Weekly Men’s Basketball Notes, January 12, 2009

Men's basketball notes and game recaps for week ending January 11, 2009.

BREVARD - Brevard College lost two of three games on the week to move to 7-5 (1-3 South Atlantic Conference) on the season... Monday the Tornados hosted Montreat College, winning 96-90 in overtime... Brevard looked headed to an easy victory when the built a 62-43 lead with 9:49 left in the game, but Montreat rallied to force the extra period with separate runs of 10-0 and 17-6 in the final stretch of the game... Brevard retook control in overtime, scoring the first four points... A four-point play by Joseph Chilton with 2:50 left in overtime stretched the lead to 87-89 and distanced the Tornados for good... Hours after winning SAC Player of the Week honors, Jonathan Whitson led Brevard with 17 points, and Chilton added 15... Wednesday the Tornados were overwhelmed by Lenoir-Rhyne, 71-44, at Shuford Gymnasium... Brevard fell behind 34-6 with 6:47 left in the first half and never threatened the Bears... Whitson led the Tornados with 19 points and 12 rebounds while Sam Carlisle scored 15 points... Brevard capped the week with a 79-69 loss to Lincoln Memorial... Brevard trailed just 62-61 with 5:42 to play, but a 10-0 LMU run doomed the Tornados to defeat... Whitson put up 15 points and 13 rebounds, while Nathan Whitmire scored 11... For the season, Whitson leads the SAC with 10.0 rebounds per game... Looking ahead, Brevard plays three games in a week for the third straight week, as the Tornados tangle with Erskine Monday and SAC foes Catawba and Wingate Wednesday at Saturday... all three games are at Boshamer Gymnasium, where BC is 3-1 this season.

CARSON-NEWMAN - The Carson-Newman Eagles turned in a 1-0 week with a 89-81 win over Mars Hill on Saturday...C-N is now 5-9 overall, 2-1 in South Atlantic Conference play...Junior Joey Cameron's (Tuskegee, Ala.) went 7-of-8 from the floor to finish with 18 points and 10 rebounds...He added four blocked shots, two steals, and two assists...With the win, the Eagles ended a five-game losing streak...C-N jumped out to a 45-35 halftime lead, sparked by 10 points off the bench from Tray Okoth (Richmond, Va.)...The junior went 5-of-6 from the floor, including a tip-in as the first half clock expired...The Eagles answered the Lions' run with a 13-4 run of their own, keyed by a three-pointer in transition by Jordan Dixon (Clinton, Tenn.)...Sophomore Adam Plavich (Dalton, Ga.) buried another three to give the Eagles an 82-73 lead...Senior Andrew Johnson (Cairo, Ga.) added 14 points for the Eagles. He added six steals... Dixon finished with 13 and Plavich added 11...Through 14 games, the Eagles are averaging 93 points per game, allowing 93.1 ppg...Cameron leads the Eagles averaging 15.8 points per game and a team-high of 7.5 rebounds per game...C-N returns to action on Wednesday night at Wingate University...The Eagles return to Holt Fieldhouse on Saturday when they host Tusculum College...Tipoff for both games is at 8 p.m.

CATAWBA - The Catawba Indians, ranked 23rd in NCAA II, kept its league lead after the first full week of action as they defeated Wingate and Tusculum to move to 3-0 in the SAC ... Antonio Houston scored a season-high 31 points in the 97-90 win at Wingate on Wednesday ... The junior hit on 10-of-16 shots ... Cliff Burns added 17 points and Rob Fields collected 16 points off the bench ... Catawba survived a back-and-forth game with Tusculum on Saturday, claiming a 67-64 in a contest that saw 13 ties and 24 lead changes ... Houston twice put the Indians ahead in the final minute ... His free throws with 17 seconds left gave the Indians a 65-64 lead and Fields added a pair with seven seconds remaining for the final margin ... Houston scored 18 points and pulled down nine rebounds in the win ... The Indians shot just 41 percent, but was able to help force 17 Tusculum turnovers ... Dominick Reid added a dozen points, while Fields and Donald Rutherford each had 10 off the bench ... After three straight losses, Catawba has rebounded with three consecutive wins ... The 41 percent shooting vs. Tusculum was the second lowest by the Tribe this season behind a 33 percent effort at UNC Asheville ... Nine of Catawba's last 13 games vs. conference teams have been decided by four points with the Indians posting an 8-1 mark in those games ... Houston has moved into 23rd place on the Catawba all-time scoring chart with 1,349 points ... He leads the team in both scoring (19.7) and rebounding (5.6) and ranks second in steals (24) and blocks (12) ... Fields continues to give Catawba a spark off the bench, tossing in 15.6 a contest ... Catawba travels to Brevard on Wednesday and returns home to Goodman Gym to face Mars Hill on Saturday afternoon.

