Georgia Southwestern guard Justin Monden (12) attempts to drive around University of Mount Olive guard Trey Nelson toward the basket during first-half action in the 58th annual Pickle Classic on Saturday evening. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Zach Grant glanced at the final boxscore and pulled out a pen.
The first-year University of Mount Olive head men’s basketball coach circled two stats — rebounds and free throws.
Georgia Southwestern owned the edge in both categories during its come-from-behind, 85-81 triumph over University of Mount Olive on day two of the 58th annual Pickle Classic on Saturday evening.
It was the teams’ first meeting since 2018.
“We can’t get out rebounded … biggest thing we take pride in, defending and rebounding and we failed that challenge tonight,” Grant said. “I don’t know what we shot from the free throw line, but it was bad.”
The Hurricanes dominated the glass 32-21 and tallied 19 second-chance points on 12 offensive rebounds. At the stripe, the Peach Belt Conference member outscored the Trojans, 27-17.
A back-and-forth battle led to seven lead changes and eight ties.
UMO broke a 61-61 deadlock on free throws by Brent Randleman and Redford Dunton, who pumped in a team- and game-high 25 points in 36 minutes of action.
Georgia Southwestern answered with a back-breaking 12-0 run, ignited by Christian Koonce’s basket in the paint. The Trojans misfired on seven consecutive possessions during that stretch, including an 0-for-4 effort at the free throw line.
Shane Peterson’s free throw with 3:54 remaining halted the run.
Jaylen Jordon’s driving layup pushed the advantage back to 10, but UMO refused to go away. Redford, Peterson and Trey Nelson each drained timely 3-pointers for the Trojans, who climbed to within 84-81 with 14 seconds left in regulation.
“I felt like we pushed through some adversity, especially in the second half,” Grant said. “I don’t remember what we were down, but we stayed together … fought to the final horn. I was proud of their fight.”
Nelson provided 21 points on 10 of 11 shooting from the floor and dished out six assists. Aaron Murphy collected 14 points, while Peterson ended up with a quiet seven points.
All four Classic participants — UMO, GSW, Barton and Elizabeth City State — logged a 1-1 worksheet during the two-day affair contested inside Kornegay Arena. ECSU erased a 17-point, first-half deficit to hand Barton a 101-88 loss before the Trojans tipped off.
UMO (1-4 overall) begins a three-game road swing Tuesday at Claflin University in South Carolina. Grant’s club visits High Point University for an exhibition game Nov. 26 and is the guest of Lenoir-Rhyne on Nov. 29.
