Men’s Basketball Notes, December 7, 2009

Men's basketball notes and game recaps for week ending December 6, 2009.

BREVARD - The Brevard College Tornados went undefeated on the week, defeating Erskine 64-46 on Tuesday in Charlotte, N.C. at Time Warner Cable Arena and topping Tusculum College on Saturday in Boshamer Gymnasium in overtime, 58-54 ... Jonathan Whitson led the Tornados on Tuesday with 17 points and eight rebounds, connecting on six of seven shots from the field ... Josh Roper added 15 points and four assists and Jacques Dovonou added 11 points and four rebounds ... The Tornados as a team connected on 51.0 percent (26-51) of their attempts from the floor and outrebounded the Flying Fleet 40-27 ... Brevard held a 23-20 lead at the halftime break, before opening up the second half on a 10-0 run as the Tornados outscored Erskine 41-26 in the second half ... On Saturday against Tusculum, Whitson, Darin Dellinger and Dovonou all hit free throws in the waning seconds of overtime as the Tornados came from behind to win their first SAC contest of the season, 58-54 ... Sam Carlisle led the Tornados with 14 poitns and 18 rebounds, with eight points and 15 rebounds coming in the second half as the Tornados held a 2:1 rebounding edge over the Pioneers, 42-21 ... Whitson added 12 points and five rebounds, while Dellinger had 11 points and two steals ... The Tornados fell behind 31-23 at the halftime break ... Brevard came back to retake the lead with 3:18 to play in regulation on Whitson's jumper from the left corner ... A free throw by Dellinger put the game in overtime with the score tied at 48-48 ... Dellinger kept the offense going in the overtime period by taking an outlet pass and streaking down the court for a layup, before Whitson, Dellinger and Dovonou clinched the game, 58-54 ... The Tornados return to the court this week on Monday as Brevard hosts Lees-McRae College at home in Boshamer Gymnasium at 7 p.m.

CARSON-NEWMAN - The Carson-Newman Eagles slipped twice on the week to fall to 4-4 overall and 1-0 in South Atlantic Conference play … The Eagles opened the week with a 69-56 loss at Maryville College … Jordan Dixon, who averaged 16.5 points per game on the week, led the way with 20 points, finishing 7-of-15 from the floor … The Eagles were outrebounded 55-43 in the game, and struggled to take care of the basketball, turning it over 25 times … C-N did hold Maryville to 32.8 percent shooting, including 29.6 percent in the second half … The Eagles closed their week with a 70-67 loss at Lincoln memorial in their South Atlantic Conference opener Saturday night … C-N shot just 33.9 percent from the floor (20-of-59), but placed five players in double-figures in one of their most balanced efforts of the season … Senior Trey Okoth and Dixon led the Eagles with 13 points apiece … Okoth added nine rebounds, while Dixon finished with three assists and three boards … Junior J.J. Wesley added 12 points, while freshman Trey Caruthers and sophomore Cameron Sharpe each added 12 … Wesley leads the Eagles in scoring on the year at 16.3 points per game … Dixon is second at 14.6 points per game … Okoth and sophomore Quinche Dowdell each lead the team in boards at six per game … C-N returns to action on Saturday night with their last game before Christmas break at home against King College … Tipoff is at 7 p.m. in Holt Fieldhouse.

CATAWBA - The Catawba men opened its conference schedule with its most lopsided loss of the season at Lenoir-Rhyne then responded with its most complete game of the year in a win over Chowan ... The Catawba Indians lost 95-77 at Lenoir-Rhyne, seeing the Bears race away from a five-point lead midway through the second half ... L-R shot 60 percent for the game and 65 percent in the second half and held a 36-25 edge on the boards ... Rob Fields and Antonio Houston each scored 21 points to pace the Indians ... Houston added nine rebounds ... On Saturday, Catawba moved its home game with Chowan to Charlotte's Time Warner Cable Arena and claimed a 78-55 victory ... The Indians held Chowan to just 24 percent shooting in the first half in leading 35-19 ... The game was never in doubt after the Tribe went up by 10 points eight minutes into the contest ... Donald Rutherford posted a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds ... Houston was the other Indian in double figures with 10 points ... A dozen players took part in the scoring ... Catawba shot 45 percent, held a 42-37 edge on the boards and had 13 turnovers to 21 for the Hawks ... Fields continues to lead the Tribe in scoring at 17.4 a game ... He also leads in assists with 25 and is second with 10 steals ... He has made 42-of-44 (95.5 percent) attempts at the line ... Houston follows at 15.9 points per game with 5.1 rebounds and 11 steals ... Rutherford adds 15.4 points and a team-leading 6.9 boards ... The Indians are hitting nearly 74 percent at the line and are averaging 10 more attempts per contest the their opponents ... Catawba will be idle until it travels to UNC Asheville on Dec. 15 for a match-up with the NCAA I Bulldogs.