LENOIR-RHYNE - The Lenoir-Rhyne University men's basketball team (8-6, 3-1) ran its winning streak to three games with a pair of South Atlantic Conference home victories over Brevard (71-44) and Newberry (76-63) last Wednesday and Saturday, respectively … Lenoir-Rhyne is now tied in second place in the league race with Lincoln Memorial University (one-half game behind Catawba) … Against the Tornados, the Bears jumped out to a 34-6 first-half lead and never looked back … Sophomore forward D.J. Blackmon (Albemarle, N.C.) led the Bears with 12 points and junior guard Marcus Hodges (Wake Forest, N.C.) added 10 points as Lenoir-Rhyne led by as many as 34 points (66-32 with 5:38 left) in the victory … Lenoir-Rhyne defeated Newberry for the seventh straight time in a league showdown behind junior guard Josh Rudder's (Graham, N.C.) 19 points and seven assists and senior guard Elliott McDowell's (Canton, N.C.) 18 points … The Bears used a 15-4 run in the second half to put the contest away … L-R also limited Newberry to just 38 percent (18-of-47) shooting for the game … Lenoir-Rhyne improved to 30-2 in its last 32 South Atlantic Conference regular season home games … On the Bears' career lists, Rudder is now 20th in points (1,240), fourth in assists (394) and third in steals (179) … McDowell, who leads the team in scoring at 17.9 points per game, saw his 19-game streak of double-digit scoring snapped on Wednesday … Lenoir-Rhyne hits the road this week to take on Mars Hill (Wednesday at 8 p.m.) and Lincoln Memorial (Saturday at 8 p.m.) in a pair of South Atlantic Conference games … L-R leads the all-time series with both Mars Hill (54-24) and Lincoln Memorial (6-1) … The Bears have defeated the Railsplitters three times in each of the past two seasons.

LINCOLN MEMORIAL - Wednesday night's 59-55 South Atlantic Conference victory over Tusculum College was nearly a carbon copy of Saturday's game with Wingate down the stretch for Head Coach Josh Schertz and his Railsplitters … With less than five seconds remaining, the Railsplitters called a time out to set up the inbound play. "I told D'Mario if they had someone guarding the ball on the inbound to sprint down the floor," said Schertz. "Justin made a great pass and D'Mario finished strong to seal the game for us." Curry's dunk with only seconds remaining put the game out of reach for the Pioneers who trailed just 57-55 until the sophomore's monstrous flush … Although the victory was most likely attributed to rebounding and a great defensive effort, the Railsplitters did get a solid offensive performance from freshman guard Brandon Armstrong in the first half. Armstrong scored all of his team-high 15 points in the first 20 minutes of play, while freshman Desmond Johnson carried the torch in the early minutes of the second half, scoring eight of his 15 points in the second half. Johnson's effort was combined with 14 rebounds as he finished with a double-double to help the Railsplitters move to 2-1 in league play … Teammate D'Mario Curry finished just shy of the double-double with nine points and 12 boards … For the Pioneers, the starting five led by example in the losing effort … Guard Kyle Moore led all scorers in the game with 19 points while Rob Troutman took it to the Railsplitters on the inside with 14. Troutman's brother Ryan Troutman did some early damage in the first half from the perimeter by scoring 12 points but for the most part that was the extent of the Tusculum offensive attack … The Railsplitter defensive effort limited the Pioneer bench to only two points as only three other players combined for the remaining 10 points scored on the evening ... Sophomore forward D'Mario Curry's 30 points and 10 rebounds led the Railsplitters to a 79-69 South Atlantic Conference win on Saturday over league opponent Brevard College to help the Railsplitters improve to 8-6 overall and 3-1 in conference play … Although Curry's 8-10 performance from the field and 14-18 effort at the free throw line were the spearhead of LMU's offensive attack, the Railsplitters got several other key contributions from the starting lineup and especially off the bench … Forward Scott Erland came in to knock down 4-5 shots behind the arc to score 12 points, while also grabbing three rebounds and collecting one steal to help the LMU men capture their third straight South Atlantic Conference win of the year … The Railsplitters set the tone early in the game when freshman guard Justin Allen hit his opening three pointer of the game … That shot allowed LMU to gain confidence from the perimeter which eventually turned into a 30 point performance from outside the three-point line as the Railsplitters drained 10-26 three pointers including three big baskets by freshman guard Dominic Parker … Add to all that the Railsplitters 23-28 effort for 82.1 percent from the free throw line as a team and the result was a monstrous road-win over a very good Brevard College basketball team … Saturday's win was monumental for the Railsplitters in that it moves them from the number six position in league play into a tie for second place in the conference standings with Lenoir-Rhyne University … At 3-1 in league play, the Railsplitters are second only to Catawba College which still holds an unbeaten mark of 4-0 following Saturday night's action.

