Weekly SAC Men’s Basketball Notes - Dec. 4
Men's basketball game recaps and notes for week ending December 3, 2006
CARSON-NEWMAN - Scott Williams posted a double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds in a 71-64 win over King College. He was one rebound short of another double-double when he grabbed nine boards and scored 12 points in the 82-70 win over Belmont-Abbey. Scott was 6-of-13 (46 percent) from three-point range in both games combined ... Also in the win against King the Eagles made seven of eight free throws in the final seconds to secure the win ... Darren Williams went five-for-six from the charity stripe in the final 25 seconds of the game ... In the win over Belmont-Abbey, Andy Tipton and Kente Hart combined to go 12-for-12 from the charity stripe in the final 1:15 to give the Eagles their second win of the season. Hart went 8-for-8 from the free throw line during that span.
CATAWBA - The Catawba Indians dropped a pair of games over the weekend at the Walt Baker Classic ... On Friday, Catawba fell 94-86 to Armstrong Atlantic then dropped a 76-75 decision on Saturday to No. 6 Clayton State ... Freshman Antonio Houston led Catawba in the two games ... He scored a career-high 29 points in the loss to AASU and had 23 points against Clayton State ... The Catawba Indians trailed most of the game against Armstrong Atlantic, but pulled within six with 1:28 left ... The Indians would misfire on a couple of chances to get closer and AASU made 7-of-11 free throws down the stretch ... AASU shot nearly 60 percent and held a 39-27 edge on the boards ... Chris Wooldridge followed Houston with 16 points, while Ahmad Murphy had 10 points, five assists and five rebounds ... The Tribe rallied twice in the second half against Clayton State ... Down by eight early in the final half, Catawba put together a 16-5 run to take the lead, getting back-to-back buckets by Jason Diggs to go on top 51-48 with 13:33 to go ... Clayton responded and held a 69-60 edge with 5:59 remaining only to see the Tribe storm back to grab a 75-73 lead on a four-point play by Houston with 1:55 left ... Houston had a chance to increase the lead with 16 seconds remaining, but missed a pair of free throws and Clayton canned a three-pointer with three second left for the win ... Wooldridge had a double-double with 18 points and 12 boards ... Diggs had 12 points and Brian Graves added 10 points and seven rebounds ... Houston has grabbed the team lead in scoring, hitting for a 16.8 clip ... he is hitting on 51 percent from the field and has made 12-of-25 from long range ... Wooldridge is added 15.4 points and 8.4 rebounds a contest, while Graves adds 11.6 points and 5.8 assists ... Catawba will host Montreat on Thursday and travel to Lander on Saturday in hopes of snapping a four-game losing streak.
LENOIR-RHYNE - The Lenoir-Rhyne College men's basketball Team (4-2) won one of three games this week but faced some very difficult competition … L-R lost to UNC Asheville (69-59) on Tuesday on the road before splitting a pair of games in the Walt Baker Classic on the campus of Catawba College over the weekend … Lenoir-Rhyne fell to Clayton State by a 68-49 score Friday evening before rallying to defeat Armstrong Atlantic State (64-53) Saturday afternoon … UNC Asheville is a member of NCAA Division I, Clayton State was ranked No. 6 in NCAA Division II and AASU came into the contest with L-R unbeaten in its first five contests … Four players scored in double figures for the UNC Asheville while Lenoir-Rhyne was led by junior forward Josh Kindred (Holly Springs, N.C.), who finished with a game-high 19 points while junior forward Reggie Bratton (Charlotte, N.C.) added a double-double, 12 points and 10 rebounds, despite the loss … The Bears fell behind early (30-14) but cut the lead to one in the second half, at 38-37, but could not take the lead … UNC Asheville, who forced L-R into 23 turnovers, took command again with a 16-4 run to put the contest away … Clayton State hit all nine of its three-pointers in the first half to jump out to a big lead and never looked back … The Lakers, who led by as many as 25 points, shot 51 percent from the field and held a 14-3 advantage in steals … Kindred (16 points) and Bratton (10 points) one against led the Bears, who had their low in points for the season … Lenoir-Rhyne snapped its two-game losing streak with a resounding win over Armstrong Atlantic State … Kindred had one of his best games of his career, tallying 20 points, 14 rebounds and six assists, and senior guard Marcus Springs (Charlotte, N.C.) tallied a season-high 19 points to lead the Bears to the win … Bratton has tallied double-digit scoring in every game so far this year and Kindred has led the team in scoring the past three games … Lenoir-Rhyne has played all six of its games away from Shuford Gymnasium this season and will not compete again until Friday, December 15, when they play Francis Marion in the AASU/Chatham Orthopaedic Holiday Basketball Classic at 3 p.m., in Savannah, Ga. … Lenoir-Rhyne plays Armstrong Atlantic State again the following day (Saturday, December 16 at 8:00 p.m.).
