MOUNT OLIVE, NC – A 26-point performance from freshmen forward Nick Silva could not help Francis Marion University fend off the University of Mount Olive on Monday night (Feb. 28) as the Trojans rallied in the second half for a 95-83 victory in the second round of the Conference Carolinas Men's Basketball Tournament.
 
Francis Marion finished its first season as a member of Conference Carolinas with a 13-15 record.
 
Silva shot 9-of-11 from the floor, including 3-of-3 from behind the arc.  FMU sophomore guard Ja'Von Anderson tallied a career-high 16 points and grabbed two steals. Freshmen forward Jonah Pierce posted 12 points and reeled in a team-high seven rebounds, while freshmen guard Farid SaintCyr Jr. added 10 points as well.
 
Guard Darius Spragley led the Trojans (16-12) with 22 points and five steals, while guard Michael Brown posted 14 points and dished out 13 assists.
  
A layup and a make at the stripe by Silva opened the Patriots up to an early start, and later a Pierce layup extended their lead further to five points. A three-pointer by Jeremiah Phifer pulled the Trojans back into the game, shrinking the Patriot lead to two at 11-9.  Later, a pair of buckets by Spragley helped the Trojans catch up and even the score at 13-13.
 
Three-pointers from both Alan Treakle and Cole Johnson bounced the Trojans into the lead for the first time in the first half at 21-17. Patriot junior guard Matthew Lee had two makes at the stripe to cut the Trojan lead to two, but a Cole Johnson three-pointer for UMO gave them back a five-point lead (24-19).
 
Three consecutive makes from Patriots bumped FMU back in the lead at 25-24. A layup and a make from the stripe by SaintCyr Jr. extended the Patriot advantage to 10 points with 3:22 remaining in the first half. FMU connected on 14 of its first 18 field goal attempts. A bucket and the free throw make from Silva gave the Patriots their biggest lead of 11 points (44-33) with 1:27 left in the half. A last-second jumper from Brown helped the Trojans creep into the Patriot lead, going into the locker room down by nine at 46-37.
 
Mount Olive opened the second half with an 18-4 spurt to take the lead for good.  Eleven points from Treakle and a three-pointer by Phifer followed put the Trojans on top 55-50. Mount Olive would not trail for the rest of the second half, but the Patriots would manage to even the score on two possessions, the final time at 57-57.  However, a 12-2 spurt by the Trojan extended the margin to 10.
 
A Saintcyr Jr. three-pointer and a layup by Anderson bumped the Trojan lead down to five with 9:22 left in the half. Two three-pointers by Silva with 5:30 remaining brought FMU within four points, but the Trojans pulled away for the rest of the half.
 
Francis Marion shot a season-high 61.5 percent from the floor, while Mount Olive connected on 51.5 percent from the floor. From behind the arc, the Patriots shot 5-of-10, while the Trojans were 14-of-32, and at the stripe, the Patriots made 14-of-20 and the Trojans hit 11-of-14.
 
 
02/28/22 7:00 pm at Spartanburg, SC
MOUNT OLIVE 95, FRANCIS MARION 83
FRANCIS MARION (13-15)
Nick Silva 9-11 5-6 26; Ja'Von Anderson 8-13 0-1 16; Jonah Pierce 4-4 4-6
12; Farid SaintCyr Jr. 4-6 1-1 10; Tionne Rollins 4-10 0-0 9; Yohan-Steve
Yebga 2-4 2-4 6; Matthew Lee 0-0 2-2 2; Alex Cox 1-4 0-0 2; Nieja Jordan 0-0
0-0 0. Totals 32-52 14-20 83.
MOUNT OLIVE (16-12)
Darius Spragley 9-18 1-2 22; Alan Treakle 5-11 2-2 16; Michael Brown 5-11
4-4 14; Jeremiah Phifer 5-8 0-0 14; Cole Johnson 3-5 0-0 9; Trayvon Ferrell
3-5 3-4 9; Matthias Caver 4-7 0-1 8; Jordan Lynch 1-1 1-1 3; Landry Gainey
0-0 0-0 0; Shakei Hines 0-0 0-0 0; Bennie Brooks 0-0 0-0 0; Derreco Miller
0-2 0-0 0. Totals 35-68 11-14 95.
Francis Marion................   46   37  -   83
Mount Olive...................   37   58  -   95
3-point goals--Francis Marion 5-10 (Nick Silva 3-3; Tionne Rollins 1-3;
Farid SaintCyr Jr. 1-2; Alex Cox 0-1; Ja'Von Anderson 0-1), Mount Olive
14-32 (Jeremiah Phifer 4-6; Alan Treakle 4-8; Darius Spragley 3-8; Cole
Johnson 3-5; Matthias Caver 0-1; Trayvon Ferrell 0-1; Michael Brown 0-3).
Fouled out--Francis Marion-Nick Silva, Mount Olive-None. Rebounds--Francis
Marion 26 (Jonah Pierce 7), Mount Olive 25 (Trayvon Ferrell 7).
Assists--Francis Marion 9 (Alex Cox 3), Mount Olive 21 (Michael Brown 13).
Total fouls--Francis Marion 17, Mount Olive 16. Technical fouls--None. A-284