Men’s Weekly Basketball Notes, January 28, 2008

Men's basketball notes and game recaps for week ending January 27, 2008.

BREVARD - The Tornados split in their two games this week falling at home in a close game on Wednesday night and winning in a blow out on Saturday afternoon ... Brevard College was at home on Wednesday night for the first time in a little over two weeks, as they fell to the Eagles of Carson-Newman, 77-70, in what was a close game from start to finish ... The Tornados tried to overcome 28 turnovers and 79 shot attempts from the Eagles, but game up just short falling by seven ... In the first half both teams traded baskets for the entire 20 minutes, as there were nine lead changes and five ties, with neither team trailing by more than six points at any time ... The Tornados trailed 34-31 heading into the half, as BC kept it close in the opening frame by way of the three-point line shooting 54.5 percent from the three-point arc in the first half, hitting 6-of-11 from long distance ... In the second half the Tornados cooled down from long range, going 3-of-12 from behind the arc, however, keeping the Eagles lead in single digits until around the four minute mark ... The Tornados would not give up, battling back to cut the Eagles lead to five points, 75-70, with 11 seconds remaining in the contest. Yet time would run out on the Tornados, as Carson-Newman's Darren Williams hit two foul shots with only 8.9 remaining in the game to seal the 77-70 win ... The Eagles had 19 offensive rebounds and forced 28 BC turnovers which allowed them to take 79 shot attempts on the night, firing up 25 more shots than the Tornados for the game ... The Tornados, who shot 42.6 percent from the field for the game, had a balanced scoring attack on Wednesday night, as five different players scored in double-figures ... Junior forward Joseph Chilton had a season-high 17 points, connecting on 4-of-7 from behind the three-point line for the game ... Sophomore Jonathan Whitson had 12 points, while fellow classmates Andrew Freeman and Shane Galloway had 11 and 10 points, respectively ... Junior Sean Ferretti had 10 points on the night ... On the boards, Chilton, Ferretti and Whitson all had nine rebounds on the night ... On Saturday afternoon, the BC hit a season-high 17 three-pointers, as the Tornados routed the Crusaders of North Greenville, 86-65 ... After falling behind quick to the Crusaders, 4-0, in the opening two minutes of play, the Tornados began their long distance onslaught as sophomore guard Andrew Freeman hit a three-pointer to cut the North Greenville lead to 1, 4-3 ... Only 20 seconds later and after a North Greenville basket, guard Cody Siniard hit a three-point basket of his own to knot the score up at 6-6 ... The two teams would trade the lead back-and-forth over the next 10 minutes of play, until a jumper by Freeman with 6:16 remaining in the first half gave the Tornados a one-point lead, a lead that they would not relinquish for the remainder of the contest ... The Tornados shot 48 percent in the first half, connecting on 9-of-19 from behind the three-point line, to take a 36-31 lead into the halftime period ... BC came out firing in the second half, as junior Joseph Chilton got in on the act, knocking down a three-pointer, one of his five three-point baskets, to open the half and push the Tornados lead to eight at 39-31 ... Only a few minutes later, Brevard pushed their lead to double-digits where it would stay until the final buzzer sounded and the scoreboard read 86-65 ... In the second half, the Tornados shot a blistering 55.6 percent from the field and a stellar 50 percent from long distance, dialing in on 8-of-16 from behind the three-point line ... For the game the Tornados had a season-low eight turnovers and shot 51.9 percent from the floor, including going 17-of-35 from long distance ... Leading the offensive charge for the Tornados was sophomore Andrew Freeman with a season-high 26 points, hitting six three-pointers on the day ... Chilton had 17 points, while sophomore Jonathan Whitson had his third double-double of the season with 14 points and 10 rebounds ... Freshman Tripp Taraldsen came off the bench to score a season-high 12 points, as he did not miss a shot going 3-of-3 from the field and 4-of-4 from the charity stripe ... The Tornados will jump back into South Atlantic Conference play on Wednesday, January 30, when they will travel back to the Palmetto state to take on the Indians of Newberry College ... The tip-off is slated for approximately 8 p.m. ... On Saturday Brevard will take on the Lions of Mars Hill for the third time this season, hoping that the third time is the charm, having fallen in their previous two meetings this season ... The game is schedule for a 4 p.m. tip-off at Boshamer Gymnasium on the campus of Brevard College.

