Mount Olive men takes on St. Andrews

By MOC Sports Information
Published in Sports on February 8, 2007 2:35 PM

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The Mount Olive College men's basketball team has a three-fold mission tonight: keep its momentum going, improve its position in the conference and region, and erase memories of its last trip to St. Andrews.

After a five-day break, Mount Olive puts its five-game winning streak on the line tonight as the Trojans travel to Laurinburg to take on St. Andrews in Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference men's basketball. Tip-off is 7:30 p.m.

A live Audio Webcast is available for tonight's mens and womens game on the Mount Olive College Athletics website. Go to www.moc.edu and click Athletics.

Mount Olive (16-5 overall, 10-4 CVAC) is coming off a 90-76 win at Erskine Saturday in a game that saw the Trojans build an early 20-point lead, then withstand a number of comeback attempts before sealing the win with a 12-0 run midway through the first half.

Freshman Kendrick Easley led five Trojans in double figures with 19 points, while Brandon Streeter went 8-for-8 from the field and added 18 points. Streeter, who shot over 74 percent in three wins last week, was named CVAC Player of the Week earlier this week.

The Trojans have the fifth-highest scoring average in the nation with 88.6 points per game, including an average of 94.8 points per contest during their current winning streak. On the defensive end, Mount Olive is ranked fifth in blocked shots per game as Elijah Rouse and Lydell Walker are both nationally ranked individually.

Blocked shots is one of four NCAA II statistical categories that include Rouse, who moved up to No. 10 in field goal percentage with a 62.1 percent shooting percentage. Rouse, who is averaging 14.7 points per game, is also among the nation's leaders in rebounding and steals.

Elton Coffield, who is nationally ranked with 43.1 percent shooting from three-point range, continues to lead the Trojans in scoring with 16.9 points per game. Easley is averaging 15.9 points per game, while Streeter has a 15.7 scoring average.

St. Andrews (9-12, 6-8) is playing for the first time since an 89-65 loss Saturday at Limestone. The Knights have lost their last two overall, but have a four-game winning streak on their home floor.

Last year at Laurinburg, a three-point play with less than one second remaining gave St. Andrews a 72-69 victory over the Trojans.

Mount Olive enters tonight's game in fourth place in the CVAC standings, only a half-game behind second-place Queens and percentage points behind third-place Limestone. Queens is at Anderson tonight, while Limestone travels to Pfeiffer.

The Trojans are still looking for their first appearance this season in the NCAA II East Region Top 10 after being excluded for the third consecutive week. Limestone, which Mount Olive has beaten twice this season, jumped four spots to No. 3 in this week's poll. Conference leader Barton is No. 5, while Queens is at No. 10.

Mount Olive defeated St. Andrews 87-71 in the two teams' first meeting in December at Kornegay Arena. Coffield led a balanced attack with 19 points as the Trojans broke away from a five-point halftime lead.

Notes: Mount Olive is among the nation's leaders in scoring margin and rebound margin...The Trojans play host to Lees-McRae Saturday afternoon...The Trojans have home games on three successive Saturdays to close out the regular season...Mount Olive travels to arch-rival Barton Monday night.

-- MOC Sports Information