Wingate Repeats As Food Lion SAC Men’s Basketball Tournament Champions With 97-82 Win Over Catawba

Hickory, N.C.----Wingate University junior guard/forward Sean Barnette (Rock Hill, S.C.) hit a career-high 35 points as the Bulldogs won their second consecutive Food Lion South Atlantic Conference men's basketball tournament crown with a 97-82 victory over Catawba College Sunday afternoon at the Catawba Valley Community College Multipurpose Complex.

Wingate (22-8 overall) earns the league's automatic qualification for the NCAA Division II play-offs. The Bulldogs will make their sixth visit to the Dance in 2007. Catawba (20-10 overall) will wait for word about a possible at-large berth to the NCAA Division II play-offs. The Catawba Indians were the SAC regular season champs.

Barnette recorded his 16th career double-double with 35 points and 10 rebounds. The tournament MVP for the second year in a row, Barnette led four Bulldogs in double figures. Wingate redshirt junior center Bryan Grier (Charlotte, N.C.) had 16 points, five rebounds and five blocked shots. Grier joined Barnette on the All-Tournament team. Barnette set tournament championship game records for points and field goals (14).

Bulldog senior forward Shaun Kirkland (Allendale, S.C.) had 15 points and four assists, while senior guard Justin Baker (Lumberton, S.C.) chipped in 12 markers. Wingate shot 66.7 percent in the second half (18-of-27) and 57.4 percent for the game (39-of-68).

Catawba freshman guard Antonio Houston (Charlotte, N.C.) had 22 points and a game-high four three-point field goals. Catawba senior forward Chris Wooldridge (Norfolk, Va.) joined Barnette in the double-double club with 20 points and 15 rebounds, which also set a tournament championship game record. Catawba Indian senior guards Ahmad Murphy (Orangeburg, S.C.) and Brian Graves (Newport News, Va.) contributed 13 points and 12 points, respectively.

A Barnette hoop with 12:35 remaining in the first half gave the Bulldogs an 18-17 advantage they would not relinquish. Wingate shot 51.2 percent in the first half, taking a 47-45 lead at intermission. Barnette led all scorers with 18 points in the opening frame. Wooldridge topped the Catawba charts with 14 first-half points.

The Catawba Indians tied the game three times in the second half, but could never take the lead. A Houston hoop with 17:18 left in the contest knotted the game for the final time at 53-53. Baker hit a jumper on an in-bounds play at the 17:08 mark to put Wingate up 55-53.

A traditional three-point play by Barnette gave Wingate a 76-63 lead with 8:24 left in the title tilt. Two Barnette free throws gave the Bulldogs their biggest lead at 95-77 with 2:23 to go.

Wingate outscored Catawba 66-36 in the paint. The Bulldogs also held a 24-13 edge in fast break points. Thanks to Wooldridge's monster game, Catawba outrebounded Wingate 49-37. Wooldridge, Houston and Lenoir-Rhyne College junior forward Reggie Bratton (Charlotte, N.C.) were also named to the All-Tournament team.

Wingate set tournament championship game records for field goals made (39) and attempts (68).

A steal and lay-up by sophomore forward Tommy Coles (Danville, Va.) put the Bulldogs up 36-26 with 6:20 to play in the first half. Catawba responded with a 9-0 run, cutting the Wingate lead to 36-35 on a follow shot by junior forward Norman Monroe (Newport News, Va.) at the 4:25 mark.

Barnette and the Bulldogs quickly moved the lead back to double digits, as the SAC Player of the Year nailed a three-pointer with 2:05 left in the first half. The Barnette triple put Wingate up 47-37. Catawba scored the last eight points of the half to account for the halftime score. Wooldridge had four of the eight points.

QUOTES:
Wingate Head Coach Parker Laketa:
When you've got a kid like Sean Barnette, with strong character, you're going to get that kind of performance. I was really worried when he went down (in the first quarter). Thank goodness he was OK. He was tremendous, absolutely tremendous.

The difference in the game was our defense. We held the leading field goal shooting team in the league to 39 percent.

We are a better team this year than last year. This year, we were a tough out. We played everybody tough. We're just happy to still be playing.

Catawba Head Coach Jim Baker:
I can't quite explain how we were so flat. We had two good games with them this year. I thought it was going to go down to the wire. We didn't hold up our end of the bargain.

Wingate's too good. If you don't come out ready to play, they'll whip you.

Newspaper Box Score (Final)
At Hickory, N.C. (CVCC
WINGATE 97, CATAWBA 82
WINGATE
Barnette, Sean 14-20 5-8 35; Grier, Bryan 5-6 6-6 16; Kirkland, Shaun 7-14 1-2 15; Baker, Justin 6-11 0-1 12; Smith, Bill 2-7 5-6 9; Coles, Tommy 4-6 0-1 8; Staley, Larry 1-3 0-0 2; Villines, Kenny 0-1 0-0 0; Holmes, Sam 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 39-68 17-24 97.
CATAWBA
Houston, Antonio 9-18 0-0 22; Wooldridge, Chris 10-16 0-0 20; Murphy, Ahmad 4-12 5-6 13; Graves, Brian 3-15 6-8 12; Fields, Rob 1-4 4-4 6; Monroe, Norman 2-9 1-2 5; Brinkley, Montrell 1-2 0-2 2; Diggs, Jason 0-0 2-2 2; Rose, Isaac 0-1 0-0 0; Williams, Donzell 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 30-77 18-24 82.
Wingate............. 47 50 - 97
Catawba............. 45 37 - 82
3-point goals-Wingate 2-12 (Barnette, Sean 2-5; Baker, Justin 0-3; Smith, Bill 0-4), Catawba 4-16 (Houston, Antonio 4-8; Wooldridge, Chris 0-1; Murphy, Ahmad 0-2; Graves, Brian 0-2; Fields, Rob 0-1; Monroe, Norman 0-2). Fouled out--Wingate-None; Catawba-Murphy, Ahmad. Rebounds-Wingate 37 (Barnette, Sean 10), Catawba 49 (Wooldridge, Chris 15). Assists-Wingate 23 (Smith, Bill 8), Catawba 9 (Graves, Brian 4). Total fouls-Wingate 21, Catawba 21. A-597