Mount Olive returns to rankings

By MOC Sports Information
Published in Sports on February 15, 2007 2:20 PM

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MOUNT OLIVE -- Mount Olive is ranked No. 9 in this week's NCAA Division II Men's Basketball East Region Poll, it was announced Wednesday. The ranking is the first this season for the Trojans, which had been ranked in the regional top 10 every week in each of the previous three years.

Mount Olive (18-6 overall, 12-5 Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference) entered this week on a seven-game winning streak after wins last week against St. Andrews and Lees-McRae. This week's regional poll does not include Monday's overtime loss at regionally fifth-ranked Barton.

Four CVAC teams are in this week's poll as Mount Olive and Barton are joined by No. 4 Limestone and No. 8 Queens. West Liberty State of the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference remains at No. 1, while Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference members Millersville and California hold down the next two spots.

The tournament champions from the CVAC, PSAC and WVIAC earn automatic bids to the East Regional of the 2007 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Championship, which gets underway March 10. The next five highest-ranked teams earn at-large bids.

Mount Olive returns to action Saturday as the Trojans play host to Queens in a battle of regional top 10 teams. Queens won the first meeting 96-91 at Charlotte in January. Special tip-off time is 7 p.m. Saturday's men's and women's basketball games are part of Mount Olive's Annual Basketball Church Night.

-- MOC sports information