LINCOLN MEMORIAL - The Railsplitters went 2-0 on the week to start the season 4-0 for the first time since the 1976-77 season and only the fifth time in school history… In the 87-52 win over Brevard the Railsplitters shot 14-34 from behind the arc and were one three pointer away from tying the Turner Arena record, which is 15. The LMU school record is 18 made treys in a game ... Freshman Beau Brown hit eight three pointers, one shy of the school record, in the win over Brevard ... Brown's 26 points are also the highest this season by an LMU player ... The Railsplitter defense forced Brevard into committing 29 turnovers ... Against Simmons (Ky.) LMU won 69-56 despite being out-rebounded 41-28. Brown led LMU in scoring for the second straight game with 20 points ... The Railsplitters once again won the turnover battle as they forced Simmons into 22 turnovers, compared to the 12 committed by LMU ... Next up for the Railsplitters is a rematch at Brevard on December 5 and a trip to SIAC foe Benedict on the 9th ... They will not be at home again until Jan. 6 when Wingate comes to town.
MARS HILL - Mars Hill went 2-1 last week. The Lions are now 3-4 on the year. In the first game of the week, Mars Hill's men's basketball team lost a road game at USC Upstate Tuesday night, 82-66 at the G.B. Hodge Center ... Jay Free tied a single-game school record with nine three-points and topped his career high in scoring, finishing with 36 points to lead USC Upstate to the victory. Upstate suffered from cold shooting to start the first half as Mars Hill opened an early six-point lead. The Spartans battled back to get within one on a three-pointer from Free with 13:38 to play before the intermission, but the Lions pushed the lead to 12 points on a Matt Williams (Henderson, NC) three-pointer with 3:57 to play before the intermission ... USC Upstate outscored Mars Hill 15-to-5 the rest of the half to get within two, 41-39, at the intermission ... Free did all he could do to keep the Spartans in the game, finishing the first half with 21 points with five three-pointers. He scored seven of Upstate's final eight points of the half ... After a slow start, Upstate finished the first half shooting 51.9 percent from the floor, while Mars Hill was nearly as hot at 48 percent shooting ... Free ignited the Spartans early in the second half with two straight three-pointers and Daniel Quinlan added a trey of his own and a layup as USC Upstate used an 11-to-0 run to open a 50-41 lead with 16:51 to play in the game ... After a Chris Aline (Reinach, Switzerland) layup, Upstate increased its lead to 12 points on a layup and three-pointer by Luke Payne. Mars Hill cut the lead to eight points, 55-47, on an Aline layup with 13:23 to play, but Upstate responded with a 17-to-2 run to open a 23-point, 72-49 lead with 8:11 remaining ... The Spartans went on for the 16-point victory ... Upstate finished the night shooting 47.6 percent from the floor and held Mars Hill to 23 percent shooting in the second half and 34 percent for the game ... Upstate played most of the game without starting point guard Jeremy Byrd who became ill during the first half. He played 18 minutes, but only three in the second half. Byrd's teammates stepped up. In addition to his career-high 36 points, Free finished with five rebounds ... Payne scored 13 points and had eight assists, while Quinlan added 13 points, six rebounds, and five assists. Ante Pikunic had a solid night, finishing with six points and 10 rebounds ... Aline led Mars Hill with 16 points and six rebounds, while Stoney Polite (Morganton, NC) finished with 14 points, seven boards, four assists, and three steals for the Lions ... In the second game of the week, P.J. Gore (Little River, SC) hit a 3-pointer with 2:20 left in regulation to bring the Lions within a point (72-71) of USC Aiken and then sank two free throws with 1:21 left to give Mars Hill the lead (73-72) for good ... The Lions improved to 2-4 on the year while the Pacers fell to 4-4 on the season. Tonight's win avenged a 88-77 loss earlier this year at Aiken on November 25 ... After Gore made the foul shots, he stole the ball from Cory Broyles and passed the ball down court to Stoney Polite (Morganton, NC) who drew a foul in the lane. Polite hit the first of two free throws with eight seconds left in the contest to make the final tally 74-72 ... USC Aiken had one more chance to win or tie but Matt Williams (Henderson, NC) blocked Kingsley Oguchi's shot at the buzzer to seal the win ... The contest saw only three ties and four lead changes ... Polite led MHC with 24 points hitting four 3-pointers and was 10-for-12 from the charity stripe. Polite is averaging 19.5 points per game so far this season ... Gore followed with 14 points and seven boards while Chris Aline (Reinach, Switzerland) came off the bench to add 10 points ... MHC scored 38 points in the paint, 24 points off Pacer miscues and eight points off the break ... Cory Broyles led USC Aiken with a game high 27 points going 9-for-12 