Weekly Men’s Basketball Notes, December 8, 2008

Weekly men's basketball notes and game recaps for week ending December 7, 2008.

BREVARD - The Brevard Tornados went 1-1 on the week, beating Warren Wilson, 76-46, Monday evening in Swannanoa, N.C. and falling to Tusculum, 65-48, Saturday afternoon in Greeneville, Tenn. in the first SAC game in program history … Against the Owls, Joseph Chilton led the way with 17 points, knocking down four three-pointers. Sam Carlisle and Jonathan Whitson each added a double-double, Carlisle with a season-high 16 points and 11 rebounds and Whitson with 12 points and 11 boards … The Tornados shot a season-best 46.7 percent in the win … Whitson led the way against the Pioneers with 15 points and 11 rebounds, while Chilton led the effort on the glass with ten rebounds. Brevard now stands 4-2, 0-1 SAC heading into a 23-day layoff for the Christmas holiday.

CARSON-NEWMAN - The Carson-Newman Eagles capped a 1-1 week with an 81-72 win over Lincoln Memorial in their South Atlantic Conference opener on Saturday night to move to 4-4 on the year and 1-0 in South Atlantic Conference play … The win was head coach Dale Clayton's 300th of his career … The Eagles dropped their contest from earlier in the week to Maryville, 95-91 … Junior Darron Maxtion led the Eagles with 23 points and nine rebounds, while junior forward Joey Cameron added 21 points and six boards …C-N shot just 15-of-25 (60 percent) at the line in the loss …The Eagles led the game at 62-50 after back-to-back three pointers by Kevin Hare, but Maryville rallied for the win … C-N bounced back with a positive start in conference play on Saturday night … Cameron was the difference maker in the second half, turning in an 11-point, five-rebound effort on the night … However, the 6-9, 260-pound forward had three assists, and three blocked shots to control the game down the stretch … He twice found an open Jesse McMurray for three in the half … Senior Andrew Johnson led the eagles with 16 points in the win…Junior Jordan Dixon added 12 points and four assists … Sophomore Cameron Shape played his first minutes of the season, scoring five points and grabbing five boards in 18 minutes…he also had three steals … The Eagles play just one game in the week ahead … C-N will face Anderson University (S.C.) on Saturday afternoon in Anderson, S.C.

CATAWBA - The Catawba Indians moved to 8-0 with a pair of wins last week ... Catawba opened league play with a 91-85 win over Lenoir-Rhyne then topped Voorhees 98-87 ... The 8-0 start is the best for Catawba since winning its opening 10 games in 2005-06 ... Against LR, Catawba used a 12-0 spurt midway through the second half to take control of the back-and-forth tilt ... The Catawba Indians went from down two to up 10 in a three and half minute span that included consecutive three points by Isaac Rose and Antonio Houston ... The Bears got within four with just under three minute to go, but Catawba salted the win away at the line by converting on nine-of-10 free throws in the final 1:25 ... The game featured 11 tied and 11 lead changes in a battle of the pre-season league favorites ... Houston scored 22 to lead the Tribe with Rob Fields adding 20 ... Dominick Reid scored 16 points, going nine-of-10 at the line ... Catawba shot 60 percent in the final half ... Leading by five against Voorhees at the break, Catawba began to pull away in the second half and led by as many as 18 points ... The Indians hit on 11-of-25 three-pointers, including eight in the first half ... Houston scored 20 points with Fields posting 19 ... Donald Rutherford scored 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds ... Reid dished out 11 assists and six steals ... Catawba shot 54 percent and had 18 steals on 22 Voorhees turnovers ... For the season, Catawba is hitting just under 50 percent from the field, while canning nearly 74 percent from the line ... Catawba is also a +2.4 in turnover margin ... The Indians head to UNC-Asheville on Saturday to take on the NCAA I Bulldogs ... It marks the first match-up for Catawba against a NCAA top-tier team since the 1995-96 season when the Indians took on Appalachian State (L, 90-87) and Furman (L, 61-76) ... Catawba will then host JC Smith before returning after Christmas for the pre-New Year's Moretz Classic at Lenoir-Rhyne.

