No. 24 Mount Olive wins fifth straight

By News-Argus Staff
Published in Sports on February 20, 2005 2:03 AM

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MOUNT OLIVE - Elton Coffield and Elijah Rouse led five players in double figures with 13 points apiece as No. 24 Mount Olive defeated Anderson 83-53 in Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference men's basketball Saturday at College Hall.

The win was the Trojans' fifth in a row and 13th in their last 14 games. The win also puts the Trojans within one of tying the school single-season record for most wins in a season, set last year.

Mount Olive (22-3 overall, 18-2 CVAC) scored the first six points of the game and led from start to finish. Melvin Creddle and Sharome Holloway combined for the Trojans' first nine points of the game and Holloway's layup with 15:12 left in the first half gave Mount Olive its first double-digit lead at 16-5.

Anderson (9-15, 7-11) got as close as six points after John LeSueur hit the second of his four 3-pointers, but Rouse's putback with 5:12 left in the half gave Mount Olive a 31-20 lead and the Trojans led by double figures the remainder of the game. Mount Olive ended the half on a 13-4 run to take a 41-24 lead at halftime.

Maurice Horton, who missed Mount Olive's previous four games due to a shoulder injury, entered the game eight minutes into the contest and scored eight of his 12 points in the first half, including a basket with four seconds left before the break.

Mount Olive led by 19 early in the second half when Rouse's basket ignited a 9-2 run, capped by Coffield's 3-pointer to extend the Trojans' lead to 60-34 with 13:18 remaining. Mount Olive led by at least 20 points the rest of the way. The final margin was the Trojans' biggest lead of the contest.

Creddle finished with 12 points for Mount Olive, while Holloway tallied 11 points, eight rebounds and four blocked shots. Creddle and Coffield pulled down six rebounds apiece as Mount Olive outrebounded Anderson 42-23.

LeSueur led Anderson with 12 points, all in the first half and all on three-point field goals. Alfred Boykin added 10 points and four assists.

Mount Olive is now in sole possession of first place in the CVAC standings, a half-game ahead of Pfeiffer, which was idle Saturday. Mount Olive and Pfeiffer have both clinched the top-two spots in the CVAC regular season standings and the top two seeds in the CVAC Tournament, which gets underway February 28. Both teams earn first-round byes and host quarterfinal round games on March 2.

Mount Olive is off until Thursday when the Trojans travel to Laurinburg to face St. Andrews in a CVAC match-up. Tip-off is 7:30 p.m.

Anderson plays host to Limestone Monday at 7:30 p.m. in a CVAC contest.