Men’s Basketball Notes, December 20, 2010
Men's basketball notes and game recaps for week ending December 19, 2010:
ANDERSON - The Trojans went 1-1 on the week, earning a hard-fought midweek 102-98 win past North Georgia then falling 84-69 at UNC Pembroke on Saturday. The Trojans scored the first seven points in overtime to hold off the Saints, with senior guard Brandon Young leading four Trojans in double figures with a season-high 29 points and dished out a game-high five assists, while Kevis Cornwell added 19 points and recorded five rebounds. Trey Britton tallied 15 points and Taylor Shugart netted 10 points and grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds … AU came up shy in its bid to defeat their fourth Peach Belt opponent of the 2010-11 campaign after knocking off Clayton State, Georgia College and North Georgia earlier this season. In the first half versus UNCP that featured five tie scores and 14 lead changes, Anderson took a 43-40 advantage at intermission. AU climbed within three twice inside the final eight minutes, but the Braves went on a 14-3 run that put the game out of reach for the Trojans. Cornwell scored a game-high 21 points for the Trojans, while Nick Trull added 12 points and Tyrell McDowell chipped in 10 points. Shugart pulled down a team-high seven rebounds … Following a 17-day break for the Christmas and New Year's holidays, Anderson gets back on the hardwood with a three-game conference homestand.
BREVARD - Five Tornados reached double figures in scoring and Drew Schauss recorded his first collegiate double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds as the Tornados defeated the visiting North Greenville University Crusaders on Wednesday evening in Boshamer Gymnasium, 99-83 … Brevard (3-2) was led by Josh Roper as the senior guard scored a game-high 25 points as the Tornados hit 52.5 percent (32-61) of their field goal attempts in the game. Gaither Hendrix added 21 points and six assists, while Schauss had a near perfect evening from the floor, hitting six of seven shots, five for five from behind the arc, while added in two free throws in achieving a career-high 19 points. Josh Jordan added 12 points and nine rebounds, while Ryson Felder added 10 points and five rebounds off the bench. Brevard's scheduled game on Thursday against Winston-Salem State was postponed due to weather issues. The team will be back in action on December 30th as they travel to Greeneville, Tenn. and Pioneer Arena to take on the Tusculum College Pioneers, with tipoff scheduled for 7 p.m.
CARSON-NEWMAN - The Carson-Newman Eagles dropped an 80-78 decision to Bluefield College on Wednesday at Holt Fieldhouse in their only contest of the week ... Bluefield College forward Byron Carpenter sank a turnaround jumper in the lane with one second remaining to lift the Rams to the win ... With the loss, the Eagles fall to 3-7 on the season ... C-N led by eight points with 5:33 remaining after Bradley Tumer converted a 3-point play to give the Eagles a 72-64 lead … However, the Rams closed out the contest on a 16-6 run to escape with the win ... The Eagles shot 42.3 percent (30-of-71) from the floor but were plagued by a poor night at the free-throw line, making just 10-of-20 attempts … Bluefield College sank 50.9 percent (28-of-55) of its shots, including an 8-of-16 night from behind the arc ... Junior guard Antonio Sullivan paced the Eagles with 19 points, while Ishmael Sanders netted 17 and Tumer added 11 points, five assists and four steals ... The Eagles return to action on Jan. 5 at Brevard College ... Tipoff is set for 8 p.m.
CATAWBA - Catawba split a pair of games entering the holiday break ... The Indians fell 96-84 to No. 19 Lincoln Memorial then rebounded to top Belmont Abbey 72-66 on Friday ... Stuart Thomson scored a career-high 25 points and added six boards and three steals in the loss to LMU ... He canned 10-of-16 shots ... Dominick Reid added 16 points, eight assists and six rebounds ... Against Belmont Abbey, Reid tossed in 21 points with six boards and five assists ... He hit a trio of three-pointers in a span of minute to get the Tribe rolling in the first half ... The Indians led by 11 early in the second half, but scored only two points over a six and half minute stretch to go down 56-48 with just under 10 minutes left ... Catawba rallied back and Reid hit a deciding jumper with 38 seconds to go for a 71-66 lead ... Freshman Keon Moore added 16 points in the win with 10 coming in the final half ... Reid leads Catawba in scoring (17.1), rebounding (5.1), assists (4.2) and steals (1.3) ... He is shooting 43.6 percent (24-of-55) from three-point range ... Moore is adding 14.1 a contest ... Catawba returns from the break to face Limestone on Dec. 30.