from the floor. Oguchi and Darren Pore added 10 points apiece. The Pacers received 42 points from their bench ... Polite hit two free throws 12 seconds into the contest and that was the only time the Lions would lead the remainder of the first half. USC Aiken built a nine-point lead (16-to-7) with 11:58 remaining in the first frame after Broyles converted an old fashioned 3-point play. The Lions trimmed the deficit to just three points (42-39) at the intermission ... MHC scored four unanswered points to open the second half and take a 43-42 lead with 18:22 left in the game after Aline hit a shot in the lane. The Lions would hold an advantage until the 4:12 mark when Broyles gave the Pacers a one-point lead (69-68) after hitting a layup ... The Pacers would extend that lead to four points before Gore took over the last 2:20 of the game ... Both teams shot well in the contest. MHC hit 48.1 percent (26-54) of their shots while Aiken converted 51 percent (25-49) of their shots from the floor ... The Pacers won the rebound battle, 35-to-26 ... In the final contest of the week, Stoney Polite (Morganton, NC) scored his career high 29 points to propel the Lions men's basketball team to a 79-67 victory over North Greenville University at Hayes Gymnasium Saturday night ... After trailing by five points at the break, MHC began the second half on a 14-to-6 run to take a one-point lead (48-47) with 15:16 left in regulation after Jarred Pickering (Albany Creek, Queensland, Australia) hit a layup ... The Lions then out scored the Crusaders 8-to-2 over the next two minutes to lead by seven points (56-49) after Pickering tipped in a miss by Matt Williams (Henderson, NC). Jordan Richmond (russellville, AR) cut the Lions' lead to just two points with 7:37 left in the contest after draining a pair of free throws but that was as close as NGU could get ... MHC then reeled off seven unanswered points to extend their advantage to nine points with 5:38 left on the clock after Chris Aline (Reinach, Switzerland) hit a shot in the lane ... NGU was forced to foul down the stretch and MHC was able to convert enough shots at the charity stripe to preserve the victory ... In the first half, Austin Randel (Lake City, MI) hit a pair of free throws with 17:28 on the clock and the Crusaders led the remainder of the opening stanza. NGU led by as many as 13 points (36-23) with 5:11 left in the first frame after Randel hit a shot from behind the arc. MHC ended the first period on a 11-to-3 run to trim the deficit to just five points (39-34) at the intermission ... Following Polite's performance for the Lions was Williams and P.J. Gore (Little River, SC) who scored 14 points apiece. Randel led NGU with 18 points followed by Richmond with 16. Kyler Vitgo (Alpharetta, GA) added 14 points and six boards ... NGU edged the Lions in the rebound battle, 34-to-32. MHC scored 23 points off Crusader miscues and tallied 20 second chance points. There were only three lead changes and one tie in the contest ... MHC will return to action on December 9 when they host USC Upstate in Stanford Arena. Game time is set for 4 p.m.
NEWBERRY - Newberry split two games last week, losing, 68-55, on the road to Division I Kennesaw State University on Tuesday, and winning, 84-68, at home against Francis Marion University on Saturday… Against KSU, the Indians only trailed 32-30 at the break, but Shuan Stegall scored 27 points to lead the Owls to victory… Newberry was led in scoring by Clemente Martin (Freeport, Bahamas) and Cory Etheridge (Columbia, S.C.), who eached scored 16 points. Terrance Spillers (Charleston, S.C.) led the team in rebounding for the third game this season, as he snagged seven boards…The Indians used strong three-point shooting to stick around early. Newberry went 5-of-9 (55.6 percent) from downtown in the opening stanza, but were 1-of-7 in the second half. The Owls also outrebounded the Indians 41-27 for the game, and 22-11 in the second half to seal the win…Against Francis Marion, Etheridge came off the bench to score a career-high 26 points in only 23 minutes played to lead the Indians to their second victory of the season… Etheridge shot 10-of-14 from the field, including 4-of-7 shooting from behind the arc…Zach Chandler (Greenville, S.C.) bounced back from his career-low scoring performance against Kennesaw State on Tuesday to score 16 points against the Patriots on 5-of-9 shooting from the field while going 5-of-6 from the charity stripe… The Indians had the hot shooting hand for the entire game, as they shot 31-of-53 (58.5 percent) from the floor, with 49 points off the bench. In contrast, the Patriots only shot 22-of-55 (40 percent) from the floor and had 19 points from the reserves…Newberry's Damion Harris (Greenville, S.C.) and Danny Friend (Atlanta, Ga.) shared the team's rebounding lead with five apiece, with Harris also blocking two shots…Newberry plays only once this week, hosting Erskine College in the second half of a doubleheader with the women's team on Saturday at 4 p.m.
