Men’s Basketball Notes, March 1, 2010
Men's basketball notes and game recaps for week ending February 28, 2010
BREVARD - The Tornados went 1-1 on the season, defeating Newberry on Wednesday at home 98-84, while falling to Catawba on Saturday, 103-92 ... With the split, the Tornados move to 18-9 on the season, and 10-6 in South Atlantic Conference play, clinching the third seed in the 2010 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Tournament ... Jonathan Whitson went nine of 15 from the floor and 14 of 17 from the free throw line to score 32 points as well as pulling down 12 rebounds to complete his seventh double-double of the season as Brevard shot 55.1 percent (27-49) from the floor in the game ... Josh Roper added 19 points, seven assists and six rebounds, while Sam Carlisle chipped in with 18 points and seven rebounds, going six of eight from the floor ... Nathan Whitmire added 15 points, going a perfect three-for-three from behind the arc to round out the Tornados scoring efforts ... The Tornados went up by 27 points at the 11:43 mark and withstood a late comeback in taking the win ... Brevard hosted Catawba on Saturday in the de facto regular season Conference Championship ... Brevard was led by Whitmire as the senior went seven of nine from the floor to lead four Tornados in double figures on the afternoon with 22 points, connecting on a pair of three-pointers while going a perfect six of six from the free throw line ... Carlisle added 18 points and five assists for the Tornados in 29 minutes of play, while Roper had 18 points and a team high six rebounds in the contest as the Tornados shot 53.1 percent from the floor and 80.8 percent from the free throw line in the contest ... Brevard continues its second season in the South Atlantic Conference on Wednesday as the Tornados host Wingate in the quarterfinals of the 2010 Food Lion SAC Tournament.
CARSON-NEWMAN - The Carson-Newman Eagles dropped two close games on the week to fall to 10-16 overall and 5-11 in South Atlantic Conference play … C-N will travel to Tusculum College on Wednesday night for an 8 p.m. tipoff with the No. 2 seed Pioneers … The Eagles are the No. 7 seed … The Eagles and Pioneers split their regular season meetings with the road team winning each game … Wednesday's winner advances to Hickory, N.C. and to the 2010 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Semifinals … The Carson-Newman men's basketball team was unable to overcome a second-half rally by Catawba, as the Eagles dropped a 71-65 decision to the Indians on Wednesday night in South Atlantic Conference action at Goodman Gymnasium … C-N used a 21-6 run in the first half to take the lead, and a Jordan Dixon (Clinton, Tenn.) layup gave the Eagles a 35-29 advantage heading into the locker room … But Catawba chipped away at C-N's lead in the second half and eventually took the lead for good after senior guard Antonio Houston (Charlotte, N.C.) knocked down a pair of free throws with 12:35 remaining to give Catawba a 43-42 advantage … C-N pulled to within one point on three different occasions down the stretch, but the Indians pushed their lead to as many as nine points during the final minutes to seal the win … The Eagles struggled on the offensive end during Catawba's second-half rally as they shot just 26.5 percent (9-of-34) from the floor for the half, while the Indians scored at a 44.8 percent (13-of-29) clip … Senior forward Darron Maxtion (Huntsville, Ala.) tossed in 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead four Eagles in double figures … Dixon and senior forward Tray Okoth (Richmond, Va.) added 15 and 12 points, respectively. Sophomore guard Cameron Sharp (Knoxville, Tenn.) netted 10 points, grabbed six rebounds and dished out five assists in the loss … A furious second-half rally by the Carson-Newman men's basketball team came up short at Wingate on Saturday afternoon, as the Eagles fell to the Bulldogs, 66-65, in South Atlantic Conference action at Cuddy Arena … The Eagles trailed by 13 points midway through the second half before mounting a comeback to pull to within one on a Tray Okoth (Richmond, Va.) jumper with 1:39 remaining. However, C-N was unable tie or take the lead … Junior guard Erwin Staten (Huntsville, Ala.) netted 12 points to lead four Eagles in double figures. Sophomore Quinche Dowdell (Oak Ridge, Tenn.) tossed in 11 points, while Okoth and senior Jordan Dixon (Clinton, Tenn.) added 10 points apiece in the loss … C-N regained the lead early in the second half, as senior forward Darron Maxtion (Huntsville, Ala.) sank a jumper at the 17:03 mark to give the Eagles a 36-35 advantage … But a pair of Staley baskets sparked a 20-6 Wingate run that was capped off by a Jesse Jackson (Fayetteville, N.C.) jumper with 11:06 left that gave the Bulldogs a 55-42 cushion … C-N then went on a 19-7 run to trim Wingate's lead to 62-61, but the Bulldogs held off the Eagles in the closing seconds.