LENOIR-RHYNE - The Lenoir-Rhyne University men's basketball team (2-6, 1-1) split its two games last week and snapped its five-contest losing streak in the process … Lenoir-Rhyne fell to No. 8 Augusta State, 88-50, at home Wednesday in its largest margin of defeat since a 93-55 setback to Texas Christian during the 2001-02 season … Five players scored in double figures for Augusta State, led by Tye Beal's 16 points, and the Jaguars shot 61 percent (30-of-49) from the field in the victory … Freshman guard Allan Jones (Clemmons, N.C.) was the lone player to score in double figures for Lenoir-Rhyne, who shot just 38 percent (18-of-48) from the field in the loss … Lenoir-Rhyne rebounded with a 76-71 win over Newberry at home in a South Atlantic Conference contest on Saturday … Freshman guard R.J. McClure (Canton, N.C.) and junior Jon Hathcock (Concord, N.C.) each scored 17 points in the win for L-R … Both McClure (nine-of-12) and Hathcock (13-of-15) came up big from the free throw line for the Bears … Lenoir-Rhyne, which also had an 18-point lead (44-26) early in the second half, saw its advantage cut to one (68-67) by Newberry but four straight points by McClure put the contest out of reach … Lenoir-Rhyne is off until Wednesday, December 29, and Thursday, December 30, when it plays Georgia Southwestern (5:00 p.m.) and Lander (3:30 p.m.) in the New Year's Classic in Greenwood, S.C. … Georgia Southwestern won the only meeting between the two schools last year (59-56) … The all-time series between Lander and Lenoir-Rhyne is tied at two.
LINCOLN MEMORIAL - The Lincoln Memorial University men's basketball team remained undefeated, outlasting Catawba 96-84 Tuesday evening in the home South Atlantic Conference opener … In the first six minutes of action, LMU jumped out to a 15-8 lead. The Indians were able to fight back, leading to 5 ties and 10 lead changes … The Railsplitters were able to reaffirm control late in the half, establishing a 48-39 lead at halftime … In the second half the Railsplitters assumed as large as an 18 point lead and were able to beat the late pressure of Catawba, winning the game, 96-84 … The story of the game was D'Mario Curry's outstanding performance. Curry was able to record 30 points in the first half en route to a 41 point performance. Along with his point total, Curry notched 21 rebounds, 7 assists, and 4 steals … Curry also passed the 1,000 point plateau for his career with a put-back dunk in the first half … Along with Curry, Darryl Garrett notched 17 points. Desmond Johnson added 12 points … With the win, the 19th ranked Railsplitters move to 2-0 in SAC play and 9-0 overall … LMU will break for Christmas, returning to the court on January 3rd, as Lees-McRae will travel to Harrogate for a 7 p.m. tip-off.
MARS HILL - Mars Hill went 0-1 last week to take their season record to 4-5 on the season and 1-1 in the SAC … Three Lion players scored 20 points or more apiece but Mars Hill lost at Limestone College in men's basketball action Saturday afternoon, 97-82 in Timken Gym … Dion Malachi led MHC with a double-double, scoring 26 points and pulling down 12 rebounds. He added three blocks. Malachi leads the South Atlantic Conference in total blocks with 20 in nine games played and is third in field goal percentage (.648) … Sammy Emile followed with 22 points including three baskets from behind the arc. Donterious Hughes had 20 points, four assists and the same number of rebounds … Limestone hit 52.5 percent (32-16) of their shots from the floor as opposed to the Lions converting on 43.8 percent (32-73) of their attempts … MHC won the rebound battle, 43-35 … Twenty-six (26-32) of the Saints points came at the foul line … After taking time off for the Christmas Holidays, Mars Hill will play at USC Aiken on December 30. Game time is set for a 7:30 p.m. start. The Lions will provide a live audio webcast of the game. The Coca-Cola Tip-Off Show will begin at 7 p.m.
