Trojan men dominate Limestone

By Allen Etzler
Published in Sports on November 26, 2014 1:48 PM

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aetzler@newsargus.com

MOUNT OLIVE -- The Thanksgiving turkey is going to taste a little bit better for University of Mount Olive men's basketball coach Joey Higginbotham.

Higginbotham's team is off to a 6-0 start and 2-0 in Conference Carolinas play, and they've run roughshod over nearly everyone who has stepped on the court with this season.

Tuesday evening was more of the same in a 79-59 victory over Limestone at Kornegay Arena.

"It definitely isn't easy," UMO forward Mike Moore assured. "We're putting in a lot of work in practices and on our own. We're putting in the work and it's paying off in the games."

Moore led the Trojans with 18 points in a contest that never felt like it was in doubt. Limestone missed some players due to injuries, but the contest felt eerily similar to the Bluefield State team the Trojans beat in the Pickle Classic on Saturday.

The Saints, much like Bluefield State, relied heavily on two players -- Assad Woods and Shaq Dance -- to do most of the scoring. Dance and Woods were comparable Bluefield State's Mark Durgan and Dajon Reno in the way the attacked the basket.

So much so in fact, that Higginbotham gave his guys some extra time off because the Trojans had already been preparing for over a week.

"We had some short practices because our gameplan was very similar (to the one for Bluefield State)," Higginbotham said. "We didn't know that coming into the season, but it definitely helped us playing Bluefield a team that spreads and drives the ball and then playing these guys."

UMO checked Dance and Woods with guard JaQuan Blount and forward Kendall Hargrove, who both made life tough for the Saints. Woods finished the game 4 of 11 from the field with 18 points and nine rebounds. Dance, while he was able to get to the basket nearly at will, struggled to finish amongst the trees inside and finished with 13 points on 4 of 20 points.

They were the only two Saints in double figures.

UMO, meanwhile, had four players in double figures and one finish with nine. While the Trojans didn't shoot the ball as well as they have this year they outscored Limestone 34-22 in the paint and 16-3 off of turnovers.

"If we're not hitting shots, we just work to get better shots for other guys," Moore said. "Just get the ball inside to me, Dominique (Reed) or Jordan McCain and let them go to work."

Hargrove registered a double-double with 11 points 11 rebounds. Jordan McCain continued to provide a spark off the bench, scoring 11 points. And Dontrell Brite continued to be the spark that ignites the offense with 13 points, seven assists and three steals.

"I thought we played good," Higginbotham said. "I didn't think we played great ... They'll get some guys back. It will be a different game when we go to Limestone."