CATAWBA - The Catawba men claimed the South Atlantic Conference championship in a showdown at Brevard on Saturday for its second win of the week ... The Indians set up the winner-take-all final game with a 71-65 victory over Carson-Newman on Wednesday then unleashed a three-point barrage against Brevard in a 103-92 win ... The Indians trailed by six early in the second half against C-N, but took the lead just over five minutes in the final half and pulled away down the stretch ... Antonio Houston had a big in his regular season home finale with 25 points and eight rebounds ... Rob Fields followed with 13 and Stephen Coles added 10 ... Catawba committed just 10 turnovers in the win and blocked a school-record 13 shots ... Donald Rutherford had over half of the blocks as he tied a school mark with seven swats ... After going just 3-of-18 from long range vs. C-N, Catawba was sizzling at Brevard ... The Indians closed the half by making 11 of 12 from behind the arc to grab a 58-44 lead ... Fields was one of the hot hands as he made all five shots in the opening 20 minutes, including four from long range in posting 19 of his career-best 32 points ... The senior snapped a 12-all tied with consecutive three-pointers then added three free throws in a 9-0 run that put Catawba up for good ... Catawba led by double-digits the entire second half ... The Indians canned 15-of-22 (68 percent) from three-point range at Brevard ... Fields finished 5-of-7, while Houston was 4-of-5 and Dominick Reid 4-of-7 ... Houston followed with 21 points and Reid 18 ... The win marked Catawba's first season title since 2006-07 after winning the SAC Tournament the previous two seasons ... Houston went over 2,100 points in the victory and needs 30 points to become Catawba's second all-time leading scorer ... He is averaging 16.8 points per game ... Fields upped his scoring average to 15.7 a contest, while Rutherford is right behind at 15 an outing ... Catawba is the top seed for the upcoming league tournament and will open play at home against Newberry on Wednesday ... The teams split regular season meetings, with each winning on the others home floor ... Newberry picked up its win in double overtime.
LENOIR-RHYNE - The Lenoir-Rhyne University men's basketball team (7-19, 5-11) split its final two games of the regular season last week, defeating Wingate (74-73) at home on Wednesday before falling to Mars Hill by an 80-62 score on Saturday in Mars Hill, N.C. … Senior forward D.J. Blackmon (Albemarle, N.C.) led all scorers with 29 points and hit the game-winning jump shot as time expired to lift the Bears to the win … Sophomore guard Jon Hathcock (Concord, N.C.) added a career-high 22 points and six three-pointers in the win … Mars Hill's Danny Sanders led all scorers with 22 points as the Lions prevailed over the Bears on Senior Day … The Lions led at the break, 41-34, and scored eight straight points to start the second half to take complete control of the game … Mars Hill, which led by as many as 20 points, completed the season sweep of Lenoir-Rhyne … Blackmon led the Bears with 21 points while freshman guard Kameko Walls (Winston-Salem, N.C.) also scored in double figures as she finished with 11 points … L-R suffered its first losing season since the 2001-02 campaign … Blackmon finished the year as Lenoir-Rhyne's leading scorer (20.5 ppg), rebounding (6.8 rpg) and assists (2.7 apg) and scored in double figures in every game this year and 27 dating back to last year … Blackmon also ended the year with 1,095 total points.