NEWBERRY - The Newberry Wolves had a solid offensive performance on Tuesday spoiled by a poor shooting day on Saturday as they split games with Coker and Lenoir-Rhyne this week ... The Wolves are 5-5 overall and 0-2 in SAC play heading into the holiday break, with the next action coming at home on January 5, 2011, against Mars Hill .... On Tuesday, Newberry blew open a game that was tied at halftime in a 102-85 win over Coker ... The game was the second time in a row that Newberry broke the 100-point barrier ... It was the first back-to-back occurrence of that feat for Newberry in nearly 20 years ... Newberry shot nearly 91 percent from the free throw line in the second half to cruise to the win late ... Tony Davis scored a career-high 29 points and made 14 consecutive free throws in the second half ... Brunes Charles also scored a career-high with 15 points ... Shamel Akins scored 18 points, Jawuan Lockhart scored 10 points with 5 assists and three rebounds ... Newberry notched 15 steals led by 3 apiece from Brandon Bostick and Charles Ndoloum ... On Saturday, a poor-shooting first half and 12-point halftime deficit was too much for Newberry to overcome in a 76-71 loss at Lenoir-Rhyne ... Davis led the Wolves with his first Newberry double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds, while Brandon Riley scored 17 and Coleman Young netted 12 ... Newberry shot only 22.2 percent from the field and 44.4 percent from the charity stripe in the first half, as L-R had a 34-22 lead ... L-R would lead by as many as 18 in the second half, but Newberry was able to chip away and get the lead down to one point with 1:41 to play, but could not scratch their way to a victory ... Nationally, Newberry ranked 4th in Division II in steals per game entering the week at 12.8, and should be in the top 5 again next week, as the Wolves stand on 128 steals, for 12.8 per game.
TUSCULUM - The Tusculum Pioneers (4-7, 1-0 SAC) dropped their only contest of the week as TC was edged 57-56 at Queens University of Charlotte ... The non-conference thriller included 19 lead changes and eight ties ... Tusculum's potential game-winning lay-up was blocked with one second remaining in the game ... Tusculum junior center Tommy Klempin led all players with a career-high 19 points, shooting 6-of-10 from the field and 7-of-10 from the free throw line ... Klempin also hauled in seven rebounds ... Senior forward Rob Troutman accounted for 10 points and seven rebounds, while junior guard Justin Steigerwald tallied eight points, six assists, blocked a shot, posted two steals and shot 6-of-6 from the charity stripe ... Redshirt freshman Ryan Slusher tallied six points on a pair of three-pointers, while junior guard Kevin Vest recorded four points, six rebounds and six assists ... Tusculum has made a three-point field goal in 650 consecutive games dating back to 1987 ... Troutman has made a three-pointer in 14 straight games and 18 of his last 19 outings ... Steigerwald has recorded an assist in his last 28 starts... Tusculum has limited the opposition to under 60 points on 17 occasions over the last two years, going 14-4 in those outings ... Through its first 11 games, Tusculum has played a very competitive schedule, facing teams with a combined 64-36 record (.646) ... Three of Tusculum's previous opponents are nationally ranked, including No. 8 Augusta State, No. 10 Hillsdale and No. 15 (NAIA) Saint Catharine ... TC's losses have come against programs with a combined 46-18 record (.719) … In Tusculum's wins this season, the Pioneers are averaging 29 free throw attempts per game, while shooting 76.9 percent (90-of-117) ... In TC's losses, the Pioneers are averaging only 13 trips to the stripe, but still shooting 74.7 percent (68-of-91) from the foul line ... Sophomore Matt Darnell has made his first six 3-point attempts as a Pioneer ... Tusculum returns to action Dec. 30 when it hosts defending Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Tournament champion Brevard at Pioneer Arena ... It will be the ninth recorded meeting between the two schools with Tusculum leading the series 6-2.
WINGATE - Wingate University junior guard Jaime Vaughn poured in a career-high 28 points to lead the Bulldogs past the Trojans of Mount Olive College 95-89 in NCAA Division II men's basketball action Tuesday night. With the victory, Wingate improves to 5-4 overall entering the Christmas holidays … Vaughn knocked down 10-of-15 shots from the field, including three-of-five from beyond the arc. He also hit five-of-five free throws during his career night. Sophomore forward Quan Alexander added a double-double with 19 points and a career-high 10 rebounds. Freshmen forwards Robert Carpenter and Jeffrey Parker contributed 11 points each, while sophomore guard Eddie Lewis recorded 10 points … Wingate topped the 90-point mark for the second time in the 2010 season, while shooting over 50 percent for the third time. The 'Dogs shot 53.3 percent from the field, while draining eight-of-17 shots from three-point range (47.1 percent). Mount Olive shot 48.4 percent from the field, while hitting 10-of-22 shots from beyond the arc (45.5 percent). The Bulldogs held a 36-33 rebounding advantage and converted eight Mount Olive turnovers into 16 points. Wingate committed a season-low 11 turnovers on the night … Wingate sophomore forward Odell Turner is second in the SAC in rebounding with his 8.5 boards per game. Classmate Ethan Kincaid is second in assist/turnover ratio at 1.76 … The Bulldogs return to action Thursday, Dec. 30, traveling to Belmont Abbey College. Wingate returns home Jan. 8, 2011, hosting South Atlantic Conference foe Tusculum College at 4 p.m.