Weekly Men’s Basketball Notes, January 26, 2009

Men's basketball notes and game recaps for week ending January 25, 2009.

BREVARD - The Brevard Tornados split a pair of contests last week to move their record to 10-7 overall, 2-5 in SAC play... Wednesday, Brevard played a road game for the first time in two weeks, falling to Carson-Newman, 98-91, at Holt Fieldhouse... Brevard led six different times and by as much as seven points, but a 39-12 Eagle run buried the Tornados in the second... Jonathan Whitson scored four straight points to put BC up, 49-46, with 16:16 left, but Brevard would never lead again... Brevard turned the ball over 31 times, a season-high, and gave up the highest single-game total since joining NCAA Division II three seasons ago... Whitson led all scorers with 25 points... Sam Carlisle scored ten points and pulled down ten rebounds... Joseph Chilton also scored ten points... Saturday the Tornados rebounded with a 66-44 pounding of North Greenville in Tigerville, S.C.... Brevard scored the game's first 12 points and didn't allow a field goal for the game's first 9:19... A Nathan Whitmire basket put Brevard up, 32-8, with 3:27 left in the first half, and four consecutive points from Darin Dellinger pushed the lead to its crescendo, 41-14, with 19:07 left... Brevard has beaten the Crusaders three straight seasons in Tigerville... Whitson led all scorers with 14 points, Whitmire added 13, Dellinger scored 11 and Shane Galloway played his best game of the season, scoring ten points... Brevard plays Newberry at home Wednesday, with tip-off set for 8 p.m. and travels to Mars Hill on Saturday for a 4 p.m. game.

CARSON-NEWMAN - The Carson-Newman Eagles turned in a 1-1 week, moving to 6-12 overall and 3-4 in SAC play...C-N tied a school record in three-pointers, sinking 20, in a 98-91 South Atlantic Conference victory over Brevard College Wednesday night at Holt Fieldhouse...The Eagles were 20-of-45 (44.4 percent) from behind the arc to tie the record, which was set in last year's 93-68 win at North Greenville on Feb. 6, 2008. The 45 attempts is also a school record...Sophomore guard Adam Plavich (Dalton, Ga.) scored a career-high 21 points on 7-of-10 shooting from three-point range to lead C-N...Junior Bobby Guyton (Jesup, Ga.) tossed in 17 points, while Jesse McMurray (Weber City, Va.) chipped in 14 and Zach Hyatte (Dayton, Tenn.) added a season-high 12 points... Jordan Dixon (Clinton, Tenn.) finished with 10 points in the win...C-N shot 40.3 percent (31-of-77) from the field and were 16-of-22 (72.7 percent) from the free-throw line...Brevard dominated the boards by outrebounding the Eagles 53-38, including 20 offensive rebounds...C-N made up for the lack of rebounds by forcing 32 turnovers, including 16 steals...The first seven baskets the Eagles made in the second half were from behind the arc as C-N pushed their lead to 67-54 on a trey by McMurray with 9:25 left...C-N extended its lead to as much as 24 points at 87-63 with 4:50 remaining, but Brevard made things interesting by closing out the game on a 28-11 run...A valiant second half comeback by the Carson-Newman men's basketball team came up short Saturday night as the Eagles fell 98-95 to Lenoir-Rhyne at Shuford Memorial Gymnasium...The Eagles erased a 53-47 halftime deficit to lead by as much as eight late in the ballgame at 80-72 with 9:14 remaining, but the Bears outscored C-N 26-15 the rest of the way, including a pair of made free throws by Josh Rudder with 0.8 seconds left to seal the win...The Eagles performed well offensively as they made 55.9 percent (33-of-59) of their shots, including a 12-of-23 effort from 3-point range...The Bears were just as productive as they shot 57.6 percent (34-of-59) from the field, including 6-of-12 from behind the arc...Both teams had trouble taking care of the ball, as C-N committed 23 turnovers on the night and L-R had 24...Hyatte paced the Eagles with 15 points, while Guyton, Jared Stephens (Oak Ridge, Tenn.), Plavich, and Jesse McMurray (Weber City, Va.) each had nine points in the loss...The first half went back and forth as the lead changed hands seven times in the first 12 minutes. A 3-pointer by Plavich with 18:01 left helped C-N build an early 9-4 advantage...The Eagles were able to cut L-R's lead down to one at 42-41 on a Kevin Hare jumper with 3:38 left on the clock, but the Bears closed out the half by outscoring C-N 11-6 to take a 53-47 lead into the locker room...C-N came out on fire in the second half as it opened the final 20 minutes on an 8-1 run to take a 55-54 lead on a Guyton 3-pointer at the 17:28 mark.The Eagles continued to bury shots from behind the arc as back-to-back threes by Johnson and Stephens extended C-N's lead to 63-56 with 16:36 remaining...C-N held the lead for the next 9 minutes and five seconds before a pair of made free throws by Rudder tied the game at 81-81...The lead then changed sides four times before a Blackmon layup with 3:20 remaining gave L-R the lead for good at 90-89...McMurray's three-point attempt in the final seconds bounced off the rim and with it the Eagles chances at a road win...C-N returns to action Wednesday at 8 p.m. against Catawba in Salisbury, N.C..