LINCOLN MEMORIAL - The last five seconds proved costly for the LMU Railsplitters as Newberry College took the lead with four seconds to go and held on for the 63-60 South Atlantic Conference upset Saturday evening … After Newberry held a brief lead early in the first half, the Railsplitters took control of the game on a three pointer by Cameron Carden with 12:29 to go in the half … The Railsplitters pulled out to the six point 32-26 lead going into the intermission … LMU built the lead to as much as thirteen in the second half and led 60-50 with 6:22 to go in the game … Then the host team got as hot as the Railsplitters got cold as Newberry went on a 13-3 run to close out the game … With LMU leading by one, Newberry's Devante Cutler gave Newberry the lead on a lay-up with 4 seconds left … Following the timeout, LMU turned the ball over and was forced to foul … Danny Huffor then hit both free throws to seal the upset … LMU (19-8, 9-7 SAC) was led by D'Mario Curry and Brandon Armstrong with 17 points each. Curry also had a game-high 17 rebounds for his 15th double-double of the season. Wally Jones added in 11 points … LMU will host Mars Hill for the quarterfinal round match-up on Wednesday at 7 p.m. with a trip to Hickory and the SAC Tournament Championship on the line.
MARS HILL - Mars Hill went 2-0 last week. The Lions are now 10-11 overall and 5-6 in the SAC … MHC will travel to Lincoln Memorial University Wednesday night in the first round of the SAC Tournament as the No. 5 seed … In the first game of the week, Danny Sanders (Shelby, N.C.) tip-in of a missed jumper as time expired lifted Mars Hill to a 63-61 victory over Tusculum in front of 500-plus raucous fans inside Stanford Arena … With the loss, Tusculum failed to clinch at least a share of the conference regular season championship … Mars Hill did not get its first lead of the game until the 5:34 mark in the first half … A Sanders' shot from distance gave the Lions the upper hand 24-23. Another three-pointer from Sanders with three seconds left in the opening period gave Mars Hill a 32-39 advantage at halftime … Back-to-back three-pointers from Kyle Moore and Jimmy Boone to start the second half gave Tusculum a 35-32 lead with 17:46 left in the game … The Pioneers pushed the margin to as much as seven points at the midpoint of the second half. A layup by Tommy Klempin (Reynoldsburg, Ohio) made the score 47-40 … The difference was no more than three points for the last 4:18 of the game … Moore drained a trey in the corner to give Tusculum a 57-54 advantage with 2:04 remaining, but Sanders grabbed a key steal from Boone with 50 seconds left in the game and found Julian Mack (Morganton, N.C.) streaking to the basket for a layup to cut the deficit to one point … After two Moore free throws gave the Pioneers a 59-56 lead with 42 seconds left, Justin Steigerwald (Cincinnati, Ohio) fouled Sanders on a three-point attempt and was charged with a technical foul for his reaction to the call … Sanders converted five straight free throw attempts to give the Lions a 61-59 advantage with 32 seconds left in the second half … A Josh Bennet (Snow Hill, Md.) layup on the next possession tied the game and set the stage for Sanders' heroics … With two seconds remaining in the game, Stoney Polite (Morganton, N.C.) missed a 10-foot jumper, but Sanders raced in and leaped over two Tusculum players to tip the ball into the basket and give Mars Hill the victory … Sanders scored a game-high 26 points and had four steals. Dion Malachi (Shelby, N.C.) pumped in 11 points and seven rebounds. Polite and Dallas Johnson (Auburndale, Fla.) each had nine points … Tusculum hit 11-28 from distance compared to only 4-19 for Mars Hill, but the Lions outscored the Pioneers off turnovers 18-1 and in the paint 26-16 … In the second game of the week, Danny Sanders scored a game-high 22 points as four Mars Hill seniors won in their final regular season home game 80-62 over Lenoir-Rhyne … Before the game, Sanders, who hails from Shelby, N.C., Stoney Polite (Morganton, N.C.), Jarred Pickering (Queensland, Australia) and Antonio Lyerly (Newton, N.C.) were honored for their hard work and dedication to the Mars Hill basketball program … Sanders drained two three-pointers in the early going as Mars Hill raced out to an 8-0 lead. Lenoir-Rhyne fought back and grabbed its first advantage of the game at the 9:15 mark … A fastbreak layup by Jon Hathcock (Concord, N.C.) made the score 20-19 in favor of the Bears … The Lions finished the half strong and led 41-34 at halftime after Dion Malachi (Shelby, N.C.) threw down a two-handed slam for the final shot of the period … Mars Hill grabbed its first double-digit lead of the game two minutes into the second half and stretched the margin to 15 at the 17:40 point … An eight-foot jumper by Polite made the score 49-34. The Bears never threatened the rest of the game as the lead swelled to 20 at one point off a layup by Julian Mack (Morganton, N.C.) … Malachi finished with a double-double (18 points and 10 rebounds). Polite and Dallas Johnson (Auburndale, Fla.) each netted 14 points. Pickering scored eight points.