CARSON-NEWMAN - The Eagles split a pair of games on the week…C-N won at Brevard Wednesday night 77-70…The Eagles played well in the win over the Tornadoes, but didn't shoot well… C-N hit just 25-of-79 (31.6 percent) shots from the floor… C-N went 12-41 from three-point range in the win…The 41 attempts sets a school record…The 12 made is a season-high for the Eagles… Carson-Newman set the school record for threes made in a game in 2002-'03 against Trevecca, knocking down 18-of-29 from behind the arc… The Eagles held a three-point lead at the half despite making only 13-of-41 shots from the floor…C-N forced 15 first-half turnovers to set the pace…Senior Darren Williams pumped in 14 second-half points, finishing with 17 for the game…His triple with 2:52 to play pushed C-N's lead out to 71-59…The Eagles used a 14-3 run to break open a 54-52 game in the second half…Junior Jesse McMurray led the way with 18 points on 6-of-10 from three-point range…Andy Tipton came up just shy of a double-double with 10 points and 8 rebounds…Bobby Guyton had 12 points, six of which came on steals followed by a breakaway dunk… Guyton finished with five steals…C-N dropped its second home game of the year Saturday night to Lenoir-Rhyne, 106-97… The game saw a combined 60 personal fouls and 81 free throws (52 by L-R)… L-R took a 37-30 lead on a pair of free throws by senior Reggie Bratton at the 7:16 mark of the first half… C-N bounced back with a 15-3 run to take a 45-40 lead with just under three minutes to play in the half…L-R closed the half strong to take a 50-47 lead, then continued where it left off in the second half pushing the lead out to 68-52 at the 15:26 mark... C-N answered back with a 14-0 run to cut the Bears lead to two at 68-66…Scott Williams and Cameron Sharpe each had five points during the spurt…Sophomore Jordan Dixon had four on back-to-back buckets… C-N would only get within three points once more at 82-79… Dixon had 21 second half points to lead the Eagles… The Clinton, Tennessee-native has 58 points (19.3 per game) in C-N's last three SAC games… C-N's two underclassman point guards combined for 30 points… (Scott) Williams and Tipton each added 11… The Eagles continue to be one of the top scoring offenses in the nation, averaging 88.1 points per game… C-N is back at home on Wednesday night for a visit from Catawba… Tip is at 8 p.m. at Holt Fieldhouse… The Eagles head on the road this weekend to begin the second half of the SAC season… The Eagles visit Newberry at 4 p.m.

CATAWBA - The Catawba Indians split a pair of home games last week, defeating Lincoln Memorial 100-76 on Wednesday before falling to Newberry 92-82 on Saturday ... On Wednesday, Catawba shot 70 percent in the second half and pulled away from a three-point halftime lead ... Antonio Houston led five players in double figures with 16 points ... Donald Rutherford added a career-high 14 points with eight rebounds ... Matthew Sossamon also reached his career-high with 11 points off the bench ... The Indians held a 41-26 edge on the boards and canned 13 three-pointers ... Catawba led Newberry by two points at the break despite seeing Newberry hit on 11 of its first 15 shots for an early double-digit lead ... Catawba again placed five players in double figures, but hit on just 47% of its attempts and had 18 turnovers ... Houston again led the way with 18 points, while Rob Fields added 13 ... the Indians were hot for three-point range, making 11-of-23 ... Catawba is shooting 39% from three-point range this season and 42% in SAC contests ... Houston leads the way with 42 three-point goals and is averaging 18.8 points a game ... the 100 points vs. LMU was a season-high for the Tribe ... Catawba will play just one game this week as the Indians travel to Carson-Newman on Wednesday and will be idle over the weekend ... Catawba has won seven straight against the Eagles and hold a 26-16 edge in the series.

