Trojans now No. 5 in NCAA Div. II East poll

By News-Argus Staff
Published in Sports on February 3, 2005 1:56 PM

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MOUNT OLIVE - Mount Olive moved up one spot to No. 5 in this week's NCAA Division II men's basketball East Region poll, released on Wednesday.

This week's ranking is the highest yet this season for the Trojans, who are on a six-game winning streak and have won 13 of their last 14 games.

Mount Olive is 15-2 overall, including an all-important 12-2 mark against teams in the East Region. The Trojans' two losses came against No. 2 Pfeiffer University -- a conference foe -- and No. 4 West Virginia State.

Three Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference teams are in the poll as Mount Olive and Pfeiffer are joined by No. 9 Barton College.

The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference has three teams ranked in the top 10, including top-ranked Edinboro (Pa.), which spends its second consecutive week at No. 1. Three West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference teams are represented in the top 10.

The conference champions from the CVAC, PSAC and WVIAC earn bids to the NCAA II East Regional in March, along with the top-five at-large teams.

The regional poll will be announced each Wednesday through March 2.

There was no regional poll last week due to the NCAA Convention.

Mount Olive returns to action Thursday as the Trojans play host to Barton in CVAC action. Tip-off is 7:30 p.m. at College Hall. Gate receipts from the game will be donated to the relief effort for victims of the tsunami that devestated Southeast Asia just after the Christmas holidays.