CATAWBA - The Catawba men dropped a pair of league road games last week, falling at Lincoln Memorial 85-70 and 78-68 at Newberry ... The 11th-ranked Indians have been without starting center Cliff Burns over the last three games as he nurses an ankle injury ... After shooting below 40 percent only once coming into the week (32.5 percent at UNC Asheville), the Catawba Indians failed to shoot 40 percent in each loss this week ... Catawba canned 38.1 percent at Lincoln Memorial and 34.4 percent at Newberry ... The Indians stormed to an 18-4 lead vs. LMU, but the Railsplitters took the lead at 30-28 with 3:46 to go in the opening half and led the rest of the way ... LMU shot 52 percent, including 58 percent in the second half (Catawba shot 31 percent in the final half) and held a 46-33 edge on the boards ... Dominick Reid scored 22 points, equaling his career-high, in the loss ... Antonio Houston had 13 points and Donald Rutherford 12 ... The men had another good start at Newberry, leading 15-6 in the early going and trailed just 33-27 at the break despite shooting a mere 30 percent ... Catawba went on a 19-4 run early in the second half and grabbed a 46-39 lead, but Newberry rallied and put the game away with a late 8-0 run for a 69-61 edge at the 1:47 mark ... Houston led the Catawba Indians with 21 points, scoring 13 in the first half ... Rob Fields had 12 points and Reid added 10 points on 4-of-17 shooting ... Houston leads Catawba in scoring at 19.1 a contest and adds 5.2 rebounds ... He is second on the squad in steals and blocks ... Catawba will host Carson-Newman on Wednesday for its only action of the week..

LENOIR-RHYNE - The Lenoir-Rhyne University men's basketball team (9-8, 4-3) snapped a two-game losing streak with a thrilling, 98-95 victory over Carson-Newman College (6-12, 3-4) Saturday at Shuford Memorial Gymnasium … The victory kept the Bears in third place in the league standings … Senior guard Elliott McDowell (Canton, N.C.) led all scorers with 26 points as Lenoir-Rhyne improved to 31-2 in its last 33 SAC contests at home and scored the most points in a game this year … Trailing 53-47 at break, Carson-Newman opened the second half with a 21-7 run to take a 68-60 advantage with 14:47 left on a trey by Kevin Hare … The Eagles would lead by eight points on two more occasions (73-65 and 80-72) before Lenoir-Rhyne put together an 11-1 run culminated by a McDowell lay-up to give the Bears an 83-81 lead at the 7:04 mark … The contest, which featured 15 lead changes and seven ties, would go back and forth the rest of the way before L-R took the lead with 3:20 remaining on a jump shot by sophomore forward D.J. Blackmon (Albemarle, N.C.) for a 90-89 advantage … Trailing 96-95, Carson-Newman had a chance to the win the game but a three-point attempt rimmed out with 0.8 seconds left and a pair of free throws by senior guard Josh Rudder (Graham, N.C.) closed out the scoring … Rudder finished with 16 points and seven assists while Blackmon and freshman forward Jeff Thomas (Efland, N.C.) added 15 points each as L-R improved to 7-1 in its last eight games against Carson-Newman … Zach Hyatte finished with 15 points to lead the Eagles, who lost despite hitting 12 treys … On Lenoir-Rhyne's all-time lists, Rudder is 20th in points (1,277), fourth in assists (410) and second in steals (186) … L-R, which is 5-1 at home this year, remains at Shuford Memorial Gymnasium this week when it takes on Wingate (Wednesday at 8 p.m.) and Tusculum (Saturday at 8 p.m.) in a pair of league games … Lenoir-Rhyne leads the all-time series with both Wingate (41-25) and Tusculum (14-8) … The Bears defeated the Pioneers earlier this year (Saturday, January 3) by a 77-60 score in Greeneville, Tenn. … L-R has won seven straight games against Tusculum.