LENOIR-RHYNE - The Lenoir-Rhyne College men's basketball team (13-3, 6-0) remained the lone unbeaten team in the South Atlantic Conference after defeating Carson-Newman College, 106-97, Saturday evening at Holt Fieldhouse in Jefferson City, Tenn. … The Bears, who tallied a season-high in points, won their sixth straight game in the process … Senior forward Reggie Bratton (Charlotte, N.C.) tallied a career-high 35 points and the Bears hit a school single-season record 41 free throws en route to the win … Lenoir-Rhyne, which pushed ahead by a 68-52 early in the second half, saw Carson-Newman reel off 14 straight points to cut the margin to 68-66 but the Eagles could not retake the lead … Junior guard Josh Rudder (Graham, N.C.) hit a key three-pointer with 8:02 left for an 85-79 advantage and Carson-Newman would get no closer than six points the rest of the way ... Sophomore guard Ryan Crawford (Stuarts Draft, Va.) and senior forward Josh Kindred (Holly Springs, N.C.) added 14 and 13 points, respectively, for the Bears, who held a 49-34 advantage in rebounds … Carson-Newman fell despite 23 points (21 in the second half) from Jordan Dixon … Rudder is just 108 points away from becoming the 48th player in school history to 1,000 points for his career … Bratton (1,223) and Kindred (1,095) already surpassed the mark this season … Kindred now has 168 blocks for his career, second-best on L-R's career chart … Lenoir-Rhyne remains on the road for a pair of South Atlantic Conference games at Wingate (Wednesday at 8 p.m.) and Tusculum (Saturday at 4 p.m.) … L-R leads the all-time series with both Wingate (40-24) and Tusculum (15-11) … Wingate is in sole possession of second place in the league while the Bears have beaten the Pioneers five straight times … Lenoir-Rhyne defeated Tusculum earlier this year by a 77-64 score on January 5, 2008, in Hickory, N.C.

LINCOLN MEMORIAL - Catawba bolted from a three-point halftime lead to earn a 100-76 victory over visiting Lincoln Memorial in South Atlantic Conference men's basketball action on Wednesday night at Goodman Gym … Catawba placed five players in double figures and shot 70 percent in the final half to offset a 30-point scoring night by LMU's Terry Delaney … The Indians led 48-45 at the break, but after a bucket by Delany, Catawba scored 10 straight points for a 58-47 lead. The Tribe hit on 21-of-30 shots, including 8-of-11 (72.7 percent) three-pointers and kept pulling away … The lead changed hands 17 times with seven ties in the opening 12 minutes. Catawba erased a 30-28 deficit on baskets by Rutherford and Dominick Reid for a 32-30 edge with 7:58 to go and the Indians led the rest of the way. Delaney had 20 of his game-high 30 points in the opening half to keep the Railsplitters close. Emmanuel Njomo followed Delaney with 19 points, while Matt Bogard had 10 points and five assists … Catawba held a 41-26 edge on the boards and outscored the LMU bench 39-5 … It was one of those scenarios of which movies are made. A team fighting for their first conference win trails nearly the entire game but gets the lead with 4 seconds to go… The students are ready to rush the floor and celebrate, only to see their hopes fall on a miracle shot that took several bounces and several seconds to finally go in. If you came to the LMU-Mars Hill Game, that's what you saw as Mars Hill literally had the game fall in their laps with the 70-69 win on Saturday … Terry Delaney (Murfreesboro, TN), who led the Railsplitters in scoring and rebounding with 22 points and 9 rebounds hit a shot in the paint with time running out to give the Railsplitters only their second lead of the half with 3.9 seconds remaining on the clock … The basket prompted Lions Head Coach Terry Rogers to call time out in order to put together a solid offensive play. After numerous timeouts by both teams, the inbound pass was thrown in from Mars Hill's Jordan Skinner to Tony Blake. Blake took the ball to the mid-court line and delivered a pass into the hands of Jamarl Glen who penetrated the top of the circle and put up a circus shot that hit the backboard, bounced off the front of the rim and hit the back of the rim before several times before hanging on the rim and then falling through to give the Lions the come-from-behind victory and handing the Railsplitters a gut-wrenching 70-69 loss … In addition to Terry Delaney's 22 point, 9 rebound performance, Lincoln Memorial's Emmanuel Njomo (Fairfax, VA) and Beau Brown (Athens, TN) both scored double figures. Njomo finished the night with 20 points on the inside, while Brown had to earn his 15 points … LMU point-guard Matt Bogard (Oakland, CA) handed out 7 assists. While the win improved Mars Hill's record to 6-10 overall and 2-4 in league play, the Railsplitters fall to 5-13 on the year and are still winless in South Atlantic Conference action with a mark of 0-7 … The Railsplitters will step out of conference Wednesday night when they travel to Tigerville, South Carolina for their next outing. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.

