The North Greenville Crusaders suffered an 84-79 loss to the Trojans of the University of Mount Olive in Mount Olive, North Carolina this afternoon. However, with the Chowan Hawks falling to the Lees-McRae Bobcats, the Crusaders have clinched a berth in the 2020 Conference Carolinas Men's Basketball Tournament. DJ Brooks led the way with 18 points.

North Greenville got off to a nice start with a 7-0 run to begin the game including a layup and a three-pointer by DJ Brooks. The Crusaders would lead by as much as eleven points in the half, but a nine point run by the Trojans put an end to the comfortable lead by NGU. After losing the lead for a short time, North Greenville was quickly able to regain it, but Mount Olive would keep things tight over the next several minutes. With the half of a 9-3 run, NGU would go into the half with a 43-41 lead.

After an early fast break layup by UMO tied the game up at 43-43, the Crusaders would respond with six straight points to lead 49-43. However, Mount Olive put together a seven point run from there to reclaim the lead. Both teams would experience several lead changes, but a crushing 10-2 run by the Trojans put NGU into a hole that they could not quite climb out of. Down by five with less than a minute remaining, CJ Jamison gave the Crusaders a chance with a fast break layup as well as a free throw to cut the deficit to two. However, NGU was unable to capitalize, ultimately dropping the game by five points.

NGU will conclude the regular season against the Tornado of King University on Tuesday, February 25th in Tigerville.