Freshman Alyssa Munson (Summerfield, N.C.) recorded her first collegiate double-double, and four players scored in double figures to lead the Lees-McRae College women's basketball team to a hard-fought 72-70 victory over Mount Olive

College in Conference Carolinas play on Saturday afternoon in Williams Gymnasium. Lees-McRae (3-5, 1-4 CC) shot 45.8 percent from the floor in the contest, including an even 50 percent in the first half, while holding Mount Olive (8-2, 4-2 CC) to a field goal percentage of 40.4 percent on the afternoon. The Trojans won the battle on the glass by a 39-33 margin, including a 13-9 advantage on the offensive boards, while converting 21 Bobcat miscues into 25 points.
Layana de Souza (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) paced the Bobcats with 15 points and five assists, as Munson added a double-double with 12 markers, 11 rebounds, and a game-high four blocks. Kabrina Truesdale (Wilmington, N.C.) added 12 points and five assists, while Lauren Lewis (Concord, N.C.) chipped in 11 markers. Kerri Belcher (Roanoke, Va.) also posted eight points, four rebounds, and a team-high three steals for the Bobcats.
Tamara Nesmith led the way for Mount Olive with a double-double, posting game-highs of 25 points and 12 rebounds to go along with a contest-best six steals. Kirksten Mitchell added 17 points, while Alyssa Luebs chipped in nine points, seven rebounds, and three blocks.
Mount Olive jumped out to an early 10-2 lead before the Bobcats responded, going on a 15-9 run to cut the lead to 19-17 with 10:11 remaining in the half following a put-back by Tayler Collins (Fayetteville, N.C.). After the Trojans countered with a 6-2 spurt to take a 25-19 advantage on a Nesmith jumper, Lees-McRae answered with a 21-7 surge over the final eight minutes of the period, heading into the intermission with a 40-32 lead following back-to-back three-pointers by Candace Flowers (Charlotte, N.C.).
The Trojans responded in the second half, opening the period with a 10-5 run to cut the lead to 45-42 following a three-point play by Nesmith with 14:32 left on the clock. After the Bobcats pushed the advantage back to 10 with a 7-0 spurt, Mount Olive answered with an 11-0 run to take its first lead of the second half on a lay-in by Luebs with 9:29 to play.
Lees-McRae would counter with a Belcher layup to reclaim the lead at 54-53 two minutes later, and after Joneiqua Gary gave the Trojans a 55-54 advantage with a pair of free throws, Truesdale knocked down a clutch three-pointer to put the Bobcats ahead, 57-55, with just over seven minutes to play.
The teams would trade scores over the next several minutes, with Mount Olive snatching a 65-63 lead on a Nesmith lay-in before Munson kicked it out to Lewis for an open three-pointer with 2:22 to go, giving the Bobcats a narrow 66-65 advantage. Nesmith answered with just under a minute left on the clock, converting a critical three-point play to give the Trojans a 70-68 lead on the heels of a 5-2 run.
De Souza countered 22 seconds later, evening the tally at 70-70 with an acrobatic layup before Belcher made perhaps the key play of the afternoon, forcing a Trojan turnover and converting a pair of late free throws to put the Bobcats ahead, 72-70 with eight ticks left on the clock. The Bobcats cemented the win seconds later, forcing another Trojan miscue to seal the victory.
Lees-McRae returns to the court on Tuesday when the Bobcats travel to Spartanburg, S.C. to take on Converse College in conference play at 5:30 p.m.