MARS HILL - Mars Hill split their games last week. The Lions are now 6-10 overall and 2-4 in the SAC … In the first game of the week, Sean Barnette (Rock Hill, SC) recorded a double-double to lead Wingate University past Mars Hill in men's basketball action Wednesday night, 94-89 in Stanford Arena … Kenny Villines (Fayetteville, NC) followed Barnette with his career high 18 points while Rosco Turner (Lexington, NC) added 17 hitting 4-4 shots from behind the arc. Bryan Grier (Charlotte, NC) rounded out the double-digit scorers for Wingate with 10 points … Jamarl Glen (District Heights, MD) scored his career high 27 points to lead the Lions. He added six rebounds. P.J. Gore (North Myrtle Beach, SC) scored 13 while Akeene Coakley (Mt. Pleasant, SC) recorded 12 points and seven boards. Josh Goble (Lenoir, NC) and Stoney Polite (Morganton, NC) scored 10 apiece … The first half saw six ties and two lead changes before Wingate took a 46-42 lead into the locker room at the intermission. Villines scored 14 of his 18 points in the first frame. Wingate out scored MHC 29-22 over the first 10 minutes of the second half to enjoy their largest lead of 11 points (75-64) with 9:28 on the clock after Grier hit a layup. The Lions fought back going on a 13-2 run to tie the contest at 77-all with 6:59 left in regulation after Gore scored inside … Wingate extended their advantage back to seven points going on a 11-4 run of their own over the next three minutes to lead 88-81 after Larry Staley (Charlotte, NC) hit a couple of free throws. The Lions refused to quit and out scored the Bulldogs 9-1 to trim the deficit to just a single point (90-89) with 34 ticks left after Coakley hit a 3-pointer … MHC was forced to foul down the stretch and the Bulldogs answered converting on 4-4 attempts at the charity stripe to seal the win … In the second game of the week, the Lincoln Memorial University men's basketball team trailed nearly the entire game before taking a 69-68 lead with 3.9 seconds remaining in Saturday night's home South Atlantic Conference battle with Mars Hill College … Terry Delaney (Murfreesboro, TN), who led the Railsplitters in scoring and rebounding with 22 points and nine rebounds hit a shot in the paint with time running out to give the Railsplitters only their second lead of the half with 3.9 seconds remaining on the clock … The basket prompted Lions' Head Coach Terry Rogers to call time out in order to put together a solid offensive play. After numerous timeouts by both teams, the inbound pass was thrown in from Mars Hill's Jordan Skinner (Yellow Springs, OH) to Tony Blake (Canton, NC). Blake took the ball to the mid-court line and delivered a pass into the hands of Jamarl Glen (District Heights, MD) who penetrated the top of the circle and put up a shot that fell through to give the Lions the come-from-behind victory and handing the Railsplitters a gut-wrenching 70-69 loss … Glen led all scorers with 23 points while teammate Jabreel Moton (Cincinnati, OH) came off the bench to contribute 11 points for MHC. The Lions' only other player to make double figures was P.J. Gore (North Myrtle Beach, SC) who had 10 points and led Mars Hill in rebounding with nine boards … This week MHC will host Chowan on Monday night and then face two road games. The Lions will play at Tusculum on Wednesday before playing at Brevard on Saturday.

