Hines leads Trojans past Coker

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on February 16, 2011 1:47 PM

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MOC Sports Information

HARTSVILLE, S.C. -- Dory Hines' two free throws snapped a 58-58 deadlock and Mount Olive College pulled away for a 71-65 victory over Coker (S.C.) in a Conference Carolinas men's basketball game Tuesday evening.

Ewon Wright paced the Trojans with 21 points, while Derek Staton added 16. Hines finished within range of a triple-double -- eight points, eight rebounds and seven assists.

Mahamed Ibrahim tied the game at 58-58 and the teams went scoreless for the next two minutes before Hines pulled down an offensive rebound, and drew the foul with 2:24 left on the clock. The Kinston High alum drained both free throws, then added a layup after Coker missed a basket.

Staton's pull-up jumper and Brandon Allen's free throw capped the 9-0 run. Wright converted 4 of 4 free throws in the final 31 seconds to seal the outcome and propel MOC into the season-ending tournament.

Allen added 13 points and seven rebounds, while Ibrahim added nine points. Staton and Wright combined to go 12-for-21 from the field, including 8-for-13 from behind the 3-point arch.

The Trojans (12-11 overall, 7-8 CC) entertain in-state rival Lees-McRae on Saturday. Tip-off is 7 p.m. at Kornegay Arena.

Women

HARTSVILLE, S.C. -- Senior guard Laporsha Davis scored 18 of her career-high 24 points after halftime, and Mount Olive College hammered Coker (S.C.) College, 82-47, on the Conference Carolinas women's basketball scene Tuesday evening.

Davis shot 7 of 7 from the field in the second half for the Trojans, who put 52 points on the board in the second half. Davis' previous career high was 18 points, which she reached twice during the 2009-10 season.

Senior Jasmine Whitby, who was named Conference Carolinas women's player-of-the-week earlier in the day, finished with 17 points, six rebounds and four steals. Joneiqua Gary scored all of her 12 points in the first half.

Mount Olive (17-6 overall, 14-3 CC) moved within one victory clinching a top-four finish in the regular-season standings, and playing host to a quarterfinal-round game in the Conference Carolinas tournament for the third time in the last four years.

The Trojans saw their 10-point lead cut to one in the first half and led 30-25 at halftime.

Shequanta McGee and Davis both hit 3-pointers in the first 34 seconds of the second half and the Trojans hit 10 of 13 field goal attempts during a 25-6 run to build a 55-31 lead with 13:21 left in the game. Davis scored eight points during the run and the margin never fell below 20 points the remainder of the contest.

MOC entertains Lees-McRae on Saturday. Tip-off is 5 p.m. at Kornegay Arena.