LINCOLN MEMORIAL - The Lincoln Memorial University men's basketball team continued to roll Wednesday night when it knocked off eleventh ranked Catawba College 85-70 in South Atlantic Conference play. LMU's victory also handed the Catawba Indians their first conference loss of the season and put the Railsplitters a half-game off the top spot in league … Despite coming out to a slow start and falling behind by 14 in the early minutes of the first half, LMU got on track offensively around the 12:22 mark when D'Mario Curry hit a jumper on the inside to start the Railsplitter run. LMU then reeled off the next nine points and the game was in the Railsplitters' favor for the reminder of the night … With 4:45 to play in the half, LMU tied the game at 28 all, before gaining the lead for good at the 3:46 mark of the first half. Late in the second half, the Railsplitters extended their lead to 16 points before coming away with the final 85-70 victory … LMU senior Wadner Joseph led all scorers with 23 points, while teammate D'Mario Curry finished with a double-double of 22 points and 17 rebounds. Curry also added five blocked shots including a controversial block that eventually got Catawba Head Coach Jim Baker ejected late in the game on back-to-back technical fouls … Also finishing the night with a double-double for the Railsplitters was freshman guard Brandon Armstrong. Armstrong scored 15 points and grabbed 10 boards while handing out a team-high four assists … Mars Hill withstood Lincoln Memorial's dramatic comeback attempt and posted a 88-83 double overtime victory Saturday night inside Stanford Arena. The Lions improve to 11-6 overall, 2-5 in the SAC. The Railsplitters drop to 10-8 overall, 5-3 in the SAC. Mars Hill raced out to a 15-0 lead in the first 4:45 of the game, a stretch that included two Danny Sanders (Shelby, N.C.) three-pointers … Lincoln Memorial didn't score its first points of the game until the 13:16 mark off a layup by Desmond Johnson (Lynch, Ky.). The Railsplitters had eight turnovers in the first nine minutes of the game, and the Lions grabbed a 21-5 advantage off a layup by Jarred Pickering (Queensland, Australia) at the 12:12 mark. Lincoln Memorial responded and two free throws by Johnson cut the deficit to single digits, 26-17, with 7:19 left in the first half ... The Lions went scoreless for 3:38 during the stretch. A monstrous dunk by D'Mario Curry (Detroit, Mich.) cut the Lions' lead to eight points, 28-20, at the 5:38 mark … Mars Hill followed suit with its own run, and a tip-in by Akeene Coakley (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.) pushed the score back to double-digits, 34-20, with 4:05 remaining in the half. A Sanders to P.J. Gore (North Myrtle Beach, S.C.) ally-oup two-handed slam with 52 seconds left in the half gave the Lions a 41-25 advantage which they carried into halftime … The Lions converted 16 Railsplitter first half turnovers into 23 points, while Lincoln Memorial had only three points off six Mars Hill turnovers … The Railsplitters opened the second half strong on a 17-4 run and cut the deficit to 45-42 off a three-pointer by Brandon Armstrong (Decatur, Ga.). Lincoln Memorial tied the game 47-all off a jumper by Stuart Miller (Harrogate, Tenn.) at the 11:04 mark. The rest of regulation was a defensive stalemate … With Mars Hill leading 53-51, Sanders nailed a three-point shot from the top of the key at the 5:47 mark to give the Lions a five-point lead. A Curry one-handed slam cut the game to 56-53 with 4:07 left in regulation, but Gore got into the act with a steal and flush that gave the Lions the lead, 60-57, with 2:41 remaining in the second half … Trailing 64-61, Miller was fouled by Gore on a three-point shot. Miller then nailed all three foul shots to tie the game with 25.1 seconds remaining in regulation. Gore missed a shot from the corner and the game went into overtime tied 64-all … Pickering broke the tie in overtime, going 2-4 from the charity stripe, and gave the Lions a 66-64 lead. Miller responded with a three-pointer that gave Lincoln Memorial a 67-66 lead with 2:06 left in the first overtime … With 57.5 seconds remaining in the extra period, Curry fouled out of the game, and Coakley tied the game with a free throw. Carlos Sanford (Durham, N.C.) hit a running bank shot with 46 seconds remaining, but Mars Hill tied the game off a Pickering free throw on the next possession. The Railsplitters then proceeded to take a three-point lead off a Sanford free throw, but Sanders dribbled down the court and sent the game into another overtime with a high arcing three-pointer with two seconds left on the clock … Sanford opened the scoring in the second overtime with two free throws that gave the Railsplitters a 73-71 lead with 4:04 left. Sanders then drilled a three to give Mars Hill a 74-73 advantage with 3:30 left, and the Lions took over from there. A Sanders' steal and Gore two-handed flush, followed by a Coakley tip-in, gave the Lions a 80-75 lead with 2:13 remaining in the second overtime. Sanford hit a bank shot to cut the score to 83-79 with 46 seconds remaining in the second overtime, but Lincoln Memorial would get no closer … Mars Hill finished off the game by going 5-6 from the foul line. Sanders posted a double-double with a game-high 27 points and 10 rebounds. Gore had 21 points. Coakley had a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds … Johnson pumped in a double-double with 26 points and 10 rebounds for Lincoln Memorial. Curry had 16 points and 14 rebounds. Sanford chipped in 16 points … The Railsplitters outscored the Lions 40-22 in the paint but allowed 40 points off 33 turnovers. Lincoln Memorial's bench outscored Mars Hill's bench 67-19.

