Francis Marion, Mount Olive Advance to Men’s Basketball Second Round on Monday

2/26/2023 9:51:19 PM

SPARTANBURG, S.C./MURFREESBORO, N.C. – The first round of the 2023 Atlantic Casualty Conference Carolinas Men’s Basketball Championship saw No. 7 seed Francis Marion and No. 8 seed Mount Olive advance to the second round.

In the 7-10 matchup in Spartanburg, South Carolina, it was the seventh-seeded Patriots of Francis Marion who advanced with a 100-80 win over 10th-seeded King. The Florence, South Carolina program never trailed on the night and led by as many as 22 points in the victory. Midway through the second half, the Tornado mounted their best threat of the night as Michael Mays sparked a 6-0 run that cut the lead to five, 70-65. However, an 8-2 Patriots run quickly pushed the lead back to double-digits en route to the 20-point win. Doug Alves paced FMU with 20 points while Alex Cox added 18 and Tionne Rollins netted 15 with nine rebounds while two others also scored in double figures. Mays led King with 20 points while Brandon Lamberth added 17 and three other Tornado netted 10-plus points.

In the 8-9 matchup in Murfreesboro, North Carolina, the eighth-seeded Trojans of Mount Olive defeated No. 9 Lees-McRae, 95-87. Much like the first game of the evening, Mount Olive never trailed in the contest and led by as many as 16 points. The game wasn’t without some intrigue, though, as the Bobcats battled to within four points in the final minute. After a Shane Peterson 3-pointer made it 86-74 in favor of the Trojans, LMC used an 8-0 run to cut the margin to four with 1:21 to play. A Brandon Brown three with 25 seconds left again cut the deficit to four, 91-87, but Peterson was 4-for-4 at the free throw line over the final 15 seconds to seal the victory. Michael Brown finished with a game-high 27 points, grabbed seven rebounds and dished out nine assists for the Trojans while Kaeleb Carter added 17 points and three others scored 10-plus for UMO. Jaylin Stewart paced Lees-McRae with 21 points off the bench while three others finished in double figures.

Mount Olive will face fifth-seeded Chowan on Monday, Feb. 27 at 7 p.m. while Francis Marion will face No. 6 Converse also at 7 p.m. The winners of each contest will advance to the Quarterfinals held at Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium in Spartanburg, South Carolina on Friday, March 3.

Fans can watch every game of the tournament live via the Conference Carolinas Digital Network and BlueFrame at conferencecarolinasdn.com. Information regarding the championship schedule, bracket and Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium are available here.

2023 Atlantic Casualty Conference Carolinas Men’s Basketball Championship
First Round – Sunday, February 26
#7 Francis Marion def. #10 King, 100-80, at Converse (Box Score)
#8 Mount Olive def. #9 Lees-McRae, 95-87, at Chowan (Box Score)

Second Round – Monday, February 27
#7 Francis Marion at #6 Converse, 7 p.m.
#8 Mount Olive at #5 Chowan, 7 p.m.

Quarterfinals – Friday, March 3 (Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium - Spartanburg, S.C.)
Winner of #5-#8 vs. #4 Belmont Abbey, 6 p.m.
Winner of #6-#7 vs. #3 Barton, 8:30 p.m.

Semifinals – Saturday, March 4 (Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium - Spartanburg, S.C.)
Winner of #4-#5-#8-#9 vs. #1 UNC Pembroke, 5:15 p.m.
Winner of #3-#6-#7-#10 vs. #2 Emmanuel, 7:30 p.m.

Final – Sunday, March 5 (Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium - Spartanburg, S.C.)
Winner of Semifinal #1 vs. Winner of Semifinal #2, 4 p.m.