MOC torches Bluefield State

Published in Sports on November 21, 2004 2:01 AM

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MOUNT OLIVE -- It was all Mount Olive in their opening game of the 39th Annual Pickle Classic. The Trojans easily handled Bluefield State 100-56.

A raucous crowd of over 1,000 watched an impressive start by the Trojans. Bluefield's first point came three minutes into the game on a technical foul. A swarming Mount Olive defense did not allow a basket until 15:03, on a lay-up by Corey Love.

Meanwhile, the Trojans opened up a 20-3 lead that extended to 61-28 at halftime. Seven players hit three-pointers. The Trojan rebounding corps bested their guests off the boards 29-9.

"We wanted to come out in our first home game of the year and show the crowd a few things," said head coach Bill Clingan. "I never thought we'd get off to a start like this."

Clingan substituted freely in the second half. Twelve players saw action. Five of them, Sharome Holloway, Victor Young, Melvin Creddle, Montel Jones, and Elton Coffield finished the night in double figures.

"For the first game out," our enthusiasm was great," said Clingan. "I'm very proud of our performance."

It was a much closer game in the other first round contest. Newberry edged Lees-McRae 73-65.

The Bobcats from Banner Elk, kept it close. With eight minutes left, they cut the Indians' lead to one at 51-50. That was as close as they could get.

Two shooting cold spells proved to be Lees-Mcrae's downfall as it could not buy a basket for five minutes in each half.

Newberry (73)

Tommy Burke 2 4 4-8 16; Michael Dease 2 1 7-7 14; Eric Nwawel 2 0 7-10 11; David Hampton 3 0 0-2 6; Chris Johnson 0 1 3-4 6; Tymere Zimmerman 2 0 0-0 4; Corey Etheridge 1 0 0-0 2; Ben Hooker 1 0 0-0 2; Joseph Chilton 1 0 0-0 2.

Lees-McRae (65)

Antwon Brown 2 3 3-8 16; Shawn Zellers 2 2 5-6 15; Aaron Dugger 0 4 3-3 15; Tyreek Ramseur 4 0 0-2 8; Derrick Griffin 2 0 0-0 4; Henry Williams 0 1 0-0 3; Jeff McGowan 1 0 1-2 3; Eli Henson 0 0 1-2 1.

Halftime - Newberry 39, Lees-McRae 37. Three-point baskets - Newberry 7/21 (Burke 4-8, Dease 1-6, Frasier 1-2, Johnston 1-3, Etheridge 0-1); Lees-Mcrae 10-34 (Dugger 4-10, Nrown 3-5, Zellers 2-3, Williams 1-6, Ramseur 0-5, Griffin 0-3, Henson 0-1, McGowan 0-1). Rebounds - Newberry 41 (Dease 9), Lees-McRae 45 (Brown 15). Assists - Newberry 13 (Frasier 7), Lees-McRae 13 (Zellers, Griffin 3). Turnovers - Newberry 23, Lees-McRae 20. Blocked shots - Newberry 4 (Nwawel 2), Lees-McRae 0. Steals - Newberry 7 (Burke 2), Lees-McRae 7 (McGowan 3).

Bluefield State (56)

Terry Blount 4 1 2-4 13; Corey Love 6 0 0-3 12; Josh Sizemore 3 0 0-0 6; Carlos Vanhook 3 0 0-1 6; Ronnie Walton1 1 0-1 5; Chawn Martin 1 0 2-5 4; Omar London 1 0 2-2 4; Mathew Cook 0 0 2-2 2; George Hollie 1 0 0-0 2; Derek Brooks 1 0 0-0 2.

Mount Olive (100)

Elton Coffield 3 2 1-2 13; Sharome Holloway 4 1 1-3 12; Montel Jones 2 2 2-4 12; Melvin Creddle 3 1 2-2 11; Victor Young 3 0 4-5 10; Chris Bartley 1 1 4-4 9; Mark Bitzenhofer 3 1 0-0 9; Elijah Rouse 4 0 0-0 8; Plinio Broering 4 0 0-0 8; Moise Tchankeu 2 0 0-2 4; Chuckie Jefferson 1 0 0-0 2; Maurice Horton 1 0 0-0 2.

Halftime - Mount Olive 61, Bluefield State 28. Three-point baskets - Bluefield 2-10 (Blount 1-1, Walton 1-2, Martin 0-2 Hollie 0-2, London 0-1, Cook 0-1, Brooks 0-1), Mount Olive 8-21(Jones 2-4, Coffield 2-5, Bartley 1-1, Holloway 1-1, Creddle 1-1, Bitzenhofer 1-4, Horton 0-2, Young 0-2, Jefferson 0-1). Rebounds - Bluefield 25 (Blount 5), Mt. Olive 51 (Jones, Tchankeu 7), Assists - Bluefield 7 (Blount, Love 2), Mt. Olive 24 (Jones 6), Turnovers - Bluefield 24, Mt. Olive 22, Blocked shots - Bluefield 1 (Love), Mt. Olive 11 (Jones, Jefferson, Coffield, Rouse, Tchankeu 2), Steals - Bluefield 9 (London, Walton 2), Mt. Olive 16 (Jones 4).