LENOIR-RHYNE - The Lenoir-Rhyne University men's basketball team (2-4, 1-0) snapped a four-game losing streak with a South Atlantic Conference-opening victory over Catawba, 95-77, Wednesday evening at Shuford Memorial Gymnasium … Junior forward D.J. Blackmon (Albemarle, N.C.) led all scorers with 28 points and 13 rebounds while senior guard Marcus Hodges (Wake Forest, N.C.) added 15 points as Lenoir-Rhyne shot 60 percent (38-of-63) from the field including 67 percent (eight-of-12) from three-point land in the victory … Blackmon continues to lead the team in scoring (22.5 ppg), rebounding (6.5 rpg) and assists (3.0 apg) … Lenoir-Rhyne hopes to avenge in earlier loss to Barton when it travels to Wilson, N.C., to take on the Bulldogs Tuesday at 7 p.m. … Barton defeated Lenoir-Rhyne by a 103-92 score in double overtime on Tuesday, November 24, in Hickory, N.C. … The Bears still lead the all-time series with the Bulldogs, 82-26.

LINCOLN MEMORIAL - LMU faced Temple Baptist College (Cincinnati, OH) in the first of two meetings this season on Tuesday … Both meetings will be in Harrogate … LMU led for pretty much the entire contest, winning 98-46 … Sophomore Brandon O'Brien led all scorers with 17 points…. O'Brien also pulled down 10 rebounds … Brandon Armstrong also had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds … Freshman Wally Jones had 16 points … Carlos Sanford had 14 points and Stuart Miller added in 12 … Desmond Johnson also pulled down 11 rebounds … The Railsplitters outrebounded Temple Baptist 65-39 … Next up for LMU was arch-rival Carson-Newman in the first of two meetings this season … It was the 184th meeting in the series dating back to January, 1923 … Coming into the meeting, LMU held a 50-40 record vs. the Eagles in Harrogate and a 13-5 record in the Turner Arena … LMU took the lead for good with 4:39 to go and held on for the 70-67 win … Clutch free throw shooting down the stretch (6-8) helped LMU seal the win … D'Mario Curry led all players in both points and rebounds as he had 17 points and eight rebounds on the night … Brandon Armstrong had 14 points … Justin Allen added in 11 points … C-N had five players in double figures … LMU won the rebounding battle by two, 45-43 … Next up for the Railsplitters is a Dec. 12 tilt at Concord College and then a meeting with local rival King College in Dec. 15 in the Turner Arena.

