MOUNT OLIVE – UNCP shot better than 53 percent in the second half and led by as much as nine points with 10 minutes remaining, but red-hot Mount Olive used a 16-5 run over the next five minutes to help the Trojans clip the visiting Braves, 69-68, on Monday evening at Kornegay Arena.

The triumph marked the sixth-straight series victory for Mount Olive (7-1) who improved to 10-2 against the Braves (6-4) since the 1992-93 season. The setback also effectively snapped a four-game winning streak for the Black & Gold who had last tasted defeat on November 22 against Wingate at home.

Shahmel Brackett scored 14 points to lead a quartet of Braves with double-figure scoring nights. K.J. Cooper and Marcus Heath each scored 11 points for UNCP, while George Blakeney chipped in 10. Craig Hayes registered a game-best 24 points on 11-of-14 shooting from the field for Mount Olive, who also got 14 points from Derek Staton.

The setback also marked the first time this season that UNCP has out-rebounded an opponent (39-33) and lost – the first time that has happened since a 76-59 loss to Augusta State in the Peach Belt Conference Tournament championship game in March. The Braves were 0-for-9 from the perimeter on Monday as well marking the first time they have failed to connect on a shot from the perimeter since an 81-62 loss at Armstrong Atlantic on Feb. 24, 2010.

Brackett's lay-in with 13:55 remaining to play ignited the Braves on a 12-2 run that gave them a 54-45 lead just more than 3-1/2 minutes later, but the hosts countered with a 14-5 scoring spurt over the next four minutes that tied the score at 59 apiece at the 6:32 mark. Mount Olive staked claim to three-point leads down the stretch, but two free throws by Mike Robinson with 55 ticks left cut that advantage to just one, 69-68. Blakeney rebounded a failed free throw attempt by Kendall Hargove with two seconds left and made the desperation shot from full court, but the ball caught the side of the rim to keep the victory intact for the Trojans.

Mount Olive used a 3-pointer by Jordan McCain to take a 13-point lead, 23-10, with just less than nine minutes left in the opening period. However, UNCP slowly whittled away at its deficit, cutting it to single digits five minutes later, and then trimming the lead for the Trojans back to just 36-32 on Brackett's lay-in with 67 seconds left before intermission.

The Braves will be back in action again on Saturday when they continue a three-game road trip by battling PBC East Division foe Flagler (6-3, 0-2 PBC). Tip off has been set for 3:30 p.m. inside Flagler Gym.