NEWBERRY - The Newberry College men's basketball team split a pair of games last week, defeating Lincoln Memorial at home in the season finale to claim the final spot in the Food Lion SAC Tournament… Newberry finishes the regular season with a 10-17 overall record and 5-11 SAC record and will be the eighth seed in the tournament… Newberry faces off with regular season champion Catawba in Salisbury, N.C., at 7 p.m. Wednesday… Newberry defeated Catawba, 94-88 in double overtime, in the two teams' previous meeting in Salisbury… On Wednesday, Newberry lost to Brevard, 98-84, on the road… Newberry had five players in double figures, led by 18 points from Ryan Barnes… Ray Robinson scored 14 points and grabbed seven rebounds, while Aaron Edwards scored 13 points… Coleman Young netted 12 points and Stephane Bakinde scored 11 points to round out double digit scorers… For the game, Newberry was 27-of-71 (38 percent) from the field and 12-of-34 (35.3 percent) from three-point range, while connecting on 18-of-23 (78.3 percent) of its free-throw chances... Brevard made the same number of field goals and fewer three-pointers, but a massive advantage at the free-throw line proved to be the ultimate difference in the game… The Tornados were 27-of49 (55.1 percent) from the floor and 4-of-10 (40 percent) from three-point range, and connected on a staggering 40-of-51 (78.4 percent) free throw chances… On Saturday, Newberry defeated Lincoln Memorial at home, 63-60… Newberry held LMU scoreless for the final 6:10 of the game and scored the final 13 points of the Senior Day game… Newberry was led offensively by 15 points and eight rebounds off of the bench from Danny Huffor, while Robinson netted 11 points... Bakinde scored eight points, grabbed seven rebounds and blocked five shots in his final home game, while Carlnel Williams scored five points on his Senior Day... For the game, Newberry was 20-of-60 (33.3 percent) from the floor, while LMU was 20-of-48 (41.7 percent)… Newberry held a 40-36 advantage in rebounding, including 16 offensive rebounds.
