51st PICKLE CLASSIC: Trojan men fall to St. Augustine's

By Ben Coley
Published in Sports on November 20, 2016 1:45 AM

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bcoley@newsargus.com

MOUNT OLIVE -- In Saturday's Pickle Classic matchup versus St. Augustine's, an iron-clad lid appeared to be firmly placed on the University of Mount Olive's rims.

Basketballs hit the front of the cylinder, spun around and in some cases, soared over the basket. The rim was cold and unforgiving, and played a significant role in the Trojans' 79-67 loss to the Falcons at Kornegay Arena.

In its first three games of the season, UMO shot 41.9 percent. Against St. Augustine's, the Trojans posted a 32.1 shooting percentage.

"I thought we had some good looks," said UMO head coach Joey Higginbotham. "We didn't knock them down. I thought we guarded well, but we just got killed late in the shot clock. I didn't think we made great decisions down the stretch."

In the opening 20 minutes, the Trojans made only nine baskets, and shot just 29 percent from the field. Despite the poor shooting, UMO clung to a 35-32 lead at halftime due to 10 turnovers and 43-percent shooting by the Falcons.

However, in the second half, the poor shooting began to catch up with the Trojans.

The Falcons opened the half on a 5-0 run to take a 37-35 lead -- an edge that wouldn't be relinquished for the remainder of the game.

St. Augustine's outscored UMO 47-32 in the second half.

"Our start (in the second half) is what lost this game because we had to battle back," Higginbotham said. "Right now, we're not a great team when coming from behind. When we're ahead, we're okay. I thought we were going to come out with the momentum, but they jumped on us."

UMO's Cameron Robinson and Armond Griebe led the Trojans with 13 points apiece. Tayon Gleaves and DeAndre Barber each had four assists. St. Augustine's was led by Quincy January who tallied 21 points and 17 rebounds.

The game was the fourth and final game of the 51st Pickle Classic. After the loss to St. Augustine's, UMO finished 1-1 in the annual event. The Trojans defeated Georgian Court 83-71 on Friday.

Barton College finished as the Classic winner after defeating both St. Augustine's and Georgian Court. UMO's Gleaves and Robinson were named to the Pickle Classic all-tournament team.

With three juniors and no seniors on the roster, Higginbotham is still dealing with the growing pains of an extremely young team.

Even though it hasn't been an ideal start to the season, Higginbotham said he isn't feeling any frustration. The veteran coach said that Saturday's loss was disappointing, but added that he wants his team to continue looking forward.

"This is fun, I just wish we could've gotten a win tonight," Higginbotham said. "I knew this was going to be a process, and we've been teaching that to the guys. We've got to come back tomorrow and have a really great practice and prepare. We want to get better January and February.

"And I still think that's a reachable goal."