North Greenville shocks Trojans in Conference Carolinas tournament final

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on March 9, 2015 1:48 PM

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MOUNT OLIVE -- Jordan McCain received the pass, lined up his feet and swished a game-tying 3-pointer that brought a pro-University of Mount Olive to its feet Sunday afternoon.

Silence soon followed.

North Greenville freshman guard Spencer Reaves gained possession on the inbounds pass, dribbled past midcourt and drew a questionable foul when he leaned his body into Mike Moore.

The Trojan faithful expressed their discontent over the call and grew somber when Reaves drained both free throws with 2.5 seconds left. Down by two with 1.9 on the clock, McCain heaved a 3-point prayer that bounced off the rim as the buzzer sounded.

The Crusaders rushed the court and celebrated their 66-64 upset of the No. 9-ranked Trojans in the championship game of the Conference Carolinas men's basketball tournament at Kornegay Arena. A fourth-year Division II program, North Greenville (22-9 overall) clinched the automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional.

"Disappointed," UMO head coach Joey Higginbotham said.

"We headed (back) downcourt relying on our defense, which we're 100 percent committed to and work on every day. We just had a call go against us. I tip my hat to North Greenville. They've gotten better."

And the fourth-seeded Crusaders did what no other team has done this season -- handed the Trojans their first home loss in 18 tries. Inside the locker room, Higginbotham addressed his players who sought the program's first tournament crown since 2010 -- the last time UMO advanced to the NCAAs.

"It was a down locker room," said Higginbotham, who watched his team's school-record 17-game win streak end. "We haven't experienced that all year. It was a different situation, but I told them I was as proud of them (today) as any win (we've had) this year."

All-tournament selections McCain and Moore pumped in 22 and 16 points, respectively. Dontrell Brite knocked down 12 points and dished out two assists, breaking the single-season record (174) set by Derek Staton in 2010-11.

Brite has 175 assists this season.

Reaves emerged as the game's top scorer with 23 points. Tournament MVP Micah Parker provided 17 points. Lashawn Alexander, who was originally recruited by Higginbotham, supplied a double-double - 13 points, 13 rebounds.

The trio helped North Greenville become the 10th different school to win a Conference Carolinas tournament crown since the league's inception in the mid-1990s.

The Crusaders pestered UMO with a deliberate offense that burned 30-plus seconds off of the shot clock and shortened the game. The strategy disrupted the Trojans' ability to play an up-tempo pace that led to just 10 fast-break points.

But a frantic final eight minutes summed up the nail-biting affair that included nine lead changes and 12 ties total. Neither team held a lead larger than eight points.

"It was a heavyweight bout," said Higginbotham, whose team lost the rebounding battle (33-21), but had a 30-20 advantage in the paint.

"It was punching back and forth. They answered us, we answered them. Two or three offensive rebounds there just really got us. Alexander just attacked the ball and got it."

Moore knotted the game at 60-all on a 3-pointer off of McCain's assist. Alexander followed his own shot to put the Crusaders back in front before Brite buried his second 3-pointer of the game with 1:36 to go.

Phillip Brown converted an offensive putback. Reaves, the league's rookie-of-the-year, stepped in front of a UMO pass and got fouled. He sank two free throws to make it 66-63 before McCain's game-tying bomb.

"There were a lot of big plays. They made more plays down thes stretch than we did ... ," Higginbotham said. "That was a great matchup between two great teams. Unfortunately, one team had to lose and we came out on the wrong end."