Weekly SAC Men’s Basketball Notes - Nov. 27

Men's basketball game recaps and notes for week ending November 26, 2006.

CARSON-NEWMAN - Carson-Newman lost to Alabama-Hunstillve 72-71 in its only game of the week. The Eagles (1-2) built a 12-point lead by holding the Chargers (4-1) scoreless for more than seven minutes in the second half ... Kente Hart's three-point play gave Carson-Newman a 66-55 lead with six minutes to play in the game, but UAH used a 9-1 run to reclaim the lead at 68-67 with three minutes remaining. After Jason Smith made three free throws for a 70-68 UAH advantage, Andy Tipton nailed a three-pointer from the right wing for a 71-70 C-N lead with 1:30 left ... After both teams traded possessions, the Eagles double-teamed Smith near the top of the key. Smith found Coleman on a baseline cut for a wide open layup to give the Chargers a one-point lead and ultimately the win.

CATAWBA - The Catawba Indian men lost its only game of the week, falling to USC Upstate 78-69 on Tuesday ... Catawba led in the early stages, but a 12-0 run by the Spartans midway through the opening half gave USCS a 24-15 lead ... The Catawba Indians would cut the deficit to one on a pair of occasions, but the Spartans grabbed a 39-32 edge at the break ... USCS held a double-digit edge for most of the final half ... Brian Graves led Catawba with 21 points, canning four three-pointers ... He became the 45th Catawba player to eclipse the 1,000-point barrier in the loss ... He also shared team-high honors with six rebounds ... Freshman Antonio Houston scored 11 points off the bench for Catawba, while fellow freshman Montrell Brinkley had nine points and five rebounds ... Catawba held a 40-35 edge on the board, but committed 20 turnovers, nine more than the Spartans ... Chris Wooldridge leads the team after three games in both scoring (14.3) and rebounding (8.7) ... Graves follows at 13 points per game and is dishing out six assists per contest ... Houston has chipped in with 10.7 points per game ... Catawba is shooting nearly 50 percent from the floor this season and is holding its opponents to just under 40 percent ... The Catawba Indians are a +4.3 in rebounding, but -3.0 in turnover margin and are hitting just 59 percent at the line ... Catawba returns to action this weekend as it hosts the Walt Baker Classic sponsored by C.F. Parks & Co. at Goodman Gym on Dec. 1st and 2nd ... Catawba will face Armstrong Atlantic on Friday night and Clayton State on Saturday afternoon.

LENOIR-RHYNE - The Lenoir-Rhyne College men's basketball team improved to 3-0 for the first time since the 1999-00 season after defeating Belmont Abbey (2-2), 84-72, Saturday evening at the Wheeler Center in Belmont, N.C. … For the third straight game, the Bears had five players score in double figures and were led by senior Reggie Bratton's (Charlotte, N.C.) 18 points … Bratton was seven-for-eight from the field while junior forward Josh Kindred (Holly Springs, N.C.) added 17 points to go along with eight rebounds, five assists and five blocks … Lenoir-Rhyne jumped out to a 17-2 lead to start the contest and held on for the win … Brooks Beard led the Crusaders with 19 points and Anthony Bell scored all 18 points after halftime as Belmont Abbey tried to rally but fell short … L-R won despite losing the rebounding edge, 45-26, but its balance proved to be the difference … The two squads were meeting for the first time in 10 years … Lenoir-Rhyne travels to Asheville, N.C., to take on NCAA Division I-foe UNC Asheville on Tuesday at 7 p.m. … The Bears beat the Bulldogs last year by an 81-78 score … Lenoir-Rhyne then participates in the Walt Baker Classic on Friday (December 1) and Saturday (December 2) at Goodman Gymnasium in Salisbury, N.C. … L-R plays Clayton State on Friday at 2 p.m., before playing Armstrong Atlantic State Saturday at 6 p.m.

LINCOLN MEMORIAL - The Railsplitters have been idle since Nov. 18, but return to action this week, hosting Brevard on Tuesday.

