Pickle Classic: Day 1

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on November 22, 2014 11:22 PM

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Brite FTs sink Virginia St.

MOUNT OLIVE -- Dontrell Brite converted 5 of 6 free throws in the final 60 seconds, and University of Mount Olive turned back Virginia State University, 74-69, in opening-round play of the 49th annual Pickle Classic.

Brite finished with 19 points and six assists for the Trojans, who entered the game ranked No. 3 in the NCAA Division II Southeast Region. Jordan McCain added 16 points off the bench for the Trojans, who remained unbeaten in four outings this season.

JUCO transfer Jaquan Blount and Dominique Reed contributed 13 points apiece. Reed blocked a career-high seven shots, while Kendall Hargrove pulled down eight rebounds.

Blount picked VSU for six steals.

Prior to the UMO game, the near-capacity Kornegay Arena crowd observed a moment of silence for UMO Foundation creator George Kornegay, who passed away Friday morning. A black bow and yellow rose adorned the empty chair Kornegay used to occupy during home basketball games.

Barton goes 1-1

MOUNT OLIVE -- Troy Locke converted the game-winning layup as time expired, and Virginia State upended Barton, 80-78, in overtime on day two of the 49th annual Pickle Classic.

Locke finished with seven points for VSU.

Danny Shand led the Bulldogs (3-2 overall) with 21 points.

Sophomore Kendall Patterson led five Barton players in double figures with 15 points during a 101-72 romp over Bluefield State (W. Va.) on Friday.

Senior Ryan Canoy (14 points), freshman Danny Shand (13), freshman Jaime Johnson (11) and junior Dominique Boyd (10) also reached double figures.

Southern Wayne grad Khari Faison provided eight points and a team-high seven rebounds in a reserve role. BC's bench owned a decisive 53-9 scoring advantage.