TUSCULUM - The Tusculum Pioneers (16-11, 10-6 SAC) dropped a heart-breaking 63-61 loss at Mars Hill in TC's only action of the season … The loss halted a four-game winning streak for the Pioneers and thwarted any hopes of capturing the program's second South Atlantic Conference championship ... Leading 59-56 with 42 seconds remaining, Tusculum was charged with a foul on a Mars Hill three-point attempt, followed by a technical foul, putting the Lions' Danny Sanders at the free throw line for five free throws, which he made all of them … Trailing 61-59 with 32 seconds left, Tusculum senior forward Josh Bennett tied the game at 61-61 following his lay-up with 21 seconds remaining … MHC's Stoney Polite missed his 15-foot jumper, but Sanders tipped in the game-winner with 2.2 seconds on the clock … Senior guard Jimmy Boone got off a desperation three-pointer from across mid-court at the buzzer, but it was off target … Tusculum senior guard Kyle Moore led the Pioneers with 23 points, including his six 3-pointers … Moore has made a school and SAC single-season record 112 three-point field goals this year … He continues to lead the conference, averaging 24.9 points per game, which is the second highest scoring average in SAC history … Moore is looking to capture his second SAC scoring title… His scoring average is also tops in the NCAA II Southeast Region and third in the nation (5th for all NCAA divisions) … Tusculum finishes second in the league standings for a second straight season ... Moore has scored 1,792 points in a Tusculum uniform, which are fourth on the school scoring list and most ever by a Pioneer during the NCAA Division II era (1998-present) … Moore is averaging 20.8 points per game in his three seasons at Tusculum, which is the third highest average in conference history … Moore has also made 22 consecutive free throws … TC will be the No. 2 seed in this week's Food Lion SAC Tournament and will host seventh-seeded Carson-Newman on Wednesday night at Pioneer Arena … The Pioneers and Eagles split this year's season series … C-N won at Pioneer Arena, 62-58 (Jan. 16, 2010), but Tusculum avenged that loss with a 77-51 decision in Jefferson City (Feb. 13, 2010) … This marks the third time TC and Carson-Newman have met in the SAC Tournament … The Eagles won the 2002 meeting in the SAC Tournament semifinal, 88-51 in Hickory, N.C. … The other meeting came in the 2005 quarterfinal round as the Pioneers knocked the Eagles 93-76 in Greeneville … Tusculum used the win to propel the Pioneers to the SAC Tournament title … The Pioneers are riding a five-game home winning streak … Tusculum is 4-0 in SAC Tournament games played in Greeneville.
WINGATE - Wingate University seniors Larry Staley and David Johnson celebrated Senior Day by leading the Bulldogs to a thrilling 66-65 South Atlantic Conference men's basketball victory over Carson-Newman College Saturday evening in Cuddy Arena … Staley led all scorers with 16 points, while Johnson added 13 points and a game-high three three-point field goals. Wingate improves to 14-13 overall and 7-9 in the SAC with the victory. The Bulldogs will enter the Food Lion SAC tournament as the number six seed. Wingate will visit Brevard for a 7 p.m. first-round contest Wednesday night … Wingate's last three SAC games were decided by four total points. In addition, the Bulldogs lost their last two contests on buzzer-beating shots. Carson-Newman nearly made it three buzzer-beaters in a row, as Cameron Sharp hit the front rim with a half-court at the final horn … Basically, Staley and Johnson decided the Bulldogs would not endure another buzzer beater. "I thought Larry and David helped us in so many ways tonight," Wingate head coach Brian Good says. "Larry was our toughest guy in the second half. David hit two huge three-point field goals…in the second half to give us a nine-point lead. Fittingly, they were very instrumental in our success tonight." … Johnson's two second half triples occurred on back-to-back possessions. The second trifecta put Wingate up 50-41 at the 12:27 mark. After the Eagles made one-of-two free throws, Bulldog freshman guard Paidrick Matilus made another three-pointer with 11:50 remaining to give the hosts their first double-digit lead at 53-42 … Carson-Newman missed a triple, then Wingate freshman forward Jesse Jackson hit a jumper in the paint to make the score 55-42 with 11:06 to go in the contest. The 13-point bulge was the Bulldogs' largest lead of the night … The Eagles took flight, making a steady push over the next 10 minutes to get back in the ball game. Carson-Newman cut the deficit to 62-61 at the 1:39 plateau. The visitors made a 19-7 push over the aforementioned 10-minute span. Six C-N