorst three-pointer with a field goal as the Trojans built the lead back to double digits at 57-46 with 11:03 remaining.
Erskine (5-6, 4-3) got as close as nine points, but Davis connected on another pair of free throws to ignite a run of 11 unanswered points.