Archrivals meet for next installment of "Battle of the East"

By News-Argus Staff
Published in Sports on January 28, 2014 1:48 PM

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rcoggins@newsargus.com

WILSON -- One of the oldest-running rivalries renews its series on the basketball court Wednesday evening as long as Mother Nature doesn't intervene.

Weather permitting, the University of Mount Olive heads north on Highway 795 to face long-time nemesis Barton College in the annual "Battle of the East" at Wilson Gymnasium. The women's game tips off at 5:30 p.m., followed 20 minutes later by the men.

Forecasts call for up to eight inches of snow to fall in Wayne and neighboring Wilson County today, which could coerce school officials to postpone the hoops twinbill until the next available playing date. However, no announcement is expected until Wednesday morning once the storm front moves through the region.

"I hope we don't get snowed out," said UMO head coach Joey Higginbotham, whose team carries a modest two-game win streak into the Dogs' house. "We're playing pretty well, but (we) need to constantlly improve every day. Barton is playing really well (and) coming off a road win at Erskine. The keys are rebounding and taking care of the basketball."

The Bulldogs (10-8 overall, 6-3 CC) put their four-game win streak on the line. They trail league-leading King by one-half game in a competitive conference where two losses separate the top five teams, and five defeats separate the first- and eighth-place squads.

Six-foot-five sophomore Chris Flemmings leads BC in scoring (18.0 points) and rebounds (7.4) per outing. Senior Brian McNair knocks down 14.3 points and shoots better than 53 percent behind the 3-point line.

Daniel McClendon scores 9.4 points per game.

Mount Olive commits just 12 turnovers a game and has a plus-2.9 margin in rebounding this season. Six-foot-3 junior Kendall Hargrove and 6-2 senior guard Dory Hines collect 7.1 and 6.7 boards, respectively, per game.

Sophomore Dontrell Brite leads the Trojans' offense with 14.7 points, while junior Jordan McCain scores 13.6 a game. Hargrove shoots 60.2 percent from the floor.

The men's series is knotted at 26-all, according to scores researched since 1994. The Trojans and Bulldogs have split the regular-season series on five occasions since 2008.

"It will be a great game in a great rivalry that we are looking forward to Wednesday," Higginbotham said.

A pair of NCAA Division II Southeast Regional participants last season, the Bulldog and Trojan women enter the game tied for sixth in the league standings. BC is one of five league teams that have endured nine or more defeats.

Senior guard Nyesha Willie leads the league with 24 points a game. The Virginia Beach native has started in all 17 games this season and shoots 88.8 percent from the free throw line.

The senior backcourt tandem of Katie Paschal and Jasmine McDonald drive the UMO offense. Paschal scores 14.9 points a game, while McDonald provides 14.2 points and 10.1 rebounds.

Ty Wallace snags seven boards an outing. Overall, the Trojans have posted a plus-8.1 rebounding margin against opponents this season.

"Our preparation and keys to the game involving strong emphasis on sound defense and strong rebounding," said UMO head coach Wendy Lee, who earned her 200th career win against Converse (S.C.) on Saturday.

BC holds a commanding 31-13 advantage in the all-time series, but three of the last four meetings have been decided by five points or less.