Trojan men hold postseason destiny in own hands

By Allen Etzler
Published in Sports on February 27, 2015 1:48 PM

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aetzler@newsargus.com

MOUNT OLIVE -- After what his teams have been through the last two years, University of Mount Olive head men's basketball coach Joey Higginbotham doesn't want the decision of whether the Trojans make the NCAA Division II tournament bid left in the selection committee's hands.

The Trojans have failed to win the conference tournament each of the past two years, and eventually found themselves looking on the outside in for the postseason.

Higginbotham's solution?

Win the Conference Carolinas tournament and receive an automatic bid.

"I think we have done enough to get in, but given what's happened the last two years, we don't want to leave any doubt as to whether or not we are in," Higginbotham said.

That journey begins Saturday when the Trojans (25-2 overall) take on Erskine at Kornegay Arena. Tip-off is 4 p.m.

The Trojans come in the conference tournament playing "some pretty good basketball" but at times have struggled to put together two complete halves, which Higginbotham has said he is trying to fix.

Against Emmanuel last week, the Trojans struggled to defend in the first half and ended up going into the break trailing by double digits. They won by three points.

"We haven't really put two good halves together in a while," Higginbotham said. "So that is one of the main things we have been focusing on."

For most of the season, the Trojans were a balanced team offensively and could beat their opponents either in the post or on the perimeter. But an injury to forward Mike Moore took him out of the lineup for a while, and the Trojans' post play suffered during his absence. Even though Moore has returned, Mount Olive is still seeking an offensive rhythm.

The key, however, could be defense.

"When we're locked in on defense we are a really good team," Higginbotham said. "When we aren't locked in we can't guard a chair. So that is really going to be the key for us."

The Trojans have no problem scoring the ball. Five players average in double figures. Moore scores 8.7 per game. Dontrell Brite leads Conference Carolinas players with 5.8 assists per outing, and UMO averages 18 team assists a game.

"It's difficult for us that any one player could make the difference if he doesn't play well, because every night it's someone different who steps up, so that takes some of the pressure off the other guys," Higginbotham said.

Both of Mount Olive's losses this season have come on the road -- something the Trojans won't have to worry about in the tournament. The Trojans earned home court advantage throughout the tournament and will get to play in front of their home crowd every game.

"We love having home court, we think it's great," Higginbotham said. "We love to play in front of our fans and we've been perfect at home so we hope that we continue that."