MOUNT OLIVE, N.C. – The Converse University men's basketball team fell 80-76 to Mount Olive on Saturday evening inside Kornegay Arena.
 
With the loss the Valkyries are now 6-12 overall and 4-9 in Conference Carolinas action this season. Mount Olive improves to 9-13 overall and 6-8 in Conference Carolinas play. The Valkyries have now lost five straight games and have yet to record a road win since the calendar flipped to 2026.  
 
Surratt led the team with 27 points and 10 rebounds in the loss on Saturday evening. Surratt now has nine double-doubles on the season and is now 32 points away from his 1,000 career point. Camden Edmonds finished second on the team with 12 points and Tre Locklear added eight points in the loss.
 
Mount Olive won the opening tip-off but neither team made a basket on their opening possession. Mount Olive scored the first points of the game with 19:07 to go in the half. Zayd Taylor scored the first points of the game for Converse. The Trojans opened the game on a 7-2 run, but both teams went silent from the field for almost three minutes of game time.
 
Surratt finally broke the scoring drought for both teams at the 15:50 mark with a pair of free throws. The Valkyries continued to fight their way back and with 12:35 to play in the half, Latavian Lawrence hit a three-pointer to tie the game at 13. On the Valkyries next possession down the court Finley Pruever hit a three-pointer and Converse led for the first time at 16-15.
 
Converse continued to put the pressure on Mount Olive and with 9:09 to play in the period, Edmonds knocked down a three-pointer to give the Valkyries a 21-16 advantage. The two teams then went back-and-forth for the majority of the period. With 2:20 to go in the opening half, Surratt made a layup and gave Converse their largest lead of the half at 33-25.
 
The Valkyries went into the halftime break up 35-30 over Mount Olive. Converse shot 40 percent from the field, 35 percent from three-point range and 66 percent from the free throw line.
 
At the start of the second half the Trojans made the first two baskets of the period and cut the Valkyries lead to one point. Surratt scored the first points of the half for Converse at the free throw line and Taylor made the first field goal of the half. After a back-and-forth between the two teams the Valkyries went into the first media timeout down 42-40.
 
Over the next eight minutes of game time the two teams matched one another shot-for-shot. Tied at 60 with 7:18 to play in the game, Mount Olive used a 7-0 run to steal the momentum away from Converse. The Valkyries countered with a 6-2 run to stay within a possession of the Trojans.
 
With 2:41 to play in the game, Locklear hit a three-pointer and tied the game at 72. Mount Olive finished the game on a 8-4 run to defeat the Valkyries. Converse was outscored 50-41 in the second half, shooting 48 percent from the field, 27 percent from three point range and 100 percent from the free throw line.   
 
Stats:
Points: Surratt (27), Edmonds (12), Locklear (8)
Rebounds: Surratt (10), Pickering (5), Lawrence (3)
Assists: Taylor (4), Locklear (3), Surratt (2), Donakis (2), Edmonds (2)

Next Up:
The men's basketball team will return home to face King University on Tuesday evening inside the Weisiger Center. Tip-off is currently slated for a 7:00 p.m. start time.    
 
Follow Converse
https://www.facebook.com/ConverseValkyries
Twitter: @Valkyries_MBB
Instagram: @valkyries_mbb