players scored points in the run … Wingate freshman forward Quan Alexander made two free throws with 75 seconds remaining to nudge the Bulldogs' lead to 64-61. Sharp was fouled 12 seconds later, but the 73.4 percent free throw shooter missed both tries. The Bulldogs got the rebound from the second charity miss, but immediately turned the ball back to the Eagles … Carson-Newman capitalized, as the Eagles converted a tip-in to make it a one-point game (64-63) with 46 seconds left. Wingate sophomore guard Jaime Vaughn had the answer, as he hit a floater in the lane with only 18 seconds to play. The Vaughn bucket put the Bulldogs up 66-63 … After a Wingate time-out, Sharp was fouled on a move to the hoop five seconds later. He atoned for his previous two misses by calmly sinking both charity tosses to settle the final score … The Eagles fouled Matilus in the front court. He missed the front end of the one-and-one. Carson-Newman got the rebound and Sharp made a bee-line for the other end. Sharp got a great look from 45 feet, but his desperation heave was short. As a result, the Bulldogs complete the season series sweep over the Eagles. Wingate won a 93-81 decision at Carson-Newman Jan. 13, 2010 … Alexander and Matilus added 10 points each to support their senior brethren. Matilus pulled down seven rebounds and converted two-of-five from three-point land. Wingate freshman center Odell Turner had eight points and a game-high 11 rebounds for the hosts … Wingate held a slim 36-32 advantage in points in the paint. Neither team could find its shooting touch, as the Bulldogs shot 40.6 percent from the floor (26-of-64). The Eagles fared only slightly better, as Carson-Newman made 41.8 percent of its field goal attempts (23-of-55) … Johnson hit three-of-five three-point field goals to top the Bulldog charts. Wingate made six-of-15 triples (40 percent), while Carson-Newman converted only four-of-14 shots from downtown (28.6 percent). The Eagles made 15-of-26 free throws (57.7 percent), while the Bulldogs managed only eight-of-16 shooting from the charity stripe (50 percent) … Lenoir-Rhyne University's D.J. Blackmon hit a 16-footer as time expired to give the Bears a 74-73 victory in South Atlantic Conference men's basketball action Wednesday night … Blackmon led all scorers with 29 points, hitting 11-of-17 shots from the field and three-of-five shots from three-point range. Matilus led the Bulldogs with 19 points on seven-of-11 shooting from the field. Alexander added 13 points and a team-high six rebounds, while Turner contributed 11 points and four boards … A lay-up from Staley put Wingate up 65-60 at the 6:50 mark. Blackmon hit a pair of free throws with four minutes remaining to trim the lead to two, but Staley responded with two free throws to make it 69-65. The Bears cut the lead to one on a three-pointer with 3:28 remaining … Blackmon hit two more free throws with 2:46 to go to put LRU on top by one. Wingate answered with a Turner lay-up to regain a one-point advantage. Blackmon knocked down a jumper with 20 seconds remaining to give the Bears a 72-71 lead … Staley was fouled with five seconds remaining. He hit his first shot and missed the second, grabbing the rebound and drawing a foul. Staley hit one-of-two free throws to give Wingate a one-point lead with four seconds left. The Bears again turned to Blackmon, who went the length of the floor and hit the game-winner … Lenoir-Rhyne shot 48.1 percent from the field, while hitting 11-of-24 shots from beyond the arc (45.8 percent). Wingate shot 50 percent from the field and knocked down seven-of-15 from three-point range (46.7 percent). The Bulldogs held a 34-25 rebounding advantage and a 26-24 edge in points in the paint. LRU held a 17-7 advantage in second-chance points and scored 23 points from 16 Wingate turnovers … Staley and Johnson have compiled a 75-45 overall record entering Wednesday's contest at Brevard. Wingate's dynamic senior duo has one South Atlantic Conference regular season title, one Food Lion SAC tournament crown and two NCAA tournament appearances to their credit. Johnson and Staley helped Wingate win the 2007 South Atlantic Regional title and advance to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight … Turner leads the 'Dogs with 11.9 points per game and 7.0 rebounds per game. Vaughn posts 11.6 points per game and a team-best 49 three-point field goals. Turner is listed in the top 15 in the SAC in scoring, rebounding, blocked shots (35) and field goal percentage (49.3) … Vaughn is third in the SAC in three-point field goal percentage (44.5) and fourth in free throw percentage (81.2). Eleven of Wingate's 12 players have hit at least one three-point field goal this season.