Sepokas Notches 1,000th Career Point In Setback To Mount Olive

Lees-McRae College senior Daniel Sepokas (Illawong, Australia) poured in a team-high 24 points on Saturday evening, becoming the seventh player in program history to surpass the 1,000-point plateau in his career as Mount Olive College placed four players in double figures en route to a 112-70 victory over the Bobcats in Conference Carolinas play on Saturday evening in Williams Gymnasium.
Mount Olive (4-7, 1-4 CC) posted a field goal percentage of 45.8 percent in the contest, including an even 50 percent in the second half, while holding Lees-McRae (0-11, 0-5 CC) to a clip of 31 percent from the floor. The Trojans won the battle on the glass by a 55-37 margin, including a 27-16 advantage on the offensive boards, while converting 22 Bobcat miscues into 28 points.
Sepokas paced the Bobcats with 24 points with a 3-for-5 night from beyond the arc while going 11-for-16 at the charity stripe. The Illawong, Australia native joined elite company in program history on Saturday, becoming the school's seventh player to surpass the 1,000-point plateau in his career; he has scored 1,005 points as a Bobcat to date.
Charles Clarke (Orlando, Fla.) added seven points and a team-high eight rebounds, while Corey Young (Bluff City, Tenn.) added seven markers of his own. Asad Lamot (Mebane, N.C.), Jeremiah Henry (Semmes, Ala.), and DJ Brown (Anderson, S.C.) each chipped in six markers.
Darrell Patterson came off the bench to lead all scorers with 27 points for the Trojans, knocking down five three-pointers to go along with a 6-for-7 night from the free throw line. Mahamed Ibrahim added 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting, connecting on a trio of three-pointers as Deshaune Green and Ewon Wright each chipped in 11 markers. Dory Hines nearly posted a double-double with nine points and a game-high eight assists, while Dontrell Brite dished out seven helpers of his own.
The Bobcats jumped out to an early 6-2 lead before Mount Olive responded, answering with a 24-2 surge to take a 26-8 advantage on a Patterson triple with 10:36 to play in the first half. Lees-McRae would play with the Trojans for the remainder of the half, closing the period on a 16-11 run to trim the margin to 57-38 heading into the intermission.
Mount Olive countered in the second half, opening the period with a 17-8 surge to push the lead to 74-46 on a steal and a dunk by Kendall Hargrove with 14:54 to play. The Trojans would close out the win from there, capping the night with a 27-17 run over the final 10 minutes to seal the victory.
Lees-McRae returns to the court on Wednesday when the Bobcats travel to Greensboro, N.C. to take on the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in a mid-season exhibition at 7 p.m. in the Greensboro Coliseum.

WOMEN:

LMC 72, MOUNT OLIVE 70

Score By Period 1st  2nd  Total
Mount Olive     32   38  -  70
Lees-McRae      40   32  -  72

       Mount Olive                 Lees-McRae
Pts: Tamara Nesmith - 25  Pts: Layana De souza - 15 
Reb: Tamara Nesmith - 12  Reb: Alyssa Munson - 11 
Ast: 2 Players (Nesmith, McDonald - 3)  Ast: 2 Players (Truedale, De souza - 5) 

Team Statistics      Mount Olive     Lees-McRae
Field Goal %        40.4% (23-57 ) 45.8% (27-59 )
Rebounds                39              33
Assists                 11              15
Turnovers               21              21
Pts off Turnovers       25              22
2nd Chance Pts           9              12
Pts in the Paint        34              38
Fastbreak Pts            8               8 
Bench Pts                9              14

MEN:

MOUNT OLIVE 112, LMC 70

Score By Period  1st  2nd  Total
Mount Olive       57   55 - 112
Lees-McRae        38   32 -  70

          Mount Olive             Lees-McRae
Pts: Darrell Patterson - 27  Pts: Daniel Sepokas - 24 
Reb: Dominique Reed - 9      Reb: Charles Clarke - 8 
Ast: Dory Hines - 8          Ast: Asad Lamot - 4 

Team Statistics       Mount Olive    Lees-McRae
Field Goal %        45.8% (38-83 ) 31.0% (18-58 )
Rebounds                 55             37
Assists                  25             10
Turnovers                11             22
Pts off Turnovers        28              8
2nd Chance Pts           27              9
Pts in the Paint         50             24
Fastbreak Pts            10              6
Bench Pts                59             23

Photo Courtesy: Alyssa Munson, LMC Athletics