PRESBYTERIAN - Presbyterian finished last week at 5-1 after going 2-1 on the week, capturing wins over Allen and Georgia College & State and falling to Winthrop … Brian Epperly netted a career-best 15 points in the win over Allen … Epperly's 15 points usurped his previous career high of 11 set in a game against Wingate last season … The Roanoke, Va. native only missed three shots in the game, going 6-for-9 from the field and a perfect 3-for-3 from the charity stripe … Travis Sligh concluded the Winthrop game with a career-best 18 points … Sligh was flawless in the game, going 6-for-6 … Sligh was 5-for-5 from beyond the three-point line … Prior to the five three-pointers in the loss to the Eagles, the sophomore had only hit one three-point shot in his one-plus years with the Blue Hose … The victory over Georgia College & State avenged a 79-67 Georgia College & State win the last time that the two squads tangled at the Templeton Center, which was also the last time that Presbyterian fell at home … Presbyterian has now picked up 12 straight victories at home … The Blue Hose overall in the last two seasons up to this juncture in the season are 15-1 at the Templeton Center.
TUSCULUM - The Tusculum men's basketball team went 2-1 last week to improve its mark to 4-1 on the season… Tusculum opened with a pair of wins as the Pioneers were off to their first 4-0 start in 14 years… TC started the week with an 80-67 home win over Concord… Senior Chris Poore led five players in double figures as the Pioneers shot 54 percent in the contest, while limiting the Mountain Lions (1-4) to 36 percent shooting… Tusculum also shot 10-of-19 from three-point territory (52.6 percent)… Of the scoring quintet for Tusculum, the top three were all Greeneville High School products. Poore shot 6-for-12 from the floor and 4-of-5 from the charity stripe, while senior Gabe Story added 13 points, six rebounds and a game-high four blocked shots. Freshman Jimmy Boone added 14 markers off the bench as he poured in four 3-pointers… Tusculum used a 9-1 run in the opening half to jump out to a 19-11 lead following a three-pointer by Boone at the 13:29 mark. TC would see that lead cut to 31-28 when CU went on an 8-3 spurt as Zack Gordon canned a jumper with 1:58 remaining. That field goal would be the final points of the period as both teams went 0-for-3 down the stretch… In the second half, TC raced back out to a 10-point lead as senior Eric Williams drilled a three-pointer and Story scored on a driving lay-up as the Pioneers moved ahead 40-30 with 16:14 remaining… Tusculum wouldn't release the lead for the rest of the evening, but had to hold off a stubborn Concord squad. Poore converted a three-point play at the 6:32 mark to move the Pioneers up 62-50, but CU raced back with a 12-6 run, including Brian Foster's three-pointer with 2:13 left on the clock as TC led 68-62... Concord was forced to foul as TC would make its next 10 straight free throws, including six by freshman Corey Poindexter to close out the win… Poindexter accounted for a dozen points, seven assists, five rebounds and shot 9-for-12 from the free throw line… In the opening game of the Sodexho Shootout in Charlotte, Lear scored 14 points, including the game-winning basket with 2.3 seconds left in the game to lead Tusculum to a 65-63 win over Ouachita Baptist… Poppe also added 14 points as he shot 7-for-9 from the floor as Tusculum shot 50 percent as a team (27-54), while limiting the Tigers to 36 percent shooting (23-64). Poore also accounted for double-figure scoring with his 13 markers… Tusculum's hot run came to an end on Saturday as the Pioneers lost 82-70 in the championship game of the Sodexho Shootout to tournament host Queens… Lear led Tusculum with 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting, while Poore and Poppe tallied 17 and 12 points, respectively… Queens led 41-31 at halftime and increased that advantage to 52-38 with 15:02 left in the game following a jumper by Jones. Tusculum answered with eight straight points, including a three-point by Lear as the Pioneers cut the deficit to 52-46 with 12:30 remaining… The Royals put together an 11-4 spurt to increase its lead to 13 points (63-50) at the 7:51 mark when Darnell Evans converted a three-point play… Tusculum would make one final push as it cut into the Queens lead and trailed 73-68 with 55 seconds left following a jumper by Poppe, but that was a close as the Pioneers would get… Poore and Poppe were named to the Sodexho Shootout All-Tournament Team… Tusculum continues its string of consecutive games with a three-pointer, which now stands at 530 in a row… TC will be in action twice this week… Tusculum will host Glenville State on Wednesday, before the Pioneers travel to UNC Asheville on Saturday to face the NCAA Division I Bulldogs.