MARS HILL - Mars Hill went 1-1 on the week to take their season record to 11-5 overall and 2-5 in the South Atlantic Conference … In the first game of the week, Wingate forward Tommy Coles (Danville, Va.) converted a fast-break dunk on an assist from classmate DeMario Mattox (Rocky Mount, Va.) with 0.3 seconds to play, giving the Bulldogs a 62-60 South Atlantic Conference men's basketball victory over Mars Hill College Wednesday night in Cuddy Arena … The top scorer for the MHC Lions was senior swingman Jamarl Glen (District Heights, Md.), who netted 19 points … The Bulldogs led 28-16 on a three-point field goal by Mattox with 3:43 to play in the first half. Wingate led 34-24 at intermission, thanks to 14 first-half points by Mattox. The Bulldogs hit five-of-11 three-point field goals in the first half, with Mattox and Coles connecting on two triples each … Mars Hill started the second half on a 24-7 run, taking a 48-41 lead on an inside hoop from Glen with 11:45 remaining in the contest. Wingate responded, completing the game on a 17-8 flurry … The Bulldogs took a 56-54 edge when redshirt sophomore forward Ben Davis (Chapel Hill, N.C.) hit an inside hoop. Mattox and Coles contributed a jumper and a dunk, respectively, to give the hosts a 60-56 advantage with 28 seconds to play … Mars Hill did not quit, as senior guard Stoney Polite (Morganton, N.C.) drove the length of the court to cut the deficit to 60-58 with 21 ticks left on the clock … Wingate committed a turnover, giving the Lions a chance to tie. Glen tallied a lay-up with four seconds to go to tie the contest at 60-60 … The Bulldogs called a time-out, setting the stage for heroics by Mattox and Coles. Mattox dribbled the length of the court, hitting Coles in stride for the game-winning flush … The Bulldogs outrebounded the Lions 41-36, thanks to 11 boards from Coles and seven caroms from senior center Kenny Villines (Fayetteville, N.C.) … Senior forward P.J. Gore (North Myrtle Beach, S.C.) and senior center Andy Miller (Franklin, N.C.) had seven rebounds each for the visitors. Mars Hill converted 26 Wingate turnovers into 27 points … The Lions scored 42 points in the paint, compared to 28 inside points for the Bulldogs. Mattox filled up the statistics sheet, as he posted 20 points, seven assists, six rebounds and five steals … In the second contest of the week, Mars Hill withstood Lincoln Memorial's dramatic comeback attempt and posted a 88-83 double overtime victory Saturday night inside Stanford Arena … Mars Hill raced out to a 15-0 lead in the first 4:45 of the game, a stretch that included two Danny Sanders (Shelby, N.C.) three-pointers. Lincoln Memorial didn't score its first points of the game until the 13:16 mark off a layup by Desmond Johnson (Lynch, Ky.) … The Railsplitters had eight turnovers in the first nine minutes of the game, and the Lions grabbed a 21-5 advantage off a layup by Jarred Pickering (Queensland, Australia) at the 12:12 mark. Lincoln Memorial responded and two free throws by Johnson cut the deficit to single digits, 26-17, with 7:19 left in the first half. The Lions went scoreless for 3:38 during the stretch … A monstrous dunk by D'Mario Curry (Detroit, Mich.) cut the Lions' lead to eight points, 28-20, at the 5:38 mark. Mars Hill followed suit with its own run, and a tip-in by Akeene Coakley (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.) pushed the score back to double-digits, 34-20, with 4:05 remaining in the half … A Sanders to P.J. Gore (North Myrtle Beach, S.C.) ally-oup two-handed slam with 52 seconds left in the half gave the Lions a 41-25 advantage which they carried into halftime … The Lions converted 16 Railsplitter first half turnovers into 23 points, while Lincoln Memorial had only three points off six Mars Hill turnovers. The Railsplitters opened the second half strong on a 17-4 run and cut the deficit to 45-42 off a three-pointer by Brandon Armstrong (Decatur, Ga.). Lincoln Memorial tied the game 47-all off a jumper by Stuart Miller (Harrogate, Tenn.) at the 11:04 mark … The rest of regulation was a defensive stalemate. With Mars Hill leading 53-51, Sanders nailed a three-point shot from the top of the key at the 5:47 mark to give the Lions a five-point lead … A Curry one-handed slam cut the game to 56-53 with 4:07 left in regulation, but Gore got into the act with a steal and flush that gave the Lions the lead, 60-57, with 2:41 remaining in the second half … Trailing 64-61, Miller was fouled by Gore on a three-point shot. Miller then nailed all three foul shots to tie the game with 25.1 seconds remaining in regulation. Gore missed a shot from the corner and the game went into overtime tied 64-all … Pickering broke the tie in overtime, going 2-4 from the charity stripe, and gave the Lions a 66-64 lead. Miller responded with a three-pointer that gave Lincoln Memorial a 67-66 lead with 2:06 left in the first overtime … With 57.5 seconds remaining in the extra period, Curry fouled out of the game, and Coakley tied the game with a free throw. Carlos Sanford (Durham, N.C.) hit a running bank shot with 46 seconds remaining, but Mars Hill tied the game off a Pickering free throw on the next possession … The Railsplitters then proceeded to take a three-point lead off a Sanford free throw, but Sanders dribbled down the court and sent the game into another overtime with a high arcing three-pointer with two seconds left on the clock … Sanford opened the scoring in the second overtime with two free throws that gave the Railsplitters a 73-71 lead with 4:04 left. Sanders then drilled a three to give Mars Hill a 74-73 advantage with 3:30 left, and the Lions took over from there. A Sanders' steal and Gore two-handed flush, followed by a Coakley tip-in, gave the Lions a 80-75 lead with 2:13 remaining in the second overtime. Sanford hit a bank shot to cut the score to 83-79 with 46 seconds remaining in the second overtime, but Lincoln Memorial would get no closer … Mars Hill finished off the game by going 5-6 from the foul line … Sanders posted a double-double with a game-high 27 points and 10 rebounds. Gore had 21 points. Coakley had a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Johnson pumped in a double-double with 26 points and 10 rebounds for Lincoln Memorial … Curry had 16 points and 14 rebounds. Sanford chipped in 16 points. The Railsplitters outscored the Lions 40-22 in the paint but allowed 40 points off 33 turnovers … Lincoln Memorial's bench outscored Mars Hill's bench 67-19 … Mars Hill will host Tusculum on January 28 inside Stanford Arena and then host Brevard College on Saturday … 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 14-4 overall and 4-3 in South Atlantic Conference play with a loss to Tusculum and an upset of 11th-ranked Catawba last week… On Wednesday, the scarlet and gray lost at Tusculum, 71-59… Brett Goodwell, Jesse Wheeler and Will Dawkins each scored 10 points to lead Newberry… Newberry fell behind early in the first half, allowing a 15-point TC run after scoring the game's opening bucket… Newberry narrowed the margin to nine points in just over the next minute, but Tusculum outscored NC 17-7 down the stretch to take a 35-16 lead into the locker room… The scarlet and gray 6-of-22 (27.3 percent) from the floor in the opening stanza and turned the ball over 10 times… The scarlet and gray would not go quietly, though, making the Pioneers battle for every point on the defensive end of the floor in the second half… The two teams went back and forth in the first part of the second half, but TC pushed its lead to 24 points on a Moore jumper with 9:19 to play… But in the next four minutes, the scarlet and gray added some suspense to the action, going on a 16-4 surge that cut the lead to 12 points on a layup by Vytautas Valiulis that made it a 61-49 game with 5:21 to play… Newberry