UMO men avenge lone conference loss of season

By Cam Ellis
Published in Sports on January 24, 2015 11:27 PM

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cellis@newsargus.com

MOUNT OLIVE -- Dontrell Brite's 3-point attempt spun through a high arc on its way toward the basket.

The gym fell silent.

The shot hung up in the air for what seemed like an eternity.

It came on a busted play and was heaved toward the rim as the shot clock expired, and appeared as one of those shots that never turn into a bucket.

This one did.

Brite's shot dropped through, sucked the wind out a spirited King (Tenn.) University comeback and resuscitated the 1,000 fans packed into Kornegay Arena on Friday evening. The Tornado called a timeout, a sea of black T-shirts waved and the crowd roared.

It was a first-rate celebration for a first-place team.

No. 16-ranked University of Mount Olive prevailed 87-78 and climbed into a first-place tie with King atop the Conference Carolinas standings. The Trojans (17-2 overall, 10-1 CC) entertained in-state league foe Lees-McRae on Saturday.

Brite finished with a game-high 28 points, including 5 of 8 from behind the 3-point arc. He saved his best -- and shot clock-beating 3 -- for last.

"First of all, we didn't know the shot clock was running out," Brite said. "We gave it to our five-man, but coach was yelling at us saying there was only 3 seconds left. They saw me coming around (a screen) so they handed if off and I just let it go.

"I didn't really have time to get set, so I had to let it go and it went up and in."

Jordan McCain had 16 points and DaQuan Blount added 13 on a night where UMO's guards cut through King's zone defense and got to the bucket with ease. The starting trio of Brite, McCain and Blount combined for 57 points.

While the scoring impressed UMO head coach Joey Higginbotham, he heaped praise on the team's passing.

"The thing I'm most proud of is the fact that we had 28 assists on 33 field goals," he said. "That's when we're at our best."

King reserve Hunter LeVeau scored 21 of his 28 points from 3-point range. Logan Lyle added 15 points and 10 points, respectively, as the Tornado endured their first league loss of the season.

"We can't celebrate for too long," Higginbotham said with L-MC on the horizon. "Lees-McRae is coming in hot, having won six in a row. The most important game of the year right now is Lees-McRae.

"Hopefully we can celebrate more sometime in late March."