Hines becomes MOC's all-time career assists leader

By Andrew Stevens
Published in Sports on December 20, 2013 1:48 PM

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MOUNT OLIVE -- Dory Hines got a win on his birthday and etched his name into the Mount Olive College men's basketball record book.

Hines tallied 10 assists to break the career record of 524 assists previously held by Derek Staton during a 90-65 triumph over in-state foe UNC Pembroke at Kornegay Arena on Thursday evening.

"Derek was a big key to my success," Hines said. "He was a mentor to me and helped me out a lot. I look up to him and I can't thank him enough for how much he helped me. If it weren't for Derek I wouldn't be in the situation I'm in today."

Dontrell Brite led six Trojans in double figures with 20 points. Jordan McCain had 17 points and Hines supplied 13 points. Mike Moore and Dominique Reed each contributed 11 points.

Kendall Hargrove added 10 points.

"I don't think we've had six guys in double figures yet," Mount Olive head coach Joey Higginbotham said. "But, we took good shots. We're playing smarter basketball. It was a good win for us against a good team."

The Braves (9-2 overall) dictated play midway through the first half. Solid ball movement led to quality looks on the offensive end, which led to a 15-4 run and 30-24 lead.

Mount Olive (7-3) pushed the tempo, which created transition opportunities and some baskets in its halfcourt offense. James Kenan grad Mike Moore sank three 3-pointers during a 24-6 run that helped the Trojans grab a 51-38 lead at halftime.

"I thought we did a good job of knowing when to get easy baskets and when we needed to pull it out and run our offense," Higginbotham said. "We're playing with better pace and not 100 miles an hour."

The Trojans used dribble penetration to get to the rim and extend their lead in the second half. Mount Olive's guards routinely got by their defenders and into the paint. Hines three-point-play and his jump shot on consecutive possessions increased the lead to 71-50.

Hines broke Staton's assist record on a pass to Ewon Wright, who knocked down a 3-pointer.

"I think being a leader was just born into me," Hines said. "I've played with a lot of great players and they just trust me with the ball. If I'm on a fast break with a teammate I would rather see him score than me score.

"The only reason I knew I had a chance to break the record is because someone tweeted it."

The Trojans pulled down 21 rebounds, recorded 19 assists and blocked seven shots as a team.

"Our schedule has helped us get better every game," Higginbotham said. "It was a total team effort. It is hard to pick out one or two guys and our bench had great energy."

Charles B. Aycock alum Brandon Winford scored 10 points for the Braves. Princeton graduate Ben Jacobs had seven points.

Mount Olive visits GRU Augusta on Sunday.