No. 10-ranked Trojan men throttle Erskine

By Cam Ellis
Published in Sports on December 4, 2014 1:51 PM

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MOUNT OLIVE -- The whole gym saw it coming.

As an Erskine College guard barreled into the lane and threw up an off-balance layup, University of Mount Olive junior forward Mike Moore -- in one swift motion -- stepped up and swatted the ball deep into the corner of Kornegay Arena.

The emphatic thud brought the crowd to its feet, and even some out of the bleachers.

The sequence was just one of many prime defensive plays for the No. 10-ranked Trojans, who cruised to a 78-51 victory over Conference Carolinas foe Erskine (S.C.) College. UMO extended its program-best start to 8-0.

The Trojans combined a stingy defense with a fast, free-flowing offense that shot over 50 percent from the field, including 7 of 15 from 3-point range.

Mount Olive jumped out to an early lead and never looked back. Using a balanced passing attack, the Trojans spaced the floor and exploited a young Erskine team that struggled to keep up with the quick pace.

Four of UMO's starters finished the game with double-digit scoring -- Moore, Dominique Reed, Dontrell Brite, and Kendall Hargrove each had 12 points apiece.

Trojans head coach Joey Higginbotham praised the way his team played unselfish basketball.

"We've preached it a lot recently: getting the ball side to side as much as we can," Higginbotham said. "I thought we did a good job of that when we went up 25 [points] in the first half, but then we got away from that.

"I thought the bench guys really moved the ball well. We got good shots."

The Trojans utilized an aggressive on-ball defense, using traps and sporadic presses that kept the Erskine offense out of rhythm for the entire game. The Flying Fleet's 51 points were the fewest that UMO has allowed all season.

"We held them to 32 percent [shooting]," said Higginbotham. "We thought that they would push it a little more, and with us coming out the way we did, I think they wanted to slow the game down. When we had to guard for 25 [seconds], we guarded for 25.

"I think we got six shot clock violations. That's what you love to see."

A key component of UMO's defense was Moore's rim protection. The forward had three blocks and consistently met Erskine drives at the rim. The blocks, Moore claimed, helped he and his team build early confidence on the defensive end.

"It definitely helps my confidence," Moore said. "Being in the right position is what I really put emphasis on when I'm on defense, so if my teammate gets beat I'm in the right position to help him out. As far as confidence, it really helps me out a lot."

UMO returns to action Saturday at conference newcomer Emmanuel (Ga.) College.