Anthony Greenup and Jamil Aliyy both
recorded double-doubles, but it was not enough as the Bears fell to Mount Olive
81-66 at College Hall.
Shaw (1-5) opened up uncharacteristically running and fast-breaking and jumped
out to a 12-5 lead on an Aliyy put back with 15:19 remaining in the first
half. At that point it looked as if the Bears would run away with the game
but that would not be the case. An 18-11 run over the next 10 minutes put
Mount Olive up 24-23 on an Elton Coffield (23 points 4-of-6 from three-point
range) put back with 5:35 remaining in the half. The Bears were much
bigger than the Trojans in the post as Greenup and Aliyy combined for 20 points
in the half, but the Bears trailed 37-35 at halftime.
Ricky Williams' two free-throws two minutes
into the second half, tying the score at 37-37, would be the closest the Bears
would get. The tandem of Greenup and Aliyy, which worked well in the first
half, was not there in the second as the Trojans (4-2) defense began to deny and
clamp down on both 6-8 players. Shaw began to turn the ball over and miss
shots and a 21-6 run by Mount Olive was capped by a Coffield three-pointer that
put the Trojans up 58-45 with 12:31 remaining. Two-straight field goals by
the Bears pulled them to within 11 but a three-pointer by Sharome Holloway put
the Trojans up 13 at 60-47 with 11:16 remaining. Two more mini-runs by the
Bears, the first pulling them to within 66-65 with 7:28 remaining, and the
second pulling them to within 69-58 with 5:28 remaining, were both thwarted by
Coffield three's.
Greenup finished with 18 points and 10
rebounds and four blocked shots, while Aliyy finished with 10 points and
11 rebounds. Cordell Maxwell was also in double figures with 11
points. The Bears turned the ball over 22 times.
Brad McDougald and Marcus West were in
double figure scoring for the Trojans with 12 and 10 points, respectively.
The Bears will next travel to Farmville, VA to take on Longwood on Monday at 7:00 p.m.