MARS HILL - Mars Hill played two games last week and saw one school record shattered. The Lions lost at Anderson, 109-86 and then defeated Belmont Abbey, 97-80. MHC evened their season record to 3-3 … In the first game of the week, Stoney Polite scored 25 points but Mars Hill lost to Anderson College on the road Wednesday night, 109-86 … Polite hit six shots from behind the arc to highlight his offensive performance … Dion Malachi followed with 17 points while Danny Sanders added 14. The duo recorded seven and five rebounds in the loss, respectively … Both teams shot well in the game. Anderson converted on 62 percent (29-47) of their field goals while MHC hit 52 percent (22-42) of their shots from the floor … Anderson out rebounded MHC, 51-33. The Trojans received 45 points from their bench … Mars Hill led for the first 15 minutes of the game. Oskars Ernsteins hit a 3-pointer at the 5:39 mark to give the Trojans a 38-35 lead they would not relinquish … Anderson took a 50-46 lead into the locker room at halftime … The second half belonged to the Trojans. Anderson went on a 17-2 run to begin the second frame and take a 67-48 lead with 16:59 left in regulation after Cornwell hit a couple of free throws … Malachi hit a layup to bring the Lions within nine points (69-60) with 13:57 left in the contest but that was as close as MHC would get … In the second contest of the week, Danny Sanders hit a school record eight 3-pointers to lead the Lions past Belmont Abbey College 97-80 Saturday afternoon in Stanford Arena … Sanders hit 8-12 shots from behind the arc and 12-19 from the field to score his career high 37 points in the victory. He added five rebounds and two steals and the same number of blocks … The old 3-point field goals made record was six, held by three former Lions; Tony King (1991), Wes Conner (1998), and Walt Baxley (2005) … Dion Malachi was the only other Lion in double-figures. He scored 16 points and had a career high four blocks. He also led the Lions on the boards with nine rebounds and had four steals in the win … Mars Hill shot 50 percent from the floor (35-70) in the game and 58.1 percent (18-31) in the second frame … The Lions out rebounded the Crusaders, 37-32 … A very up-tempo game that saw the Lions pressing the entire contest led to the teams combining for 62 turnovers in the game … MHC scored 38 points off Belmont Abbey miscues … Robin McElroy hit a shot in the lane with 14:10 left in the first half to give MHC a 13-11 advantage they would never relinquish … The Lions took a 42-35 lead into the locker room at halftime … The first 15 minutes of the second half was closely played. Patus hit a pair of his 12 free throws to bring the Crusaders within a single point (77-76) of the Lions at the 5:10 mark but MHC answered scoring 10 unanswered points to put the game away … The run materialized due to a stringent defense that forced three Crusaders turnovers during the two-minute span … The Lions largest lead of 19 points came at the 1:03 mark when Sanders hit a high percentage shot in the lane … Mars Hill will play at Limestone College on December 9. Game time in Gaffney, S.C. is slated for 7:30 p.m. The Lions will then host Warren Wilson College on Saturday at 4 p.m. to close out the week's games.

NEWBERRY - The Newberry College men's basketball team dropped to 3-4 overall and 0-1 in South Atlantic Conference play with two losses last week ... On Tuesday, Newberry traveled south and took on Central Florida, losing to the Knights, 80-62 ... Newberry was led by Stephane Bakinde's 12 points and 5 rebounds ... Ryan Barnes scored 11 points, while Rodney Lee was good for 10 points ... Ray Robinson had 8 points and 7 rebounds, while Devante Cutler had 6 assists and 7 rebounds ... The Knights took off early and did not allow Newberry to score for the first five minutes of the game, with NC's first points coming on a Robinson tip-in to make it an 8-2 game ... A UCF three-pointer stretched the lead to double digits with 11:02 left in the first half, but the scarlet and gray responded strongly ... Newberry scored nine consecutive points to cut the lead to a single point at 19-18 with 8:59 left in the half on a Danny Huffor three-pointer ... However, the Knights closed out the half on 23-8 run to take a 42-26 lead into the locker room at halftime ... UCF shot 50 percent (17-of-34) from the floor in the half and made 5-of-6 three-point attempts to extend the lead, while Newberry connected on 1-of-8 treys in the opening 20 minutes ... The teams battled back and forth in the opening minutes of the second half, but a 7-0 Newberry run in the span of just over a minute cut the lead to 10 points with 17 minutes remaining in the game ... But the Knights forced 10 Newberry turnovers in the half and once again shot 50 percent from the field to hold Newberry at bay ... UCF pushed the lead to 20 points, but Newberry never stopped battling until the final buzzer with Carlnel Williams and David Brown making dunks in the final minute and a half after scrapping for the ball in tough situations ... In the first matchup between a South Atlantic Conference school and a Conference USA school, Newberry showed plenty of bright spots, making 50 percent (14-of-28) shots in the second half and outrebounding the Knights by a 40-31 margin, including 12 offensive rebounds that resulted in 15 second-chance points ... Despite the challenge of playing in the second-largest arena Newberry has ever played in with a hostile crowd on live television, the scarlet and gray were not fazed and continued to play hard until the final buzzer sounded ... Newberry also adjusted well to early problems and limited Isaac Sosa - one of the hottest three-point shooters in the nation - to only two three-point baskets in the contest ... On Friday, Newberry dropped its SAC opener to Wingate, 66-59 ... Newberry was led by 16 points from Lee, with Robinson scoring 10 and Brown and Huffor scoring 9 each off the bench ... Bakinde had 10 rebounds ... Newberry held Wingate to 35.9 percent (23-of-64) shooting but the Bulldogs took 10 more shots than their guests thanks to 20 offensive rebounds ... Newberry shot 48.1 percent (26-of-54) from the floor but only 5-of-12 (41.7 percent) from the charity stripe ... The disparity on the offensive boards, the struggles at the line and 21 turnovers were too much for Newberry to overcome ... Newberry took an early lead in the game, pushing the lead to 9-3 on a Bakinde tip-in with 15:37 left in the half ... A yo-yo first half saw Wingate narrow the deficit to a single possession on four different occasions and the hosts took their first lead with 7:45 left in the half when a Quan Alexander layup made it 24-23 in Wingate's favor ... The scarlet and gray were able to push the lead back to four points on a steal and breakaway dunk by Brown, but a Bulldogs three-pointer and free throw in the final minute sent the teams to the locker rooms with a 38-all tie score ... Of those 38 points, Newberry scored 32 in the paint with 20 points coming from reserve players ... Newberry struggled to score out of the break, only connecting on one field goal in the opening 9:26 of the half ... By the time Huffor drained Newberry's only three-pointer of the half it was only a 48-44 Wingate edge as the hosts fought just as hard to find the cylinder ... A pair of Robinson free throws with 6:50 to play narrowed the deficit to 52-49 with less than seven minutes to go and a Lee layup with 4:12 to play cut the lead to one point at 54-53 ... But Newberry could never regain the lead ... Outside of Lee's hard-hitting dunks, the Wingate players took advantage of opportunities ... The Bulldogs connected on seven straight free throws while Newberry had two turnovers and two missed three-pointers to push the lead to eight points in the final minute and take the SAC-opening victory ... Newberry held an overall advantage in points in the paint (44-26), but Wingate capitalized on offensive rebounds and had 19 second chance points ... The offensive rebounds were Wingate's primary means of setting up their offense, as the Bulldogs only had eight assists on 23 made baskets ... Newberry takes a week off for final exams and closes a three-game road trip on Saturday, December 12, at Lander University ... Tipoff at Horne Arena in Greenwood is set for approximately 3:30 p.m. as the game is the second half of a doubleheader with the women's team.