NEWBERRY - The Newberry College Indians wrapped up their first trip through South Atlantic Conference play with wins over Tusculum and Catawba… The Indians' record currently stands at 8-9 overall and 3-4 in SAC play… On Wednesday, the Indians made their first eight consecutive baskets of the game and never looked back en route to a 74-62 win over Tusculum at home… Grant Domsic, Clemente Martin and Vytautas Valiulis tied for the team lead with 14 points apiece, as Newberry led by as many as 31 points in the second half… Kendrick Johnson blocked four shots in the first half to move up to 47 blocks this season, breaking the Newberry record for blocks in a season, which he set with 45 blocks last season… Following the Catawba game, Johnson's block total sits at 49… The Indians started the game on fire, connecting on their first seven field goal attempts and first four free throws over the opening 5:52… After the two sides traded free throws to start the game 2-2, Newberry exploded for a 22-6 run, during which Johnson earned three of his four blocks for the night in just a minute and a half… The Pioneers stopped the bleeding temporarily in the middle of the period, but Newberry closed the half on a 22-3 run to take a 46-20 lead into the dressing rooms… Newberry was 16-of-30 (53.3 percent) from the field in the opening half, with 22 of the 46 points coming from the reserves… Tusculum connected on only six of its 24 shots (25.0 percent) in the first half… The early parts of the second half saw continued pressure from the Indians stretch the lead to as many as 31 points… The Pioneers rallied back against the Indian reserves to narrow the deficit to 11 points in the final seconds of the game, but the result was never in doubt, as the hosts emerged victorious… On Saturday, the Indians picked up their first win at Catawba in four seasons as Martin scored a career-high 29 points to lead Newberry to a 92-82 win… The Bahamian junior threw down six thunderous dunks in the final seven minutes of the game to push the Indians to the victory… Stephane Bakinde was just short of a triple-double with 15 points, nine rebounds and eight assists… Matt Alexander scored 15 points and had five rebounds, while Valiulis scored 12 points and dished out eight assists… Ty Overmyer scored a career-high eight points… Newberry started the game with hot shooting, which has been a hallmark of recent Newberry basketball games… With 10:52 to play in the opening half, a Bakinde triple gave Newberry a 31-19 lead… However, the hosts quickly turned things around, taking a 34-33 lead with 6:03 before the break on a Matthew Sossamon layup… From there, the two teams traded buckets back and forth, and a Donzell Williams layup just before the buzzer gave Catawba a 48-46 lead going into the locker room… Both teams shot 50 percent or better in the opening half… Martin tied the game up with a layup on the first possession of the second half and another Martin layup with 16:13 to go gave Newberry a lead it would never give up… With 7:58 to play, Newberry only led by three, but an 11-0 run over the next two and a half minutes put the game out of reach… Newberry's statistical dominance came from all facets of the scoresheet… The Indians dished out 23 assists to only 11 turnovers… Newberry also forced 18 Catawba turnovers while shooting 32-of-62 (51.6 percent) from the floor… The Indians also excelled at the charity stripe, connecting on 20 of 25 chances (80.0 percent) for Newberry's best free throw percentage of the season…. The Indians will look to carry the momentum from the two wins into the second half of league play with two home games this week… On Wednesday, Newberry hosts provisional member Brevard College for only the second time in school history… Newberry will hope to use Saturday as a day to exact revenge on the Carson-Newman Eagles… C-N won, 90-71, in Jefferson City, Tenn., on January 5.

