Former Nansemond River High School basketball standout Dontrell Brite was named the NCAA Division II Conference Carolinas Men’s Basketball Player of the Week after he contributed to University of Mount Olive history on two fronts last week.

Less than three minutes into Saturday’s game against host Belmont Abbey College, he followed up a field goal with a three-pointer to give him 1,002 career points with UMO, ushering him into the elite ranks of Trojans that have reached the 1,000-point mark.

“It’s a big accomplishment,” Brite said. More focused now on being a facilitator on offense, he added, “I really want to accomplish a milestone with assists, but I’ll take the points.”

Brite is the first Trojan to score his 1,000th point prior to his senior year since Norfolk’s Kendrick Easley did it in 2009. Easley is the all-time scoring leader at UMO.

Mount Olive coach Joey Higginbotham found out about Brite’s achievement after Saturday’s game.

“I was really excited for him,” he said. “He’s dedicated a lot to the program in his everyday efforts. And so it’s a good reward for him.”

Nansemond River coach Ed Young said, “That’s a big honor at the college level. That 1,000 point mark is still a big deal.”

Adding to the special nature of Brite’s accomplishment is the fact that it functioned as a contribution to the team’s ongoing run of incredible success.

“That’s a big key,” he said. “Our team is very balanced this year,” with six players averaging around 10 points a game.

The Trojans are currently ranked 13th nationally in the NCAA Division II National Association of Basketball Coaches rankings.

Mount Olive’s 87-69 win over Belmont Abbey on Saturday improved the Trojans’ overall record to 24-2, and it secured for them at least a share of the regular season conference championship for the second consecutive year.

Brite only played 19 minutes in the contest, being pulled after UMO took a 38-point lead in the second half, but he still provided a team-high 13 points, five assists and four steals.

The win also extended Mount Olive’s current winning streak to 13 games, a school record.

“It’s amazing,” Brite said. “I didn’t actually know that was a record until coach told us after the game. We just want to keep it going now.”

Higginbotham said the goal is to keep this special season going as long as possible, and added that Dontrell is “going to be a big part of that.”

Through 26 games, Brite leads the team in points per game with 14.3 and assists per game with 5.9, and he is tied for the lead in steals per game, with 2.1.

Higginbotham said Brite was able to achieve the 1,000-point mark because he “is a hardworking kid. He lives in the gym,” and his biggest area of improvement has been in his jump shot.

Brite is currently shooting an impressive 50.2 percent from the field and 41.1 percent from three-point range.

“That’s a compliment to him,” Higginbotham said.

Mount Olive (24-2, 17-1) hosts Emmanuel College tonight. A win would give the Trojans the regular season conference title outright and clinch for them the top seed in the Conference Carolinas Tournament.