LENOIR-RHYNE - The Lenoir-Rhyne University men's basketball team (3-3, 0-1) lost its third consecutive game for the first time in three years when it fell to No. 14 Catawba last Wednesday night by a 91-85 score at Goodman Gymnasium in Salisbury, N.C. … The contest was the South Atlantic Conference opener for both teams and the two squads were picked first (Catawba) and second (Lenoir-Rhyne) in the preseason coaches poll … Catawba's Antonio Houston led the home squad with 22 points and was one of five players to score in double figures for the Indians, who remained unbeaten on the year … Lenoir-Rhyne sophomore forward D.J. Blackmon (Albemarle, N.C.) tallied 28 points and 12 rebounds, both career-highs, despite the loss … L-R's leading scorer, senior guard Elliott McDowell (Canton, N.C.) tallied 15 points but only two after halftime … Catawba's Dominick Reid added 16 points and hit nine-of-10 free throws including seven down the stretch to ice the game … Blackmon extended his double-double streak to three games while McDowell has scored in double figures for 13 straight contests dating back to last year … Senior guard Josh Rudder increased his career point total to 1,153 points, good for 27th place on Lenoir-Rhyne's all-time list … Rudder also ranks fourth in steals (163) and seventh in assists (370) on the Bears' career lists … L-R, the only South Atlantic Conference Team not to play a home game yet this year, hosts Queens on Monday at 7 p.m., at Shuford Memorial Gymnasium … Lenoir-Rhyne leads the all-time series this year, 3-1, and won earlier this season by a 79-62 score on November 19 in Charlotte, N.C. … McDowell and senior forward Donte Watson (Fayetteville, N.C.) each scored 18 points to lead the Bears in the win.

LINCOLN MEMORIAL - The Railsplitters were able to tie the game four times and held the lead once before eventually falling to the Eagles of Carson-Newman College 81-72 in the South Atlantic Conference opener for both teams Saturday evening in Jefferson City, Tennessee … It was the 194th meeting in the series since the 1926 season … After trailing by as many as 10 points late in the first half, the Railsplitters put together a run which allowed them to go into the half down by only four, 39-35 … Carson-Newman came out in the second half and extended its lead to a game-high 11 points with 8:05 to play and the Railsplitters could never overcome the sizeable deficit before falling by the final nine point margin … Despite dominating the boards and out rebounding Carson-Newman by 16 rebounds, poor field goal shooting and 22 turnovers could have been the contributing factors in the Railsplitters' third loss of the season … LMU sophomore forward D'Mario Curry came off the bench to lead all scorers with 21 points, while freshman guard Brandon Armstrong scored 14 points and was the only other LMU player in double figures. Curry, and forward Scott Erland led the Railsplitters on the glass with seven rebounds each … Now 4-3 overall and 0-1 in South Atlantic Conference play, the Railsplitters will concentrate for the most part this week on fall semester final exams before hosting non-conference opponent Ohio Valley University Tuesday evening at 7:00 p.m. in the Tex Turner Arena. Next Saturday the Railsplitters will travel to Wise, Virginia, to take on the University of Virginia-Wise at 2:00 p.m. before returning to the Turner Arena on December 16 to host West Virginia Wesleyan in their final game before the Christmas break.

MARS HILL - Mars Hill went 2-0 last week to take their season record to 5-1. Danny Sanders had a huge week for the Lions averaging 24.5 points per game hitting a remarkable 72.4 percent from the floor. He added 7.5 rebounds and totaled 12 steals during the week … MHC averaged 101.5 points in the two wins defeating their opponents by a 24.5 margin. In the first game of the week, MHC won at Montreat, 102-81. Akeene Coakley (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.) led MHC with 26 points followed by Sanders (Shelby, N.C.) with 21. P.J. Gore (North Myrtle Beach, S.C.) followed with 15 points … MHC was never threatened in the contest. They led 48-37 at the break and then out scored the Cavaliers 54-44 in the final frame to cruise to the 21-point victory … The Lions hit 55.2 percent of their shot from the floor and out rebounded Montreat, 40-19 … In the second game of the week, Sanders scored his career high as a Lion while Gore added 21 points to pace Mars Hill to a 101-73 win on the road at North Greenville University Wednesday night. Sanders topped all scorers with 28 points. Following Sanders and Gore was Jamarl Glen (District Heights, Md.) with 15 points, four boards and three assists … MHC scored 54 points in the paint, 38 off NGU miscues, 18 second chance points and received 30 points from their bench. The Lions won the battle of the boards, 35-31 … The first half was closely played until Gore gave the Lions the lead for good (23-21) by hitting a 3-pointer with 11:01 left in the first half. MHC would never trail again … The Lions extended their advantage to 15 points (46-31) with 2:48 left in the opening period after Sanders converted a pair of shots at the foul line … A successful shot from behind the arc by Sanders ended the first half play and gave the visitors a 54-38 advantage at the intermission … MHC was never threatened by the Crusaders in the second frame. The Lions' largest lead was 34 points at the 7:11 mark in the final period when Dominique Hicks (Raleigh, N.C.) hit a layup … Mars Hill cruised to the 28-point victory after shooting 53.8 percent (35-65) from the floor. Thirteen players scored for the Lions in the win … MHC will play only one game this week with final exams approaching. The Lions will host Limestone on Monday night at 7:30 p.m.