TUSCULUM - The Tusculum Pioneers (3-4, 0-1 SAC) went 0-2 last week, including a 58-54 overtime loss to Brevard in the South Atlantic Conference opener for both teams … TC also dropped an 80-74 home contest to Queens University of Charlotte … In the Queens game, senior Kyle Moore poured in a season-best 38 points … Moore went 14-of-26 from the floor, including 5-of-10 from three-point territory … It is the second-best offensive performance of his collegiate career and tied for the 10th most points in SAC history … Moore scored a career-best 42 markers against Columbus State last season … In the Brevard game, Wes Taylor and Rob Troutman scored 11 points each in the loss … Moore was limited to only eight points, ending his string of consecutive games with double-figure scoring at 23 in a row … Both teams combined to shoot only 1-of-20 from three-point land … The lone trey was by Tusculum's Nick Gagel, who connected on a 52-foot heave at the end of the first half … Gagel's three-pointer keeps Tusculum's streak alive with 618 consecutive games with a trifecta … Tusculum's overtime loss to BC was the Pioneers first extra-period defeat since TC's 91-88 loss to No. 3 Bowie State in the 2005 NCAA II Tournament … Prior to Saturday's loss, TC had won its last three overtime games … Moore has scored 1,277 points in his three seasons at Tusculum, which are 11th in school history … He has scored 20 ore more points on 29 occasions and 30 or more markers six times … Tusculum's last three opponents have a combined 13-2 record … TC's next four games are against teams with a combined 20-8 slate ... Tusculum begins a three-game home-stand this week with contests against St. Catharine, Lees-McRae and fifth-ranked Augusta State … The Tusculum/Augusta State contest will be a rematch of last year's opening round game of the NCAA Tournament as ASU edged the Pioneers 62-60 … Augusta State (6-0) advance to the NCAA Final Four last season.

