Shaun Washum poured in 16 points and pulled down 12 rebounds, but it wasn't enough to keep the Falcons from dropping a 62-58 decision to Mount Olive College Saturday evening in Emery Gymnasium.
Saint Augustine's, plagued by poor free throw shooting throughout the contest, had a 16-point lead throughout the first half in which it made just two of seven attempts from the charity stripe.
“I think that our guys came out and played hard early in the game being that we had a 20-day layoff,” said first-year head coach Ken Spencer. “The crowd was excited and we came out hot and executed. If we deviate from executing, then we have a problem. In a game like this, at home, we can't miss free-throws and give up as many second shots as we did.”
The Falcons, now 1-3 overall, saw its lead shrink to 47-45 midway through the second half. Mount Olive's Brandon Allen hit a long ball with 5:14 left to play to knot the game at 50-all. The Trojans took the lead with 3:37 left in regulation on a short jumper by Deshaune Green.
The final minutes of the game would prove to be a back and forth battle for the lead between both teams. Derek Staton hit two crucial free throws with 1:01 left to give the Trojans their largest lead of the game (58-55). With just five seconds remaining, B.J. Mullen hit a desperation three-pointer to make it a one possession game (61-58). However, time didn't permit the Falcons to secure the victory.
Saint Augustine's had the hot hand to start the game, grabbing an early lead of 12-3 through the first six-plus minutes of action. After shooting just 28.1 percent from the floor in the opening half, Mount Olive warmed up a bit in the second half, making nine of 22 shots (40.9 percent) while whittling away at the Falcon lead. Those comeback efforts were aided greatly by the hot shooting of Brandon Allen who was 4-of-8 from beyond the arc, all in the second half.
For the game, the Falcons converted just eight of 18 free throw opportunities. Mount Olive was 19 of 25 from the line. Jon Kindred added 15 points and a block for the Falcons.
The Falcons will now travel to Morrow, GA to take on Clayton State University on December 16, 2010. Game time is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