NEWBERRY - The Newberry College men's basketball team won one and lost one last week to move to 6-1 overall and 0-1 in South Atlantic Conference play… The scarlet and gray defeated Lees-McRae, 66-55, on Tuesday, before dropping a 75-68 decision to Wingate in the SAC opener… Brett Goodwell led Newberry with his second consecutive double-double, scoring 14 points and grabbing 10 rebounds... Goodwell tied for the team lead in scoring, as he, Clemente Martin and Grant Domsic each scored 14 points... Junior Kendrick Johnson came alive with nine points, five rebounds and a season-high seven blocks off the bench... Newberry got off to an early lead on Martin's layup on the opening possession, but six Demario Mattox points to start the Bulldog scoring put the guests ahead for good... A fastbreak layup from Martin got the hosts within one point with 15 minutes left in the half before WU went on a 9-2 run to lead by eight with 11:34 left in the opening stanza... The Bulldogs would lead by 11 on a David Johnson three-pointer with 4:36, but Newberry fought back with an 8-2 run to trail 33-29 at the break... High pressure defenses on both sides saw the squads each have 12 turnovers at the half... Newberry took under two minutes to tie the game back up on a Martin lay-in with 18:18 left, but could not get back in front... Wingate quickly answered with a 7-0 run to take a 42-35 lead with 16 minutes to play... The Bulldogs continued to extend the lead and took their largest lead of the game at 63-48 with 7:24 left... But the scarlet and gray continued to battle in an attempt to maintain their previously undefeated record... A 7-1 run got the deficit under 10 points with five minutes left, and a Goodwell free throw cut the lead to seven points with 3:44 to play... However, the Bulldogs' ensuing 5-0 run that ran under the two-minute mark would put the game out of reach... Alexander nailed a three-pointer with 0.1 seconds left to make the final margin only seven points... Wingate's defensive pressure and physicality forced 24 Newberry turnovers, 15 of which were WU steals... Newberry will take a week off for finals before hosting the Saints of North Georgia College and State University on December 13... Saturday's tipoff is set for 4 p.m.

TUSCULUM - The Tusculum Pioneers (5-2, 1-0 SAC) posted a perfect 2-0 week with home wins over Concord (82-77) and Brevard (65-48) … Junior Kyle Moore continues lead the charge averaging 24.3 points per game, which leads the South Atlantic Conference … He added to his scoring tally with a pair of 29-point performances last week … In the Concord game, senior Ryan Troutman came within a rebound of recording a triple-double with 21 points, 11 assists and nine boards … The Pioneers connected on a dozen 3-pointers, including seven by Moore off the bench as he led all scorers with his 29 markers … Junior Josh Bennett added 11 points, four rebounds and three blocks in the winning effort … The Pioneers lead the all-time series with Concord 8-6, including 7-0 at home against the Mountain Lions … Tusculum shot 56.3 percent from the floor, including a sizzling 12-for-23 from three-point land (52.2 percent) … Concord shot 48.3 percent from the field, while out-rebounding TC by a 31-27 margin … Troutman was near-perfect on the night as he shot 6-for-7 from the floor, including 3-for-3 from beyond the arc … He also went 6-for-7 from the charity stripe, while dishing out 11 helpers and committed only one turnover in his 37 minutes of action … The game was a close throughout as neither team would enjoy a double-digit lead as the score was tied seven times with four lead changes … Tusculum led 43-37 at halftime as Moore tallied 17 of his 29 points in the first 20 minutes. In the second half, TC would take the largest lead of the night at 48-39 with 18:56 remaining in the game following a three-point play by Troutman … With TC leading 61-55 with 11:36 left in the contest, Concord went on an 11-2 spurt, thanks in part to three-pointers as the Mountain Lions led 66-63 with 7:45 remaining on the clock … Following a trey by Troutman to tie the game for the seventh and final time at 66-66, the Pioneers went on an 8-2 run, including a lay-up by Troutman and back-to-back 3-pointers by Moore as TC led against 74-68 with 5:10 remaining … Concord would cut the deficit to 77-75 following a bucket with 2:06 to go in the game, but Moore came through with his seventh three of the night, while the TC defense held the Lions to 0-for-6 shooting in the final two minutes of the game to seal the Pioneer victory … The Pioneers led wire-to-wire in Tusculum's 65-48 SAC opening win over Brevard … Tusculum used a 21-4 run in the second half in the victory … It was a battle between two of the top defensive teams in the conference and the game lived up to the billing with neither team shooting above 40 percent in the contest … BC outshot (38.6 percent-35.2 percent) and outrebounded (36-31) the Pioneers, but Tusculum committed only five turnovers in the game, including only one miscue in the second half … The five turnovers ties a school single-game record for Tusculum, matching the turnover tallies against King College (Feb. 10, 1996) and East Coast Bible College (Jan. 9, 1998) … Moore went 9-for-18 from the floor with three 3-pointers, while also shooting a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line … Troutman added nine points, seven rebounds and a game-high 10 assists without committing a turnover in his 36 minutes of action … During Tusculum's second half run, Moore accounted for 10 points, while rookie Taylor Hobbs capped the 21-4 spurt with his three-pointer at the 7:53 mark to give the Pioneers a 54-36 advantage … With Tusculum holding its biggest advantage of the day (60-39) following a Troutman trey, the Tornados went on a 7-0 run, including a three-pointer with 2:41 remaining in the game as BC trailed 60-46, but that was as close as the visitors would get … Tusculum shot 20-for-22 from the free throw line (90.9 percent), including 14 in a row to end the game … Tusculum has made a three-point field goal in 588 consecutive games … Since the 2001-02 season, Tusculum is 53-9 when scoring 80 or more points, including 2-0 this year … Moore has made a three-point field goal in 12 straight games, dating back to last season … Troutman has recorded an assist in every game he has played in a Tusculum (35 in a row) ... The Pioneers will wrap-up its seven-game home stand on Wednesday when they host Lees-McRae … It will be the 10th recorded meeting between TC and the Bobcats (TC leads the series 7-2) … TC will have a rematch against Concord on Saturday in Athens, W.Va … In this hotly contested series, Tusculum is the only team to sweep the season series, that coming in the 2001-02 campaign … Tusculum's last win in Athens was Dec. 11, 2002 in an 82-71 victory over the Mountain Lions.

