Trojan men pull away late

By News-Argus Staff
Published in Sports on December 5, 2013 1:48 PM

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RUDY COGGINS

rcoggins@newsargus.com

MOUNT OLIVE -- Pfeiffer wouldn't go away.

Until Mount Olive finally held onto a lead.

The Trojans blew two double-digit advantages in the second half, but eventually claimed a 94-82 victory over the sophomore-ladened Falcons in the Conference Carolinas opener for both teams Tuesday evening.

"The teams that haven't traditionally been good (in this conference) are better," MOC head coach Joey Higginbotham said. "There are no nights off in the league, which top to bottom is as competitive as it's ever been. Every night is a fight and you better be ready to play.

"Tonight is a prime example. Pfeiffer is going to beat some teams."

The teams combined for 51 fouls, 68 free throw attempts and three players fouled out during the marathon affair, which lasted nearly two hours. MOC and Pfeiffer battled through eight ties and three lead changes.

Kyle Rhoades gave the Trojans the lead for good, 21-20, on a basket underneath midway through the opening half. MOC extended its one-point halftime advantage to a three-possession lead in the early stages of the second half.

Pfeiffer hung around behind the backcourt play of AJ Clark and Mike Smith, who combined for 41 points. The tandem constantly drew fouls on drives to the basket, and each converted at the free throw line with the clock stopped.

"We didn't do a great job of guarding them, they can put the ball in the hole," Higginbotham said.

Rhoades' offensive putback, Dontrell Brite's one-hop layup and Dominique Reed's old-fashioned three-point play boosted the Trojans' advantage to 71-60 with 9:37 left in regulation.

The Falcons pulled to within 72-69, but could get no closer.

McCain buried a 3-pointer and Kendall Hargrove tallied two buckets off of Brite's assists in transition to make it 81-71. The Trojans closed the game with a 9-3 run.

Brite led five MOC players in double figures with 20 points. McCain added 17, while Reed scored 14. Dory Hines logged a double-double (13 points, 11 rebounds) and Hargrove chipped in 11 points.

"I was happy with our defensive rebounding," said Higginbotham, whose team held a 47-37 edge. "I thought we took better care of the ball tonight. We made some shots, which should give some guys some confidence. It's a work in progress."

MOC entertains USC Aiken on Saturday. Tip-off is 2 p.m.