Trojan men, women open CVAC play with loss at Pfeiffer

By MOC Sports Information
Published in Sports on November 22, 2006 1:47 PM

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MISENHEIMER -- It's not even Thanksgiving yet, but it might as well have been March Madness at Misenheimer.

Elijah Rouse tallied career highs of 25 points and 13 rebounds, but Pfeiffer used a steal and a three-point play in the final minute to seal the win as nationally 19th-ranked Mount Olive fell to Pfeiffer 103-96 in Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference play Tuesday evening.

It was the CVAC opener for both teams.

Mount Olive (2-1 overall, 0-1 CVAC) overcame an early six-point deficit as Rouse's dunk with 9:34 left in the first half gave the Trojans a 23-19 lead. Rouse scored 11 of Mount Olive's first 23 points.

The Trojans built their lead to as many as eight points after Mike Holloman's layup gave Mount Olive a 39-31 lead with 3:49 left in the half.

Pfeiffer (2-0, 1-0) pulled within 44-39 and tried to play for the last shot of the half, but Holloman stripped the ball away from DeMario Grier. But instead of playing for the final shot, the Trojans tried for a fast-break basket and turned the ball back over to Pfeiffer with six seconds left.

Grier hit a three-pointer off the glass with one second remaining to cut the Trojans' lead to 44-42 at halftime.

Pfeiffer regained the lead early in the second half on putbacks by Logan Call on the Falcon's first two possessions. The game was tied two more times before Justin Melton's three-point play put the Trojans back on top 55-54 with 15:29 left in the contest.

Mount Olive took a 78-74 lead on a floater by Elton Coffield with 8:21 remaining, but Coffield was whistled for his fourth foul on the play, putting Pfeiffer on the free throw line for one-and-one. The Falcons missed the front end, but Call stole the rebound away and Grier hit a three-pointer to cut the Trojans' lead to one.

Grier put Pfeiffer back on top with a pair of free throws, but Holloman answered with a basket with 7:32 remaining to give Mount Olive an 80-79 lead for the 12th lead change of the game.

Cooper came back with a three-pointer eight seconds later and Pfeiffer led the rest of the way. But it wouldn't be until the final half-minute before the Falcons got some breathing room.

Rouse hit a short basket with 23 seconds remaining to make it a two-possession game, but Pfeiffer sealed the win from the free throw line.

Along with career highs in points and rebounds, Rouse also matched a career high with four blocked shots. Holloman, one of three Trojan freshmen to see at least 10 minutes of playing time, tallied career highs of 16 points, four assists and three steals.

Coffield added 14 points and Easley finished with 11 points. Montel Jones pulled down a career-high 10 rebounds.

Grier led all scorers with 31 points for Pfeiffer, while Cooper added 24 points. Grier, Cooper and McGriff combined to hit 26-of-34 free throws as the Falcons were 31-for-42 from the line, compared to 16-for-26 for Mount Olive.

The loss ended a pair of streaks for Mount Olive. The Trojans had won all three meetings against Pfeiffer last season. Mount Olive also entered Tuesday's contest having won four in a row on Pfeiffer's home floor, dating back to the Trojans' 2005 NCAA II East Regional championship.

Mount Olive returns to action Monday at CVAC rival Lees-McRae.

MOC women

MISENHEIMER -- A week ago, the Mount Olive women's basketball team was anxious to get the season started. After dealing with some unexpected adversity, a week off might be the best medicine for the Trojans.

Mount Olive fell behind early and never recovered as the Trojans fell to Pfeiffer 78-53 in the CVAC opener for both teams.

The Trojans played without sophomore shooting guard Meaghan Vanderhorst, who tore her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) late in Saturday's game at Francis Marion. Vanderhorst, who scored a career-high 28 points in the Trojans' season-opening win over UNC Pembroke, will miss the remainder of the season.

Mount Olive (1-2 overall, 0-1 CVAC) fell behind 20-8 within the first 10 minutes of the contest and trailed by double digits the rest of the game. Pfeiffer (3-0, 1-0) built its lead to as many as 22 points in the first half and led 46-26 at halftime.

Foul trouble kept Mount Olive out of its game as three Trojan post players -- Alisa Jones, Sierra Medeiros and Jill Oaks -- each had three fouls in the first half. All three picked up their fourth foul within the first four minutes of the second half. Pfeiffer took its biggest lead at 72-40 with 6:59 remaining.

Trojan freshman Helen Moore led all players with a career-high 20 points, while Medeiros added 12 points. Moore also established a career best with seven rebounds. Keshaun Mozee dished out a game-high six assists for the Trojans, giving her 13 assists in her last two games.

Tomeka Prichard was 0-for-2 from beyond the arc, snapping her streak of 19 consecutive games with at least one three-point field goal.

Ashelle Athill led four Pfeiffer players in double figures with 16 points. Raven Truslow notched a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

Mount Olive entertains CVAC rival St. Andrews on Nov. 30.