continued to pressure the Pioneers defensively and made stops, but long possessions made it tough for Newberry to get the ball back and score the points to get a win… A Valiulis free throw with 2:25 to play cut the lead to nine points at 63-54, and Matt Alexander brought it to within eight in the final two minutes, but a Wheeler offensive cut the run short and give the Pioneers the 71-59 lead… After the Pioneers shot 72.7 percent from the land of three in the first half, Newberry held TC to 2-of-6 three point shooting in the second half… However, Newberry was able to connect on only 4-of-18 three-pointers (22.2 percent) in the game... Tusculum's precise free throw shooting helped push the Pioneers to victory, as they were 21-of-26 from the charity stripe... Newberry was nearly as exact at the stripe, shooting 19-of-24 on foul shots… On Saturday, Newberry turned the momentum around with a 78-68 upset of No. 11 Catawba… The win was the first recorded over a nationally ranked team since Newberry joined Division II in the early 1990's… Newberry was led by senior forward Clemente Martin, who scored 26 points on 9-of-12 shooting for the field and 8-of-9 shooting from the charity stripe... Goodwell recorded his fifth double-double of the season with 15 points and 12 rebounds, while sophomore guard Grant Domsic scored 17 points off the bench… Alexander (Atlanta, Ga.) rounded out Newberry's double digit scorers with 10 points… Goodwell opened the scoring with a great post move followed by a thunderous dunk, but Catawba took off on a 15-4 run capped by a dunk from Donald Rutherford that gave Catawba a 15-6 lead with 14 minutes left in the first half... Newberry answered with a 12-2 run over the next three minutes, taking a 21-17 lead at the 10:08 mark on a layup from Valiulis... Catawba regained the lead at 22-21 on a bucket from Matthew Sossamon and a three from Houston before Newberry exploded on another run, scoring the next 10 points, holding the guests scoreless for nearly five minutes... Catawba narrowed the margin down to four points with just over a minute in the half, but an Alexander tip-in gave Newberry a 33-27 lead going into the locker room... Both teams scored 11 points off of turnovers in the half, with Newberry outscoring Catawba in the paint by a 20-10 margin... Newberry scored the first points of the second half on a Goodwell tip-in, but a 19-4 Catawba run over the next six and a half minutes put Catawba up by seven points with 13:23 to play when a Fields free throw put the guests up, 46-39... Newberry roared back to tie the game at 53-all with 9:03 to play before both of Newberry's point guards - Valiulis and Dawkins - fouled out with five minutes left... A Rutherford tip-in tied the game at 61-all with 4:41 to play, but that would be Catawba's final field goal until less than a minute was left in the game... NC scored the next eight points in a row between Martin and Kendrick Johnson and held a 69-61 lead with 1:47 left. Catawba cut that lead to five with 38 seconds left, but a Donzell Williams foul and a technical foul on the Catawba bench halted any momentum the guests had as Newberry canned three of four free throws to make it a three-possession game in the final 30 seconds... Alexander nailed a pair of free throws in the final 10 seconds to give Newberry the 78-68 victory... Newberry shot 28-of-59 (47.5 percent) from the floor in the contest and limited Catawba to 22-of-64 (34.4 percent) in the game... Newberry was also excellent at the charity stripe, hitting 18-of-21 free throws, including 17-of-20 in the second half... The scarlet and gray return to action on Wednesday with the first of two South Atlantic Conference road games... Newberry will visit Brevard College for an 8 p.m. tipoff at Boshamer Gymnasium in Brevard, N.C... The scarlet and gray visit Carson-Newman at 8 p.m. Saturday to start the second go-round of South Atlantic Conference play.

