No. 10-ranked UMO men cruise into conference tournament semifinals

By Cam Ellis
Published in Sports on February 28, 2015 11:11 PM

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cellis@newsargus.com

MOUNT OLIVE -- Dontrell Brite didn't watch to make sure the shot went in.

After firing a cross-court, no-look pass to an open Jordan McCain in the corner, Brite turned around and started to celebrate as he walked down the court, anticipating the 3-point bucket that would follow in the coming seconds.

While Brite may not have needed to watch, those in attendance at Kornegay Arena on Saturday couldn't turn their eyes away from the performance the Trojans displayed. Playing the opening game of the 2015 Conference Carolinas tournament, top-seeded UMO sank the Flying Fleet, 83-55.

Wary of the sluggish starts that has plagued the team at times throughout the second half of the season, coach Joey Higginbotham stressed a fast and aggressive start to his team, and they responded.

Brite started off the game with a 3-pointer on the team's first possession. The Trojans never looked back, racing to a 42-20 halftime lead.

Kendall Hargrove led the revolving door of scoring leaders that Mount Olive has had the luxury of enjoying all season. The senior had 16 points and five rebounds while shooting 7 of 8 from the field.

Brite (10 points), Dominique Reed (11) and John Wieland (11) each reached double figures. Mike Moore and JaQuan Blount scored nine points each.

The game was just another example of the rare depth that has helped the Trojans win 16 games in a row.

"The thing about it is that it doesn't matter who's on the floor, our guys are excited to see people succeed," Higginbotham said. "Whether it's (Emmanuel Patton) that hasn't played as much, our guys get just as excited when he scores or does something good as they do when (John Wieland) does.

"It's contagious, and that's the thing that I'm happy about."

Wieland, who's often the first player off the bench for Mount Olive, came in and immediately helped stretch the floor for the Trojans. He shot 4 of 5 from the field, including 3 of 3 from beyond the arc. His sharp shooting drew enough attention to keep Erskine's defense from collapsing on Brite and Blount when they put the ball on the floor.

"That first shot gives you a lot of confidence," Wieland said. "It helps you play freely for the rest of the game."

With the game all but put away by halftime, bench players like Wieland, Reed and James Rucker all saw meaningful minutes. The production didn't diminish, either, as the Trojans got 35 points from their bench players.

"Seeing them play like that gives us confidence," Hargrove said. "We know that we can go to our bench and still get points."

The Trojans shot 63 percent from the field. Higginbotham acknowledged the high-school percentage, but was more pleased with the looks his team got at the basket.

"Everybody is going to get their shots, you've got to produce," he said. "We took good shots, and that's why we shot such a high percentage. We can shoot 50% if we take good shots and play off each other. We had 19 assists on 29 field goals.

"That's when we're at our best."