Former Nansemond River High School basketball standout Dontrell Brite recently received the Conference Carolinas men’s basketball Player of the Year award for his play this season at the University of Mount Olive.

And he has been living up to that honor in the postseason, helping the Trojans advance through the Sweet Sixteen in the NCAA Division II tournament, with their Elite Eight game set for Wednesday in Indiana.

Of the Player of the Year recognition, Brite said, “That was a big accomplishment for me,” adding that there is a lot of talent in the conference.

At the time the award was announced, Brite led the conference and ranked 13th in the nation with 5.8 assists per game. He also averaged 14.3 points per game.

University of Mount Olive coach Joey Higginbotham said, “I was excited for him, definitely excited for him. He puts the work in.”

Nansemond River coach Ed Young said winning Conference Carolinas Player of the Year was a tremendous boost for Brite.

“That’s a very good league they’re in,” Young said. “There’s a lot of Division I transfers in that league.”

And yet Young said Brite has risen above everybody, “and he’s done it in his quiet manner,” noting Brite’s focus is assists and steals.

Consistent with Young’s characterization of him, Brite said, “I wasn’t even thinking about that (Player of the Year) award,” with his goal rather being to lead his team in assists and trying to get everybody more involved.

There is a rich UMO tradition of earning the honor. This year marks the fifth time in the last eight years that a Trojan has won the award. However, Brite is only the third player in Mount Olive men’s basketball history to receive the honor as a junior. The other two were Chris McDonald and Kendrick Easley.

Why did coaches from around the conference select Brite for the award?

“One, we were successful as a team, and he was a big part of that,” Higginbotham said. “He was our leading scorer,” and leading assister.

The Trojans are 31-3 overall headed into Wednesday’s game. They went 19-1 in the conference during the regular season and reached the conference tournament final, but they were upset there 68-66 by North Greenville University.

“They had a good game plan, they held the ball, and they made some really, really big shots against us,” Higginbotham said of the Crusaders. He later added, “It’s tough to beat somebody three times,” especially somebody good like North Greenville.

“We definitely learned from that and took that into the regionals and are definitely playing our best ball now,” he said.

In the first round of the NCAA Division II tournament, the Trojans defeated Georgia Regents University-Augusta 84-75, and Brite provided 17 points, four assists, three rebounds and two steals to the effort.

He contributed 16 points, four assists and three rebounds to a 75-55 victory over top-seeded Lincoln Memorial University in the southwest regional semifinal.

On Tuesday, Mount Olive eliminated the University of Montevallo in the Sweet Sixteen by a score of 82-75. Brite struggled to score in that game, but got his teammates involved late, when he dished out most of his game-high seven assists.

It’s a “great feeling” to be in the Division II Elite Eight, he said. “We’ve just got to stay focused and stay positive.”

Mount Olive (31-3) faces Tarleton State University (30-3) on Wednesday in Evansville, Ind.