MARS HILL - Mars Hill lost both of their games last week. The Lions lost at home to Newberry and then lost on the road at Carson-Newman. MHC is now 9-4 overall and 0-3 in the SAC … In the first game of the week, Mars Hill lost to Newberry 88-70 Wednesday night in Stanford Arena. Newberry opened the game on a blistering 15-3 run in the first 4:21, finished off by two Grant Domsic (Winter Garden, Fla.) three-pointers. Mars Hill responded with a 10-0 run ignited by two Tony Blake (Canton, N.C.) layups to cut the lead to 15-13 at the 12:06 mark … Both teams traded baskets for much of the rest of the half. After trailing by six points, a Danny Sanders (Shelby, N.C.) steal and layup cut the deficit to one point, 31-30, in favor of Newberry with 4:27 remaining in the first half … Jamarl Glen (District Heights, Md.) nailed a shot in the paint and gave Mars Hill its first lead of the game, 32-31, at the 3:30 mark. Newberry then went on a 9-0 run in a span of 1:38 and led at the half, 42-38 … Both teams struggled to score during the first portion of the second half. Mars Hill scored only five points and Newberry scored only nine but led 51-43 with 11:08 remaining in regulation. Newberry and Mars Hill both went a span of 2:21 without scoring … A P.J. Gore (North Myrtle Beach, S.C.) dunk at the 10:52 mark made the score 51-47 in favor of Newberry. A steal by Stoney Polite (Morganton, N.C.) and finish by Andy Miller (Franklin, N.C.) cut Newberry's advantage to 53-51 with 10:08 left in the second half … However Newberry would push the lead to 14 points, 65-51, during a stretch highlighted by two Clemente Martin (Freeport, Bahamas) dunks. Martin accounted for six of the 14 points … The Lions trimmed the lead to single digits, 71-63, off a steal by Polite and old-fashioned three-point play by Glen with 5:01 left in the game but would get no closer … Newberry countered and finished the game on a 17-7 run … Martin poured in a game-high 31 points to lead four Newberry scorers in double figures. Vytautas Valiulis (Vilnius, Lithuania) chipped in 16 points. Domsic recorded 14 points. Brett Goodwell (Inglewood, Calif.) posted a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds … Polite led all Mars Hill scorers with 14 points. Gore had 13 and Glen netted 12. Akeene Coakley (Mount Pleasant, S.C.) was a beast in the paint hauling in 15 rebounds … In the second contest of the week, Junior Joey Cameron's double-double (Tuskegee, Ala.) helped the Eagles hold off a second-half Mars Hall College rally and defeat the Lions 89-81 win Saturday night in Holt Fieldhouse … C-N jumped out to a 45-35 halftime lead, sparked by 10 points off the bench from Tray Okoth (Richmond, Va.). The junior went 5-of-6 from the floor, including a tip-in as the first half clock expired … The Lions rallied to tie the game at 69-69, after C-N had taken a 12-point lead early in the second half … Senior P.J. Gore (North Myrtle Beach, S.C.) had seven points during the run. He finished with 19 points on 9-of-16 shooting … The Eagles answered the Lions' run with a 13-4 run of their own, keyed by a three-pointer in transition by Jordan Dixon (Clinton, Tenn.), to build the lead to 78-73 … After a free throw by Cameron, sophomore Adam Plavich (Dalton, Ga.) buried another three to give the Eagles an 82-73 lead … Mars Hill finished the game with 25 offensive rebounds, but hit only 3-of-24 three-point attempts … C-N shot 53 percent (34-of-64) from the floor … Junior Danny Sanders (Shelby, N.C.) added 15 points for the Lions, while senior Andy Miller (Franklin, N.C.) finished two rebounds shy of a double-double with 10 points and eight boards … MHC will host Lenoir-Rhyne on Wednesday at 8 p.m. and then play at Catawba on Saturday at 4 p.m. … On Tuesday night MHC will have their annual live coaches show called "Inside Mars Hill Basketball with Coaches Thomas Nash and Jennifer Nance". This coach's show will be aired live on ESPN Radio 1310 and 970 Big Wise in the Asheville market. The show also will be available live on the Internet at RedZoneMedia.com.