TUSCULUM - The Tusculum Pioneers (12-6, 4-3 SAC) is riding a four-game winning streak, including a pair of league victories last week over Newberry and Wingate… The Pioneers have climbed back into the chase for the SAC title and are tied for third in the league standings… Junior Kyle Moore scored 24 points and the Pioneers held off a furious second half rally to defeat visiting Newberry 71-59… Moore scored 16 points in the first half making his first four 3-point shots… He finished shooting 4-for-6 from beyond the arc and 8-of-9 from the free throw line… Ryan Troutman posted a double-double with 11 points and 11 assists, while younger brother Rob Troutman added a dozen points and seven rebounds… Tusculum jumped out to a 35-16 lead at halftime and increased its advantage to as many as 24 (57-33) with 9:19 remaining in the contest… After Newberry scored the first bucket of the game on a put-back slam dunk, TC rattled off 13 unanswered points, including 10 markers by Moore during the run… Following halftime, Tusculum maintained its double-digit advantage for the opening 10 minutes of the second period as the Pioneers led 55-31 with 9:58 left in the contest… Newberry battled down the stretch with a 21-6 run over the next seven minutes to cut the TC lead into single digits at 63-54 with 2:25 remaining… Tusculum made its last six free throws in the final moments and Ryan Troutman made an acrobatic lay-up to seal the victory… Tusculum shot 46.5 percent from the floor, including 10-for-17 from three-point territory (58.8 percent). Newberry finished shooting 35.3 percent from the field, including 6-for-22 in the first half (27.3 percent)… Tusculum out-rebounded Newberry by a 34-30 margin as TC's Josh Bennett posted nine boards to go along with his eight points in the contest.. Both teams shot well from the free throw line on the night. Tusculum, the league's top team at the charity stripe, went 21-for-26 (80.8), while Newberry shot 19-for-24 from the foul line (79.2 percent)… In the Wingate game, Tusculum rallied from an 18-point second half deficit to defeat the Bulldogs 60-55…Tusculum used a 15-3 run in the last four minutes of the game to post its fourth straight win, while ending a five-game losing skid to Wingate… Ryan Troutman matched a career-best with his 21 points, shooting 6-of-10 from the floor and 9-of 10 from the charity stripe… Kyle Moore added 19 points with his 10-of-12 effort from the foul line, including four critical free throws in the final 10 seconds of the game… Wingate led 35-22 at halftime, while limiting Tusculum to just 5-for-21 shooting (23.8percent)… Wingate shot 52 percent in the first half, including 7-for-13 beyond the arc (58.3 percent)… In the second half, Wingate kept up the pressure and held its biggest lead of the afternoon at 42-24 with 16:44 remaining... Tusculum would chip away at the WU lead to single digits thanks to Ryan Troutman's jumper with 11:58 left in the game… He would follow with back-to-back buckets to make it a one possession game at 45-42 with 8:24 left… Wingate would move back out to an eight-point lead (50-42) on a basket at the 4:58 mark… With the Bulldogs ahead 52-45, Tusculum responded with 11 unanswered points in a span of 4:03… Ryan Troutman made one of two free throws to tie the game at 52-52 with 1:57 remaining. After a Wingate turnover, Josh Bennett tipped in his own miss to give Tusculum the lead (54-52) with 1:05 left… The Bulldogs committed a turnover on its next trip up the court and Ryan Troutman was fouled with 22 second left… He made both free throws to give TC a 56-52 lead… Wingate answered with a three-pointer with 16 seconds to bring the Bulldogs back within one at 56-55… After a timeout, Moore was fouled with 10 second left as he made both to move the Pioneers out to a three-point edge (58-55)… Wingate got a shot off to try and tie the game, but the three-point effort was off target and the ball was hauled in by Moore… He made his two free throws with less than a second left to seal the victory… Tusculum, who entered the game as the top free throw shooting team in league, went 30-for-36 at the line (83.3percent), including 20-for-24 in the second half… Wingate shot 47 percent from the floor (21-for-45), including 9-of-18 from beyond the arc. TC shot below 30 percent (13-of-44), but out-rebounded the Bulldogs by a 31-29 margin… Bennett finished with seven points and nine rebounds, despite being saddled with first-half foul trouble… Rob Troutman added eight points and five rebounds in the Pioneer victory… Tusculum has made a three-point field goal in 599 consecutive games… Moore has made a three-pointer in his last 23 straight games… TC has been held under 20 made field goals in seven games this year, but the Pioneers are 6-1 in those outings… Tusculum has held its opponents under 60 points on 10 occasions this year (TC is 9-1 in those games), including its last three contests… In those three games, TC's opponents are averaging just 55.7 ppg… Moore has scored 20 or more points nine times this season… Tusculum will be on the road for a pair of games this week at Mars Hill (Jan. 28) and Lenoir-Rhyne (Jan. 31).

