The Belmont Abbey men's basketball team's second half rally fell short as it suffered an 82-74 at Mount Olive this evening at Kornegay Arena.

The Trojans led by as many as eight points in the second half before Belmont Abbey (5-4, 1-2) used Chad Patus' three-point play with 6:13 remaining to take a 67-65 lead. Mount Olive tied the game a minute later after Brandon Allen hit a pair of free throws and the Trojans went ahead for good with 4:16 left after Craig Hayes sank a pair of free throws. The lead change was the 15th of the game.

Belmont Abbey pulled within a point, but Theus converted a three-point play with 3:26 remaining and Allen knocked down a three-pointer from the right corner to give the Trojans a 75-68 lead with 1:56 left to play. Belmont Abbey had chances to cut into the lead, but missed a pair of free throws and turned the ball over on consecutive possessions.

Belmont Abbey got as close as five points, but Staton hit a pair of free throws with 31 seconds remaining, then added two more with 19 seconds left to extend Mount Olive's lead to 81-72.

The first 10 minutes of the game saw seven lead changes before Jonathan Brinson's dunk off of Theus' steal gave Mount Olive an 18-14 lead. Hayes and Theus combined for all of Mount Olive's 11 points during a span of just over two minutes as the Trojans extended the lead to 31-22 with 4:56 left in the first half.

Richard Barbee scored six points during a 13-3 Belmont Abbey run and Tyshawn Good's layup with 55 seconds left put the Crusaders back on top 35-34. But Allen answered with a three-pointer with 41 seconds remaining and Mount Olive went into the locker room with a 37-35 halftime lead.

Belmont Abbey scored the first four points of the second half to regain the lead, but Allen hit another three-pointer and put back a missed shot to put Mount Olive back on top 42-39 with 18:29 left in the game. After the Crusaders tied the game, Hayes' three-pointer with 14:54 remaining capped an 8-0 Trojan run. Mount Olive led for most of the second half until Andre Fells' two free throws with 7:26 remaining put Belmont Abbey back on top 64-63.

The two teams traded the lead back and forth until Craig Hayes' free throws gave the Trojans the lead for good. Mount Olive hit its first 13 free throws of the second half before missing its final attempt. The Trojans were 18-for-20 from the line for the game.

Barbee led Belmont Abbey with 18 points and seven rebounds, while Patus had 15 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Fells added 12 points for the Crusaders.