MARS HILL - Mars Hill went 1-1 last week. MHC is now 1-3 on the season. They will play at USC Upstate on Tuesday, host USC Aiken on Thursday and then play at North Greenville on Saturday night ... In the first game of the week, The Lions won their home opener against Brevard College Wednesday night in Stanford Arena, 73-65. Five players scored in double-digits to lead the Lions to victory. Stoney Polite (Morganton, NC) led MHC with 18 points followed by Jamison McIver (Taylorsville, NC) with 15. P.J. Gore (Little River, SC) added 10 points and eight rebounds while Chris Aline (Reinach, Switzerland) and Doug Green (Marshall, NC) came off the bench to also score 10 points apiece ... The Lions started off very slow as Brevard scored seven unanswered points to start the game. MHC finally got on the board at the 18:13 mark after McIver hit a layup. MHC then went on a 9-to-2 run over the next four minutes to take a two-point lead (11-9) with 14:35 left in the first half. The Lions extended their lead to 14 points (31-17) with 4:49 left in the first stanza after Green nailed a shot from behind the arc. MHC took a 35-26 lead into the locker room at halftime ... MHC never trailed in the second half. Polite gave the Lions a 11-point (37-26) advantage 39 seconds into the half after hitting a 15-foot jumper before Brevard scored 10 unanswered points to trim the deficit to just a single point with 16:38 left in regulation after Shane Galloway (Rosman, NC) hit a 3-pointer. Head coach Terry Rogers quickly called a timeout to settle his squad down. The Lions reacted by going on a 10-to-2 run of their own over the next three minutes to extend their lead to nine points (47-38) with 13:23 on the clock after Gore hit a layup ... MHC took their biggest lead of 17 points at the 5:41 mark when Thomas Moses (Madisonville, TN) scored in the paint. The Tornados would not die and out scored MHC 15-to-2 over the next four minutes to cut the lead to just four points after Brian Davidson (Riva, MD) hit a 3-pointer. Brevard was forced to foul down the stretch and the Lions went 4-for-4 at the charity stripe to seal the win ... MHC won the rebound battle, 44-to-33. The Lions scored 34 points in the paint, 12 second chance points, 13 points off the break and received 28 points from their bench. The teams combined to score 48 points off the 41 turnovers in the game ... In game two of the week, Mars Hill fell at USC Aiken in non-conference men's basketball action Saturday, 88-77. Casey McMasters, making his first start as a Pacer, connected on 8-of-13 shots, including 7-of-10 from three-point range, and nailed 10-of-11 free throws scoring 33 points. McMasters scored 25 in the second half ... The Pacers opened the game with a flourish, threatening to blow out Mars Hill. After a Willie Metcalf layup opened the scoring just 13 seconds in, the Pacers got three-pointers from McMasters, Cory Broyles and Theo Oates to extend the lead to 11-0 less than three minutes into the game ... After the Lions' Andy Miller (Franklin, NC) finally got Mars Hill on the scoreboard with a jumper, the Pacers rattled off seven more points. A Seth Leonard three capped the run as USCA led 19-2 with 13:49 on the clock ... Mars Hill refused to go away easily, however, and outscored the hosts 40-24 the rest of the half as the Lions went to the locker trailing by only one, 43-42 ... Starting guards Stoney Polite (Morganton, NC) and P.J. Gore (Little River, SC), along with Chris Aline (Reinach, Switzerland) off the bench, kept Mars Hill in the game, as all three reached double figures in the first half. Polite, a freshman point guard, led the way with 12 points, six rebounds, and three assists. Gore and Aline added 10 points apiece ... A back and forth second half started with a jumper by Doug Green (Marshall, NC) that gave the Lions their first lead of the game at 44-43. After a couple of lead changes, five straight points from Polite gave Mars Hill their biggest lead of the game at 55-49 at the 11:35 mark. The Lions still held a five-point lead, 64-59, with 7:35 left when McMasters took over the game ... Over the final 7:28, the freshman from Harrisburg, Pa., scored 19 points. McMasters drained a three to cut the lead to two. Moments later, another triple gave the Pacers the lead for good, 67-66, with 5:55 to go. Two threes and four free throws later and McMasters had almost single-handedly turned a 66-64 deficit into an 80-70 lead. The freshman scored 13 of his team's 16 points during that 3:20 stretch of the game. McMasters capped off his performance with a three-point play with 34 seconds remaining to make it 86-75 and end all chances of a comeback. The layup on that play was his first two-point basket of the contest ... Polite almost kept pace with his freshman counterpart, scoring a team-high 25 points for the Lions. Aline added 22 points before fouling out with 4:57 remaining. Gore failed to score in the second half, finishing with 10. Junior Darren Pore scored a career-high 15, including 12 in the first half, to add to McMasters output. Broyles added 10 points and seven assists. Sophomore Kingsley Oguchi also tallied seven helpers as the Pacers recorded assists on 18 of their 25 baskets ... Mars Hill won the rebounding battle 34-to-33. Polite and Gore both pulled down seven for the Lions while Oates, Pore, and Metcalf grabbed five each to lead the Pacers. The Pacers won despite Mars Hill's strong shooting performance. Thanks to a huge edge in points in the paint, 54-to-20, the Lions hit 34-of-65 shots from the field (52.3 percent). Mars Hill hit nine more field goals than the Pacers, who made up the difference by nailing 11-of-21 threes (52.4 percent) and knocking down 27-of-35 free throws (77.1 percent). Meanwhile, the Lions knocked down only 4-of-16 threes (25.0 percent) and 5-of-11 free throws (45.5 percent).

NEWBERRY - The Indians split their two games this week, falling to 1-3… On Tuesday, they picked up their first win of the season with a 93-59 victory over Allen University… Newberry had three players score in double figures, led by 25 points from Clemente Martin (Freeport, Bahamas) and 21 points from Zach Chandler (Greenville, S.C.). Martin was 10-of-13 from the field, while Chandler was 8-of-12, including 5-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc…Terrance Spillers (Charleston, S.C.) scored 10 points to reach double digits for the first time at Newberry, while freshman Danny Friend (Atlanta, Ga.) was Newberry's leading rebounder with seven…On Friday, the Indians dropped a 78-57 decision at Lander University… Chandler led Newberry with 16 points and four assists while Alonzo Hinds (Freeport, Bahamas) added 13 points…Newberry hits the road on Tuesday, as they play Division I Kennesaw State University at 7:30 p.m….The Indians host their second home game of the season on Saturday, as the Francis Marion University Patriots pay a visit for a 2 p.m. tip-off.

