UMO men have 6 players in double figures

By Ryan Hanchett
Published in Sports on January 18, 2014 11:08 PM

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rhanchett@newsargus.com

MOUNT OLIVE -- A full cast of characters got into the scoring act for the University of Mount Olive men's basketball team Saturday afternoon.

Six different Trojans reached double figures in a 92-79 victory over Conference Carolinas in-state foe Belmont Abbey at Kornegay Arena.

"I feel like that was our best team game of the season by far," Mount Olive head coach Joey Higginbotham said. "I thought we used our defense to create offense and we were able to cover (Belmont Abbey's) guards and force them to take tough shots."

Mount Olive owned the first half.

After missing six of their first seven shots, the Trojans used defense to ignite the offense. Dory Hines and Dontrell Bright got the crowd involved each with a steal and a dunk as Mount Olive built a 27-11 lead midway through the half.

A 3-pointer by Ewon Wright gave the Trojans their largest lead of the opening half at 40-18.

On the verge of being blown out, Belmont Abbey responded. The Crusaders got back-to-back baskets from Jonathon Garrett and closed the half with six consecutive points.

"Everyone in the conference has the ability to score points in a hurry," Higginbotham said. "We knew Belmont Abbey was going to eventually hit some shots, but we were able to build a big lead early and keep our composure when they did make a run."

The teams traded baskets during the first seven minutes of the second half and UMO's lead bounced between 13 and 17 points.

The Trojans put the game away with nine minutes to go. Jordan McCain and John Wieland hit back-to-back 3-pointers, which extended UMO's lead to 67-42.

Belmont Abbey (6-10 overall, 2-4 CC) pulled to within 75-60 with five minutes left in regulation, but could get no closer. The Crusaders' Chris Davis recorded a double-double -- game-high 30 points and 10 rebounds.

Bright led Mount Olive with 19 points and six assists. McCain added 16 points while Wright and Dominique Reed each tallied 13. Dory Hines finished with 12 and Kendall Hargrove added 11 points in the win.

"To have six guys finish in double figures shows just how well we executed on offense," Higginbotham said. "We shared the ball, we ran our sets correctly and most importantly when we got good looks we knocked them down."

Mount Olive (9-7, 3-3) plays host to Lees-McRae on Wednesday night.