WINGATE - The Wingate University men's basketball team won three games in three tries last week. On Saturday, the Bulldogs bolted to a 15-point halftime lead and never looked back, taking a 90-69 decision over USC Upstate in the 2006 Ortho Carolina Classic in Cuddy Arena. With Saturday's victory, Wingate improves to 5-1 overall. The Bulldogs will take a break for final exams before venturing to Anderson (S.C.) University Wednesday, Dec. 13 for a 7 p.m. contest ... Bulldog junior forward/guard Sean Barnette was named the most valuable player of the 2006 Ortho Carolina Classic. Against USC Upstate, Barnette had 27 points and seven rebounds. Barnette had much support against USC Upstate. Wingate senior guard Shaun Kirkland had a season-high 18 points. Bulldog redshirt junior center Bryan Grier contributed a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds ... Grier joined Barnette on the All-Classic team. The other members of the All-Classic team included Ted Scott and Alfred Walsh of West Virginia State, Marcus Thompson of Seton Hill and Jay Free of USC Upstate ... Wingate led 43-28 at intermission. USC Upstate managed only 27.8 percent shooting (10-of-36) in the opening frame. The Bulldogs turned up the volume in the second, hitting 56.7 percent (17-of-30) of their field goals. Wingate outrebounded USC Upstate 47-36, thanks to 12 rebounds from Grier and 11 boards by sophomore forward Kenny Villines ... Barnette registered a double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds as the Bulldogs rallied for an 82-76 victory over Seton Hill (Pa.) University Friday night in the Ortho Carolina Classic at Cuddy Arena ... Seton Hill led 69-61 on a lay-up by senior forward Zarko Kostic with 8:39 to play. The Griffins scored only two field goals the rest of the way as the Bulldogs finished the contest with a 21-7 run ... Two free throws by Barnette tied the score at 73-73 with 2:46 to play. Fittingly enough, Barnette scored the game-winning basket on Wingate's next possession as the Bulldogs took the lead for good at 75-73 with 2:32 remaining ... Six different Bulldog players scored in the pivotal 21-7 run, led by Barnette and his eight markers. Wingate junior forward Greg Wenger had four of his six points during the crucial stretch run ... Four Wingate players hit double figures. Bulldog junior guard Sam Holmes tallied a career-high 17 points. Holmes hit five-of-eight three-point field goals. Wingate senior point guard Bill Smith had 17 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Grier contributed 10 points, six rebounds, four blocks and three assists. Wingate blocked nine shots on the evening ... Barnette surpassed the 1,000-point plateau for his career as the Bulldogs defeated Anderson (S.C.) University 83-61 Monday night in Cuddy Arena on the Wingate campus ... Barnette scored 18 markers to lead the Bulldogs to the home win. Entering final exams, Barnette has 1,061 career points during his two-plus seasons in the Bulldog blue-and-gold. Smith had 15 points and seven assists against Anderson, while Holmes contributed 14 points and six assists off the bench ... Wingate never trailed in the Anderson contest. Smith set the tone early, scoring all 15 of his points in the first half as the Bulldogs built a 35-26 lead at the break. Smith gave the hosts their biggest lead of the first half when he hit a three-point field goal at the 4:45 mark. Smith's trifecta made the score 28-17 ... Barnette scored his 1000th point from the charity stripe, hitting two-of-two with seven minutes to go in the first half. The two free throws gave the Northwestern High School product 1,001 career points (at the time) ... The Bulldogs pulled away in the second half, thanks to 50 percent shooting (15-of-30) after intermission. Wingate scored the first seven points of the second half, taking a 42-26 edge on a Holmes three-pointer at the 18:29 mark. The Trojans did not get the deficit below 10 points the rest of the way ... 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.