WINGATE - The Wingate University men's basketball team built a 15-point second-half lead and made the advantage stick Saturday afternoon, taking a 75-68 South Atlantic Conference victory over Newberry College in Eleazer Arena on the Newberry campus. The contest was Wingate's only action last week … Wingate (5-3 overall, 1-0 SAC) secures its fifth victory in a row. The Bulldogs will break for final exams Dec. 8-13. Wingate will visit Fayetteville State University Wednesday, Dec. 17 at 7:30 p.m. … The Bulldogs utilized balanced scoring Saturday, as redshirt junior forward/guard David Johnson led the way with 16 points. Freshman guard Jamie Vaughn added 14 points off the Wingate bench, while redshirt sophomore forward/guard Ben Davis contributed 12 markers. The Bulldog reserves outscored the scarlet-and-gray substitutes 26-14 … Wingate senior forward Kenny Villines pulled down a career-high 16 rebounds to help the visitors win the battle of the boards 42-40. Villines added six points and four steals to his ledger. Bulldog senior guard DeMario Mattox had six points, six assists, four rebounds, three steals and one blocked shot. Wingate turned 24 Newberry turnovers into 30 points … The scarlet-and-gray posted an early lead thanks to a lay-up on the opening possession. Six Mattox points to start the Bulldog scoring put the guests ahead for good. A fast-break opportunity got the hosts within one point with 15 minutes left in the half before Wingate went on a 9-2 run to lead 16-8 with 11:34 left in the opening stanza. A three-point field goal by junior guard Larry Staley ended the 9-2 flurry.
The Bulldogs would push the lead to 31-20 on a Johnson three-pointer at the 4:36 mark … Newberry fought back with an 8-2 run to trail 33-29 at the break. High pressure defenses on both sides saw the squads each record 12 turnovers in the first frame … Newberry took under two minutes to tie the game 35-35 on an inside hoop with 18:18 left, but the hosts could not get back in front. Wingate quickly answered with a 7-0 run to take a 42-35 lead with 16 minutes to play. Johnson contributed a three-pointer to the 7-0 spurt. The Bulldogs took their largest lead of the game at 63-48 with 7:24 left … The scarlet-and-gray did not fold the tents. Newberry made a 7-1 run to bring the deficit under 10 points with five minutes left. A free throw cut the margin to 66-59 with 3:44 to play. An inside hoop by Villines grew the lead to 70-59 with 2:09 remaining … Alexander nailed a three-pointer with 0.1 seconds left to make the final margin seven points ... Wingate's 15 steals Saturday is a season high. Davis and Villines led the way with four thefts each. Through eight games, the Bulldogs have six players who average between 8.9 points per game and 11.9 points per game. The Newberry victory is the first Wingate road win for new Bulldog head coach Brian Good.