WINGATE - Wingate University senior forward Tommy Coles converted a fast-break dunk on an assist from classmate DeMario Mattox with 0.3 seconds to play, giving the Bulldogs a 62-60 South Atlantic Conference men's basketball victory over Mars Hill College Wednesday night in Cuddy Arena. Mattox led all scorers with 20 points. Coles added a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds ... The Bulldogs led 28-16 on a three-point field goal by Mattox with 3:43 to play in the first half. Wingate led 34-24 at intermission, thanks to 14 first-half points by Mattox. The Bulldogs hit five-of-11 three-point field goals in the first half, with Mattox and Coles connecting on two triples each ... Mars Hill started the second half on a 24-7 run, taking a 48-41 lead on an inside hoop with 11:45 remaining in the contest. Wingate responded, completing the game on a 17-8 flurry. The Bulldogs took a 56-54 edge when redshirt sophomore forward Ben Davis hit an inside hoop ... Mattox and Coles contributed a jumper and a dunk, respectively, to give the hosts a 60-56 advantage with 28 seconds to play. Mars Hill did not quit, as the Lions cut the deficit to 60-58 with 21 ticks left on the clock ... Wingate committed a turnover, giving the Lions a chance to tie. Mars Hill capitalized, tying the game with four seconds to go at 60-60. The Bulldogs called a time-out, setting the stage for heroics by Mattox and Coles. Mattox dribbled the length of the court, hitting Coles in stride for the game-winning flush ... The Bulldogs outrebounded the Lions 41-36, thanks to 11 boards from Coles and seven caroms from senior center Kenny Villines. Mars Hill converted 26 Wingate turnovers into 27 points. The Lions scored 42 points in the paint, compared to 28 inside points for the Bulldogs. Mattox filled up the statistics sheet, as he posted 20 points, seven assists, six rebounds and five steals ... On Saturday afternoon, Tusculum College rallied from an 18-point second half deficit to defeat visiting Wingate 60-55 at Pioneer Arena. Tusculum used a 15-3 run in the last four minutes of the game to post its fourth straight win, while ending a five-game losing skid to the Bulldogs ... Wingate freshman guard Jamie Vaughn led the Bulldogs with a career-best 20 points off the bench, all coming in the first half. Vaughn hit seven-of-11 field goals, including six-of-eight from downtown ... The Bulldogs led 35-22 at halftime, sparked by Vaughn as he made his first six shots, with five of those coming from three-point territory. Vaughn made six 3-pointers in the opening period as the Bulldogs limited Tusculum to only five-for-21 shooting (23.8 percent). Wingate shot 52 percent in the first half, including seven-for-13 beyond the arc (58.3 percent) ... In the second half, Wingate kept up the pressure and held its biggest lead of the afternoon at 42-24 with 16:44 remaining thanks to a three-pointer by freshman guard Chase Smith ... Tusculum would chip away at the WU lead to single digits, thanks to a hoop with 11:58 left in the game. Back-to-back Pioneer buckets made it a one possession game at 45-42 with 8:24 left ... Wingate would move back out to an eight-point lead (50-42) on a jumper Davis at the 4:58 mark. With the Bulldogs up 52-45, Tusculum responded with 11 unanswered points in a span of 4:03. The Pioneers tied the game at 52-52 with 1:57 remaining. After a Wingate turnover, the Pioneers converted a put-back to give Tusculum the lead (54-52) with 1:05 left ... Tusculum hit two free throws to give the hosts a 56-52 lead with 22 seconds to play. Wingate answered with a three-pointer by redshirt junior forward David Johnson with 16 seconds to bring the Bulldogs back within one at 56-55. After a timeout, the Pioneers hit two more free throws to make it 58-55 with 10 seconds remaining ... The Bulldogs had a chance to tie in the waning moments, but could not convert. The top free throw shooting team in league, Tusculum went 30-for-36 at the line (83.3 percent), including 20-for-24 in the second half. Wingate shot 47 percent from the floor (21-for-45), including nine-of-18 from beyond the arc. TC shot below 30 percent (13-of-44), but out-rebounded the Bulldogs by a 31-29 margin ... Wingate senior guard Rosco Turner finished with seven points and a game-high six assists, while Johnson tallied seven points and three blocked shots. The Bulldogs also got six points from Mattox and four points, six boards and three blocks from Villines ... Mattox averaged 13 points per game, four rebounds per game and four assists per game in two contests last week. The senior point guard hit 69.2 percent form the floor (nine-of-13). Vaughn led the Bulldogs, hitting 14 points per game in Wingate's two games last week. He made 52.6 percent of his field goals (10-of-19) and 63.6 percent of his three-pointers (seven-of-11).