PRESBYTERIAN - Presbyterian improved to 3-0 with wins last week over North Greenville and Lander … The 3-0 start is the best start for the Blue Hose since the 2001-02 season when they commenced the year by going 4-0 before falling in overtime to USC Aiken in the fifth game of the season … The Blue Hose defeated the Bearcats twice in the first 10 days of their season and end the season 2-0 against Lander … The Blue Hose have three games this week, including a game against six-time Big South champion Winthrop.

TUSCULUM - The Tusculum Pioneers improved to 2-0 on the season with its 78-61 home-opening win over Bluefield College. Tusculum held the Ramblin' Rams 25 points under their season average, while senior Serge Poppe accounted for a game-high 21 points. Poppe shot 9-for-11 from the floor and knocked down three 3-pointers to go along with eight rebounds ... Three of his teammates joined him double figure scoring, including Jordan Lear (14), Jimmy Boone (12) and Corey Poindexter (10). Tusculum used a 12-0 run in the first half as the Pioneers carried a 47-27 lead into the locker room ... TC's Gabe Story recorded eight points, nine boards and a career-high four blocked shots ... Tusculum has made a three-point field goal in 528 consecutive games. Since the 2001-02 season, TC is 42-8 when scoring 80 or more points ... Tusculum will host Concord University on Tuesday before traveling to Charlotte for this weekend's Sodexho Shootout. The Pioneers will open the tournament with a meeting with Ouachita Baptist. TC will either face UNC Pembroke or host Queens in the second day of the tournament.

WINGATE - The Wingate University men's basketball team compiled a 1-1 record last week. Entering a stretch with three games in six days, the Bulldogs are 2-1 overall ... Lander University pulled out a 74-61 NCAA Division II men's basketball victory over Wingate University Tuesday night in Cuddy Arena on the Wingate campus. Bulldog junior forward/guard Sean Barnette led Wingate with 24 points. Bulldog senior guard Bill Smith had 12 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals. Wingate redshirt junior center Bryan Grier added 10 points. Grier shared game-high honors with three blocks each ... Wingate University junior forward Greg Wenger hit a career-high 15 points to lead five players in double figures as the Bulldogs defeated St. Andrews Presbyterian College 87-67 Saturday afternoon in Cuddy Arena on the Wingate campus. With the victory, Wingate improved to 2-1 overall on the season ... A graduate of nearby Sun Valley High School, Wenger had 15 points, five rebounds and two blocks in 22 minutes. Bulldog junior forward/guard Sean Barnette and senior guard Shaun Kirkland had 14 points each. Wingate post players Bryan Grier and Sam Carlisle contributed 11 points each ... Wingate left little doubt about the outcome against St. Andrews, shooting 61.3 percent (19-of-31) in the first half. The Bulldogs led 49-30 at intermission, thanks to a team-high 11 first-half points by Kirkland. An old-fashioned three-point play by Kirkland gave Wingate its biggest first half lead at 49-28 with 1:17 remaining in the opening frame ... The Bulldogs led by as many as 27 points in the second half. Wingate shot 52.2 percent in the second half (12-of-23) to finish the contest at a 57.4 percent clip (31-of-54). The Bulldogs outrebounded the Knights 47-25, thanks to seven caroms each from Grier and Kirkland. Carlisle contributed six rebounds off the Bulldog bench ... The number one shot-blocking team in the NCAA Division II last season, Wingate treated the home crowd to 11 blocked shots Saturday. Grier (the 2005-06 national leader with 4.9 blocks per game) had five blocked shots for the Bulldogs. Barnette joined Wenger with two rejections each ... Wingate junior forward/guard Sean Barnette has 994 career points entering this week's play. Barnette is averaging 20.7 points per contest this season. The 2004-05 SAC Freshman of the Year entered this season with a scoring average of 16.6 points per game ... Wingate will play three home games this week, part of a five home game stretch. Wingate was 10-3 a season ago in the friendly confines of Cuddy Arena. Anderson (S.C.) University visits for a 7 p.m. contest on Monday night. The Bulldogs will host Seton Hill (Pa.) on Friday night (8 p.m.) and USC Upstate on Saturday night (8 p.m.) in the Ortho Carolina Classic on the campus of Wingate University ... Wingate's campaign this winter will be highlighted by a trip to the Bahamas over Christmas break, as the Bulldogs will take on the defending NCAA Division II national champions, Winona State, on December 19. Another NCAA tournament team from last season, Drury (Mo.) University, will join Hillsdale (Mich.) College in rounding out the field for the Bahamas Sunshine Shootout.