COLLEGE BASKETBALL: UMO men lose lead, fall to Lees-McRae

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Published in Sports on January 12, 2017 7:49 AM

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rcoggins@newsargus.com

MOUNT OLIVE -- This one felt like a punch in the gut -- a loss that could damage postseason aspirations.

And head coach Joey Higginbotham wishes his University of Mount Olive men's basketball team could get it back.

Lees-McRae erased a nine-point, second-half deficit and escaped Kornegay Arena with a 73-70 victory on the Conference Carolinas scene Wednesday evening. The Bobcats swept the regular-season series and left the Trojans sitting in the league cellar.

"That's a tough one to swallow because that's a game we should have definitely won," Higginbotham said. "You've got to play 40 minutes of basketball. We played 12 minutes in the first half and maybe six (in the second half)."

Tyler Thomas drained two free throws to give the Trojans their biggest lead of the game, 37-24, with 6:14 left before halftime.

The Bobcats closed to within 39-35 at the break and knotted the contest at 39-39 just 45 seconds into the second half. L-MC eventually grabbed the lead, 48-46, on Jordan Turner's 3 from the corner.

UMO answered.

Tayon Gleaves' left-handed layup off the fast break fueled an 11-1 run that awoke a sparse crowd from its slumber. Gleaves also converted an "and one" during the surge and Thomas' triple capped the run.

"I thought tonight we went away from what was working, then we went back to it," Higginbotham said.

The Trojans didn't stay in attack mode, though.

L-MC scored 16 of the next 20 points and seized a 65-61 advantage it would not relinquish with 7:45 left in regulation. UMO shaved the deficit to 69-67 on Jamal Matin's basket in the paint.

The Bobcats hung on.

"We got three big stops there at the end of the game and offensively lost our minds," Higginbotham said. "We were going for home-run plays. I don't know. We've got to work on those situations and make sure they don't happen again."

Cameron Robinson led four UMO players in double figures with 17 points. Matin added 12, followed by Gleaves with 11 and Thomas with 10. L-MC owned a 38-24 advantage in the paint and collected 20 points off 14 Trojan turnovers.