TUSCULUM - The Tusculum men's basketball team went 0-2 last week, dropping a pair of South Atlantic Conference road contests at Newberry and Wingate… With last week's results, the Pioneers fall to 8-10 overall and 2-4 in league play… In Tusculum's 74-62 loss at Newberry, senior forward Jordan Lear led all scorers with 23 points and 12 boards, including his 500th-rebound of his career… Senior Lavonti Jeter and junior Ryan Troutman finished with eight points each... Troutman also dished out a game-high six assists in the loss… With Newberry leading 9-8 three minutes into the game, the Tribe scored 13 unanswered points over the next six minutes, capped off by a three-pointer at the 12:08 mark. The Indians used 9-0 spurt later in the period and would eventually lead 46-20 at the intermission… Newberry would take its largest lead of the evening at 65-34 with 7:56 remaining in the game… The Pioneers mounted a strong second half charge as TC closed out the final two minutes with a 12-2 run to cut the deficit to 73-62, including three-pointers by Lear and fellow senior Emory Cain… The Pioneers out-rebounded the Indians by a 35-30 margin, including 12-9 on the offensive boards… In TC's 81-77 road setback at Wingate, Lear led all scorers with 27 points, while sophomore Jimmy Boone finished with 19 points, shooting 6-of-8 from the floor and 4-of-5 from three-point territory… Sophomore Kyle Moore finished with 12 points, while Troutman added 11 points and a game-high nine rebounds… Wingate jumped out to a 10-2 advantage to start the game and later led 19-12. The Pioneers responded with a 15-3 spurt, including six points each by Lear and Boone as TC led 27-22 with 8:04 remaining before halftime… The lead would change hands four more times before the Pioneers took a 40-37 lead at the intermission… In the second half, the lead continued to swap hands, including five ties… With Wingate leading 52-49, Boone and Moore posted back-to-back three-pointers, giving Tusculum a 55-52 advantage with 14:50 remaining in the game… Wingate answered with 11 unanswered points as the Bulldogs led 65-57 with 10 minutes left in the contest… Tusculum would cut the deficit to five (69-64) following a three-pointer by Moore at the 7:27 mark… But Plummer responded with a trey 17 seconds later and a pair of free throws to give the Bulldogs their largest lead of the day at 76-66 with four minutes remaining… The Pioneers mounted one final charge as Tusculum went on an 11-3 run and freshman Robert Troutman's tip-in with six seconds left moved TC within two points (79-77)… But that's as close as Tusculum would get as Wingate made two free throws with four seconds on the clock to seal the game… Tusculum leads the SAC in 3-point field goal percentage (.393), rebounding defense (30.8 rpg), assist/turnover margin (1.13) and 3-point field goals made (9.44)… Lear is one of 16 players in recorded school history to score 1,000 points… He enters this week's action with 1,385 points to his credit (7th in school history)… Lear has scored in 72 straight games and in 98 of his 99 career contests… Lear has recorded a rebound in 40 straight games and in 98 of his 99 career appearances… Lear recorded his 500th rebound in Wednesday game at Newberry. He has 515 to his credit, which is ninth all-time at TC… Tusculum has made a 3-point field goal in 571 consecutive games… Lear has recorded a three-point field goal in 20 straight games, dating back to last season… During that 20-game run, he has shot 55-for-131 from beyond the arc (42 %)… Tusculum head coach Jim Boone enters today's game with 356 career victories, which are 35th most amongst active NCAA Division II coaches… Since the 2001-02 season, Tusculum is 49-9 when scoring 80 or more points, including 3-1 this year… The Pioneers host a pair of conference game this week when they face Mars Hill and Lenoir-Rhyne.

