Conference Carolinas Announces Men’s Basketball Award Winners

3/7/2015 12:00:00 AM

High Point, NC - Conference Carolinas announced the All-Conference teams during this week's Conference Carolinas Men's & Women's Basketball Championship Tournament at Saturday morning's awards presentation at the University of Mount Olive, in Mt. Olive, NC. Awards include All-Conference First, Second, & Third teams, Offensive Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Coach of the Year, Freshman of the Year, and Regular Season Champions. Head coaches from conference member institutions nominate and then vote on the award winners who represent the best of the best for the league.

The conference championships started Saturday with the top eight teams qualifying for quarterfinal action. Men's semifinal play resumes Saturday afternoon with the championship final Sunday. All men's games are being played at the University of Mount Olive, in Mt. Olive, NC. Both the women and men's tournament champion receive an automatic berth to the NCAA DII championships.

Men's Player of the Year

Dontrell Brite, Mount Olive

Dontrell Brite becomes the third player in University of Mount Olive men's basketball history to be named Conference Carolinas Player of the Year in his junior year, joining Chris McDonald (1998-99) and Kendrick Easley (2008-09). Brite leads the conference and ranks 13th in the nation with 5.8 assists per game. He is also averaging 14.3 points per game, including a career-high 28 points against King. Brite's selection marks the fifth time in the last eight years a Trojan has won Conference Carolinas Men's Basketball Player of the Year.

Men's Defensive Player of the Year

Kendall Hargrove, Mount Olive

Kendall Hargrove becomes University of Mount Olive's first-ever Conference Carolinas Men's Basketball Defensive Player of the Year. Hargrove ranks second in the conference with 8.4 rebounds per game. He is also averaging just under two steals and just under one blocked shot per contest. Hargrove has recorded a team-high nine double-doubles this season. In addition to his defensive accolades, Hargrove was among 16 finalists nationwide in the "Dark Horse Dunker" contest.

Men's Freshman of the Year

Spencer Reaves, North Greenville

North Greenville's Spencer Reaves has been named the Conference Carolinas Freshmen of the Year after leading all league freshmen in scoring. Reaves led the NGU basketball team in scoring by a wide margin, scoring 493 points this season, the third most in Conference Carolinas, averaging 17 points per game. Reaves did most of his damage from the three point line, nailing 84 shots from down town. He shot just above 50 percent from the field while dishing out 49 assists and collecting 100 rebounds. Reaves is the first freshmen from North Greenville to garner the Freshmen of the Year accolade.

Men's Coach of the Year

Joey Higginbotham, Mount Olive

Joey Higginbotham wins Conference Carolinas Men's Basketball Coach of the Year for the second year in a row and the fourth time in his seven years as University of Mount Olive head coach. Higginbotham guided the Trojans to a school record 26 wins during the regular season. Mount Olive enters the "final four" ranked No. 9 in both national polls and riding a 16-game winning streak, also a school record.

Men's All-Conference 1^st-Team

Dontrell Brite, Mount Olive

Logan Lyle, King

AJ Clark, Pfeiffer

Shaq Dance, Limestone

Jacquise Moore, Lees-McRae