Trojans' chemistry carried them to special season

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on March 28, 2015 11:30 PM

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MOUNT OLIVE -- They hung out together everywhere on campus, ate together in the cafeteria and seemed inseparable from day one.

Joey Higginbotham hadn't seen that early-season camaraderie from any of his previous teams. He knew -- at that point -- the University of Mount Olive could experience a memorable season on the basketball court.

He was right.

The Trojans won a single-season, school-record 31 games that included a program-best 17-game win streak. UMO became just the fourth team in Conference Carolinas history to collect 18 regular-season victories since the league's inception in the mid-1990s.

Higginbotham's club claimed the Southeast Region championship and advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time since 2005.

And none of this even discussed in the preseason.

"Our goal wasn't to win a conference championship. Our goal wasn't to get to the Elite Eight," Higginbotham said. "The one thing that I noticed that could make this a special season early was the chemistry. Our guys were all together all the time more than other years.

"It carried over into our unselfishness (on the court). Our goal from day one was to get better that day."

Four starters returned from a 19-win team that earned a share of the program's sixth regular-season championship in 2014. JUCO All-American JaQuan Blount stepped onto the court this season and teamed with Dontrell Brite to fill the void left by record-setting point guard Dory Hines.

All egos were set aside.

Mount Olive started 9-0 before dropping a road contest at in-state region foe UNC Pembroke in mid-December. The Trojans' next loss was a nationally-televised 18-point road defeat at conference foe King (Tenn.) on Jan. 3.

Higginbotham's club didn't lose again.

The "get better every day" mantra began to take shape. Seniors Kendall Hargrove and Jordan McCain seized ownership of the team. Hargrove dominated the boards and McCain emerged as a 3-point threat on the perimeter along with junior Mike Moore.

Their versatility gave UMO a luxury it didn't have in previous years. Opposing teams couldn't defend just one player since the Trojans had six double-figure scorers on their roster.

"It's a different person that steps up every night," Higginbotham said during numerous post-game interviews.

The next stumbling block occurred in the Conference Carolinas tournament final -- a two-point loss to North Greenville. UMO had done plenty to assure itself of a regional berth up to that point, but lost the homecourt advantage it desired for the regional.

Brite admitted the loss "humbled" the team and made it a little hungrier when it traveled to Harrogate, Tenn., for the regional. Three wins later, the Trojans punched their ticket to the Elite Eight as the lowest-seeded team (No. 4) to advance from any regional.

Quarterfinal-round foe Tarleton State played a suffocating defense that forced UMO into uncharacteristic mistakes. Foul trouble and a 24-percent second-half shooting effort further compounded the Trojans' troubles.

Their season ended with a 77-59 loss.

An emotional Higginbotham talked about the players' success and how they played as a team -- not as individuals -- after the season-ending defeat. And as he has done all season, he thanked the university's administration, the students and the Mount Olive community for their continued support.

During the postseason, Higginbotham constantly reminisced about the 2005 squad that made the program's first-ever Elite Eight appearance. To this day, he continues to talk with then-head coach Bill Clingan and former players about the ride they enjoyed that year.

Higginbotham shared those stories for a reason.

"I want them to enjoy this time together," he said of this year's record-setting team. "We had a great week together in Tennessee. We had a great week together in Indiana. Those are memories that are going to last a lifetime."