WINGATE - The Wingate University Bulldogs topped the Tusculum College Pioneers 81-77 in South Atlantic Conference men's basketball action Saturday afternoon in Cuddy Arena. With the victory, the host Bulldogs improve to 14-4 overall and 5-1 in the SAC ... Senior forward/guard Sean Barnette led the way for the Bulldogs with 24 points and eight rebounds. Sophomore guard Brandon Plummer added 18 points for the hosts. He was seven-for-10 from the field, while hitting three-of-four shots from beyond the arc ... Wingate junior guard DeMario Mattox added 14 points and six assists. Redshirt senior forward/center Bryan Grier had seven points, six rebounds and five blocked shots. The all-time leading shot blocker in school and conference history with 413 rejections, Grier is now only three blocks away from tying the all-time NCAA Division II career record ... The Bulldogs jumped out to an early 10-2 lead, getting four quick points from Mattox. A lay-up from Kenny Villines gave Wingate a 19-12 lead eight minutes into the contest. The Pioneers responded, getting three consecutive three pointers from Lear to take a 21-19 lead at the 10-minute mark ... The second half would be tightly contested; the Pioneers led 57-54 with 13:29 remaining. Wingate would respond with an 11-0 run to take a 65-57 lead; Grier put the finishing touches on the run with a dunk at the 10:13 mark. A pair of Mattox free throws gave the Bulldogs a 76-66 advantage with four minutes left ... Tusculum continued to fight back, cutting the lead to 78-75 with 25 ticks left on the clock. A Barnette free throw nudged the margin to 79-75 three seconds later. The Pioneers hit a follow shot with six seconds remaining to make the score 79-77 Wingate. Tusculum was fouled on the play, but they missed the bonus free throw. Mattox iced the game on the other end with a pair of free throws ... Wingate shot 52.5 percent from the field on the afternoon (31-of-59). The Bulldogs hit 57.1 percent from the floor after intermission (16-of-28). Tusculum shot 40.6 percent (26-of-64), while draining 10-of-25 shots from beyond the arc. The Bulldogs scored 19 points as a result of 16 Tusculum turnovers. The Pioneers scored 18 points thanks to 19 Wingate turnovers. The Bulldogs held a 44-30 advantage in points in the paint ... Barnette recorded his 25th career double-double (13 points, 13 rebounds) to lead Wingate University past Mars Hill College 94-89 in men's basketball action Wednesday night in Stanford Arena on the MHC campus ... Barnette became the first SAC men's basketball player to break the 2,000-point plateau. Entering this week's play, Barnette has 2,026 career points. Villines followed with a career-high 18 points Wednesday. Villines hit six-of-seven from the field against Mars Hill ... Bulldog junior point guard Rosco Turner equaled his career-best with 17 points. Turner hit four-of-four three-point field goal attempts. Grier rounded out the double-digit scorers for the visitors with 10 points ... The first half saw six ties and two lead changes before Wingate took a 46-42 lead into the locker room at the intermission. Villines scored 14 of his 18 points in the opening 20 minutes ... The Bulldogs outscored Mars Hill 29-22 over the first 10 minutes of the second half to enjoy their largest lead of 11 points with 9:28 on the clock. A Grier lay-up made the score 75-64. The Lions clawed back, making a 13-2 run to tie the contest at 77-all with 6:59 left in regulation ... Wingate made an 11-4 run of its own over the next three minutes to extend the lead to 88-81 after sophomore guard Larry Staley (Charlotte, N.C.) hit two free throws. The Lions refused to quit, outscoring the Bulldogs 9-1 to trim the deficit to a single point (90-89) with 34 ticks left. The Lions hit a three-point field goal to conclude the furious flurry. Mars Hill was forced to foul down the stretch; the Bulldogs answered by converting on four-of- four attempts at the charity stripe to seal the win ... Barnette averaged a double-double last week, helping lead Wingate to two wins. The 2007 Daktronics All-American averaged 18.5 points per game and 10.5 rebounds in the two victories. For the week, Barnette shot 52.0 percent from the field (13-of-25). For the season, Barnette leads the Bulldogs (and the SAC) with 19.9 points per game and 9.7 rebounds per game ... Wingate University head coach Parker Laketa is approaching 150 career wins. Laketa is 143-88 overall in seven Bulldog seasons. The Kansas State University graduate is Wingate's all-time winningest senior college men's basketball coach ... Wingate hosts Lenoir-Rhyne Wednesday in a battle for first place in the SAC. The two teams split two games last season. On Feb. 21, 2007, the host Bulldogs topped the Bears 81-67. Barnette had 19 points, eight rebounds, five assists, four steals and two blocked shots ... On Jan. 27, 2007, Lenoir-Rhyne guard/forward Reggie Bratton scored a career-high 33 points to lead the Bears to a 79-67 come-from-behind victory over Wingate in Shuford Gymnasium. Lenoir-Rhyne earned sole possession of first place in the league standings with the Jan. 27 victory.