UMO struggles from field in loss to North Greenville

By Ben Coley
Published in Sports on December 11, 2016 1:45 AM

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MOUNT OLIVE -- The University of Mount Olive and North Greenville battled through poor shooting and exchanged a series of blows in the first half of Saturday night's game.

It became clear the matchup would be decided by the team who could take the most punches and remain standing.

Advantage, North Greenville.

The Trojans were the victim of a back-breaking 23-12 run from the Crusaders to open the second half, and were slowly picked apart in a 88-57 loss at Kornegay Arena.

"What we didn't let happen in the first half, we let happen in the second half," said UMO head coach Joey Higginbotham. "We didn't make shots, and it cost us our defensive effort and defensive intensity."

Neither team could find offensive rhythm in the first half. The Crusaders shot just 41.7 percent, while the Trojans could only muster 32.3 percent.

Yet UMO hung around and managed to hold the lead on six different occasions.

 "We buckled in and guarded pretty good," Higginbotham said. "That last three minutes of the first half, we let them get loose...I was feeling good going into the second half, but it just kind of snowballed on us."

After a few exchanged baskets, a layup by the Crusaders' Tommy Wade extended North Greenville's lead to 46-35 with 15:38 remaining. The lead never dipped below double-digits after that point.

The Crusaders outscored UMO 42-21 in the second half.

 "With a young group coming out of high school, they're not demanded to play defense," Higginbotham said. "But we showed signs of what we can do. We just need to get that game where we can put it all together."

The only two Trojans to reach double figures were Dedric Byrd and Tayon Gleaves, who scored 11 and 10 points, respectively.

After Saturday night's loss, The Trojans fell to 1-8 on the season.

Higginbotham said this year has been a process, and added that success must begin when no one is watching.

The Trojans must win in practice before they can start winning games.

"We have to treat it one day at a time," Higginbotham said. "Right now, we're making it harder than it needs to be. But we gotta believe in each other and what we're doing. And this thing will start getting better."