NEWBERRY - The Newberry College men's basketball team moved to 11-3 overall and 2-2 in South Atlantic Conference play last week, as the scarlet and gray split a pair of road contests… NC defeated Mars Hill, 88-70, on Wednesday before falling to Lenoir-Rhyne, 76-63, on Saturday… In Wednesday's win over Mars Hill, the scarlet and gray were led by senior forward Clemente Martin, who posted 31 points, which is one point shy of a career high, as well as seven rebounds… Brett Goodwell earned his fourth double-double of the season with 12 points and 11 boards… Vytautas Valiulis had 16 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, while Grant Domsic netted 14 points… Kendrick Johnson moved to solo fourth place all-time in SAC history in blocked shots, as he earned four swats on the night… Superior shooting from the field helped push Newberry to the win… The guests were 31-of-58 (53.4 percent) from the floor, as well as 8-of-14 (57.1 percent) from the land of three.... Mars Hill took 16 more shots than NC, but could only make 29-of-74 shots (39.2 percent) and only 3-of-20 (15 percent) from behind the arc… In Saturday's loss to Lenoir-Rhyne, sophomore Jesse Wheeler led Newberry with his first career double-double, earning 24 points and 10 rebounds, both of which are career highs… Martin was the only other Newberry player in double digits with 14… Newberry struggled from the field, shooting 18-of-47 (38.3 percent) from the floor, while the Bears were a blistering 28-of-50 (56 percent)… Newberry will look to get back above .500 in the SAC this week, as the scarlet and gray return to Eleazer Arena on Wednesday to take on the Railsplitters of Lincoln Memorial University (7-6, 3-1 SAC) in a SAC contest… Newberry will host Allen University on Saturday in the team's final non-conference action of the season.

