Trojan men fall to Queens

Published in Sports on February 18, 2004 1:56 PM

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MOC Sports Information

CHARLOTTE -- Spencer Ross scored 20 of his game-high 25 points in the second half as Queens rallied from an 11-point halftime deficit to defeat Mount Olive 84-77 in NCAA Division II Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference men's basketball Tuesday.

The loss, Mount Olive's third in a row, drops the Trojans to third place in the CVAC standings and a game behind Queens.

Mount Olive (17-6, 11-5 CVAC) jumped out to an eight-point lead in the first six minutes of the game and led 24-14 with 11:03 remaining as Johnny Galarza hit a field goal and a three-pointer during a 7-0 Trojan run.

Queens (17-6, 12-4) cut the lead to four, but Mount Olive took its biggest lead at 34-22 on Marcus West's putback with 3:21 remaining. After Queens pulled within eight, Brad McDougald hit a three-pointer with eight seconds remaining to give the Trojans a 39-28 halftime lead.

Queens went 0-for-11 from three-point range in the first half.

Ross connected on his first three-point attempt of the second half, sparking a 12-2 run which pulled the Royals within 41-40. The Trojans built the lead back to five points, but Ross hit a three-pointer with exactly 10 minutes remaining in the game to put Queens ahead to stay 55-53.

Ross scored 17 points during the first 10 minutes of the second half.

The Royals extended the lead to eight before Mount Olive made a run as West's three-point play with 3:32 left pulled the Trojans within 69-66. Queens then scored the next eight points and Mount Olive never came any closer than seven the rest of the way.

Maurice Horton led Mount Olive with 18 points and seven rebounds, while West scored 12 of his 16 points in the second half. Sean Barnett added 15 points, while Galarza finished with 10 points.

Moustapha Diouf tallied 13 points and 13 rebounds for Queens, while Kendrick Harris added 13 points and 10 rebounds. The Royals hit 4-of-8 three-pointers in the second half.

Mount Olive returns to action Saturday against CVAC foe Lees-McRae. The game is part of Mount Olive's annual Basketball Church Night with a special tip-off time of 7 p.m.

QUEENS (84)

Hector Valenzuela 2 0 0-0 4, Moustapha Diouf 5 0 3-6 13, B.J. Timmons 1 1 4-6 9, Spencer Ross 6 3 4-5 25, Zach English 4 0 4-6 12, Guillermo Rausch 0 0 0-0 0, Richard Barrett 2 0 0-0 4, Shane Thorson 1 0 0-0 2, Juwann Seegars 0 0 2-2 2, Drago Pavlovic 0 0 0-0 0, Kendrick Harris 6 0 1-2 13.

MOUNT OLIVE (77)

Sean Barnett 6 0 3-4 15, Marcus West 4 1 5-6 16, Johnny Galarza 2 2 00 10, Brad McDougald 0 2 0-0 6, Maurice Horton 7 1 1-2 18, Victor Young 1 1 0-0 5, Elton Coffield 0 0 2-2 2, Elijah Rouse 1 0 1-1 3, Chris Bartley 1 0 0-0 2.

Halftime -- Mount Olive 39, Queens 28. Three-point baskets -- Mount Olive 7-26 (West 1-3, Galarza 2-6, McDougald 2-5, Horton 1-6, Young 1-5, Bartley 0-1); Queens 4-19 (Timmons 1-6, Ross 3-8, Barrett 0-1, Thorson 0-2, Seegars 0-2). Assists -- Mount Olive 16 (Horton 5), Queens 17 (Ross 8). Turnovers -- Mount Olive 19, Queens 17. Blocked shots -- Mount Olive 3 (West 2), Queens 3. Steals -- Mount Olive 6, Queens 12.