WINGATE - Four different players scored in double figures as the Wingate University Bulldogs topped Newberry College 66-59 in South Atlantic Conference men's basketball action Friday night in Cuddy Arena. The Bulldogs improve to 5-2 overall on the year and 1-0 in the SAC ... Freshman forward Odell Turner and sophomore guard Jaime Vaughn led the Bulldogs with 13 points each. Turner added six rebounds, three blocks and three steals to his ledger. Senior guard Larry Staley contributed 12 points and five rebounds off the bench. Freshman forward Quan Alexander (Charlotte, N.C.) led the Bulldogs with nine rebounds ... A jumper from Ray Robinson gave Newberry a 13-7 lead seven minutes into the game. Three-pointers from Vaughn and sophomore guard Tracy Parks cut the Wingate deficit to one. The Bulldogs took their first lead of the game on a jumper from Alexander at the 7:45 mark, making the score 24-23 Wingate. Vaughn followed with a jumper to push the margin to 26-23 ... A Newberry lay-up tied the game at 31. Wingate responded with a three-point play from Turner to make it 34-31 with 3:20 remaining in the half. A lay-up and dunk from David Brown gave Newberry a 38-34 lead with less than two minutes remaining. Vaughn came right back down and drained a three, while Parks added a free throw to tie the game at halftime ... The Bulldogs used a 6-0 run to take a 48-41 lead with 11 minutes remaining in the game. The scarlet-and-gray trimmed the lead to three at 52-49 on a pair of Robinson free throws with 6:50 remaining. A Robinson lay-up made it a one-point game at the 4:12 mark. A jumper from Alexander and a tip-in from Turner helped Wingate push the lead to 58-55 with three minutes remaining ... Newberry again got within two on a dunk from Rodney Lee with 2:42 to go. Wingate would hit seven-of-nine free throws down the stretch to ice the lead and notch the victory to open conference play ... The Bulldogs shot 35.9 percent from the field (23-of-64), while hitting four-of-17 shots from beyond the arc. Wingate made 16-of-24 free throws, compared to five-of-12 free throw shooting from Newberry ... The visitors shot 48.1 percent from the field, but connected on only two-of-16 from three-point range. Wingate converted 21 Newberry turnovers into 20 points, while also holding a 19-9 edge in second-chance points. The scarlet-and-gray dominated the inside, holding a 44-26 advantage in points in the paint. The Bulldogs out-rebounded Newberry 39-36 ... On Monday night, Vaughn had a team-high 16 points to lead five players in double figures as the Bulldogs rallied for an 82-76 victory over UNC Pembroke at the English E. Jones Center on the UNCP campus. With the road triumph, the Bulldogs match their 2008-09 road victory total with two away-from-home victories ... Alexander had 12 points, while Staley contributed 11 points. Turner and redshirt senior forward David Johnson added 10 points each ... The Braves led 40-30 late in the first half. Wingate scored the last six points of the opening stanza, capped by a steal and a lay-up by freshman guard Eddie Lewis with 24 ticks left on the first half clock ... Wingate started the second half on a 24-6 run to take the lead for good. A Johnson three-point field goal finished the flurry at the 13:25 mark, giving the visiting Bulldogs a 60-46 advantage ... The Braves had the answer, posting a 12-0 response to cut the deficit to 60-58 with 9:23 remaining. The hosts tied the game for the fifth and final time, hitting a triple to make the score 75-75 with 1:48 remaining. The three-point field goal would be the Braves' final basket. Johnson hit a jumper on the next trip down the floor to make the score 77-75 Wingate ... Alexander hit a free throw to make the score 78-75. Robinson hit one of two charity tosses to pull the hosts within 78-76. Vaughn put the game on ice with a three-pointer with 18 seconds remaining. His game-high fourth trifecta put Wingate up 81-76 ... UNC Pembroke outrebounded Wingate 42-33. Bulldog freshman guard Paidrick Matilus had a game-high nine rebounds for the visitors. Matilus barely missed a double-double, as he posted eight points ... Wingate blocked nine shots, with Turner rejecting a career-high five. Alexander blocked two shots, while Matilus and Vaughn erased one shot each. Wingate converted 25 UNC Pembroke turnovers into 20 points. The Braves returned the favor, converting 19 Bulldog miscues into 20 points ... The Bulldogs are back in action Saturday, Dec. 12, hosting Peach Belt Conference member USC Aiken at 4 p.m. The following week, Wingate entertains two Conference Carolinas opponents: Coker (Monday, Dec. 14, 7 p.m.) and Mount Olive (Wednesday, Dec. 16, 8 p.m.).