TUSCULUM - The Tusculum Pioneers (8-6, 1-3 SAC) suffered a pair of single-digit road losses last week… TC dropped a 59-55 decision at Lincoln Memorial… The Pioneers upset bid at No. 23 Catawba fell short in a 67-64 loss… In the LMU game, junior Kyle Moore recorded 19 points, while Rob and Ryan Troutman added 14 and 12 points, respectively… LMU jumped out to a 38-32 lead at halftime as the Railsplitters shot 14-for-24 from the floor (58.3 percent), including 5-of-8 from three-point territory (62.5 percent). The Pioneers stayed within striking distance though as Moore tallied 14 markers in the first half, shooting 9-for-10 from the free throw line in the opening 20 minutes… Tusculum stepped up the defensive pressure as LMU went scoreless in the first six minutes of the second period as TC knotted the game at 38-38 on a Marko Kostic jumper with 15:14 remaining… TC got back-to-back buckets by Moore and Jimmy Boone as the Pioneers led 48-45 with eight minutes left…. LMU responded with a 6-0 spurt to lead 53-48 with 4:34 left… With LMU leading 55-50, the Pioneers got a lay-up by Rob Troutman to make it a one possession game at 55-52 with 1:42 on the clock… TC forced a turnover on LMU's ensuing possession, but TC missed a pair of field goals. Tusculum sent LMU to the foul stripe where the Railsplitters had struggled for most of the night. LMU missed the front end of a one-and-one bonus and Moore was fouled. He made one of two free throws with 19 seconds remaining to cut the deficit to two (55-53)… With 17 seconds left, LMU made two free throws to up its lead to 57-53… Ryan Troutman connected on a lay-up with nine seconds remaining to bring TC within two points, but LMU got a runaway dunk on the ensuing in-bounds pass to seal the victory… Tusculum committed on five turnovers, which matches a school single-game record the team tied earlier this season. LMU finished the game shooting 43.5 percent from the floor, but the Pioneers limited the Splitters to shooting only 6-for-22 in the second half… TC's Josh Bennett added six points and a team-best eight rebounds, while Kostic finished with seven boards in the loss… In the 25th recorded meeting between Tusculum and Catawba, it was thriller throughout as the lead changed an amazing 24 times, along with 11 ties… Both teams connected 23 of 56 attempts from the field for a 41.1 field goal percentage, as the Pioneers knocked down 8-of-20 shots from behind the arc… Tusculum's free throw shooting kept them in the game until the final moments, having converted 10-of-12 attempts from the line while Catawba finished the night 16-for-28 from the charity stripe (57.1 percent)… Bennett recorded a double-double in the first half and finished with a game-high 21 points and 11 rebounds to pace the Pioneer attack.. Ryan Troutman hit a pair of clutch three-pointers down the stretch to keep the black and orange within striking distance, and ended the night with 14 points, six rebounds, six assists, and two steals… The Pioneers came out firing in the first half, knocking down their first four shots from the field to take a 10-7 lead with 16:18 remaining in the period… Catawba would respond with a 6-0 run to take a 13-10 lead…. Neither team could pull away by more than three points until the final minutes of the half, when Catawba strung together another 6-0 run in the final 2:20 of the period to take a 35-29 lead into the intermission… Tusculum slowly chipped away at the lead in the opening minutes of the second half, pulling even at 45-45 on a three-pointer by Moore with 11:59 to go in the game. The Pioneers stayed with the Catawba Indians for much of the remaining 12 minutes, holding several slim leads before Catawba pulled even moments later… Rob Troutman gave the Pioneers a slim 62-61 advantage with his second trey of the half at 2:19 before Catawba knocked down a jumper with 51 seconds left to reclaim the lead for Catawba at 63-62… Tusculum would regain the lead at 64-63 on a layup by Bennett with 28 seconds remaining on the clock, before Catawba connected on four straight free throws in the final 20 ticks to seal the win… Tusculum has made a three-point field goal in 595 straight games, dating back to 1986… Ryan Troutman has made his last 20 free throws… Ryan Troutman has recorded an assist in 42 straight games… Moore has made a three-point field goal in 19 straight games… Tusculum will step out of SAC play for the final time on Tuesday when the Pioneers host Urbana University… It will be the first meeting on the hardwood between the Pioneers and Blue Knights… Tusculum will be at Carson-Newman on Saturday… It will be the 124th recorded meeting between TC and the Eagles… C-N leads the all-time series (85-38), but the Pioneers have won three of the last four meetings and seven of the last nine encounters… TC has won in its last seven trips to Jefferson City… The last time TC lost at Holt Fieldhouse was Jan. 19, 2002.

WINGATE - The Wingate University men's basketball team lost a tough 97-90 decision to Catawba College Wednesday night in Cuddy Arena. The South Atlantic Conference contest was Wingate's only action last week ... Bulldog senior forward Tommy Coles shattered his career-high, posting a team-best 27 points on 11-of-13 shooting from the floor. Wingate senior forward Kenny Villines had 17 points and 10 rebounds ... Bulldog senior guard DeMario Mattox narrowly missed a triple-double with 13 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds. Classmate and backcourt mate Rosco Turner contributed 12 points for the hosts ... Catawba led 42-35 at halftime. The Indians quickly pushed the lead to 49-37 with 18:51 remaining. The 12-point bulge was Catawba's largest lead of the evening ... Wingate cut the lead to 60-58 on an old-fashioned three-point play by Coles at the 11:06 mark. The Bulldogs stayed in striking distance down the stretch, but Catawba did not relinquish the advantage in the second half. The Indians extended the score to 85-75 Catawba with 3:22 to play in the contest. Mattox made a fast-break hoop to cut the deficit to 91-86 with one minute left, but Wingate would get no closer ... Villines leads Wingate with his 10.1 points per game and 7.1 rebounds per game. Mattox averages 9.7 points per game and 5.4 rebounds per game. The senior swingman leads the team with 64 assists. Mattox has narrowly missed a triple-double in SAC contests against Lincoln Memorial and Catawba ... In Wingate's last three contests, Coles is averaging 17.0 points per game. Wingate returns to action Wednesday, Jan. 14, when they host Carson-Newman College at 8 p.m.