Men’s Basketball Notes, January 10, 2011
Men's basketball notes and game recaps for week ending January 9, 2011:
ANDERSON - The Trojans had five players reach double figures for the second and third times this season as Anderson claimed two convincing wins in conference action … AU improved to 6-1 in the friendly confines of the Abney Center by winning its seventh game in the last nine contests … Anderson shook off the rust from a 17-day layoff to defeat Lenoir-Rhyne, 87-61, on Wednesday, then topped Catawba 81-56 on Saturday … The Trojans took and early lead versus the Bears, then opened the second half with a decisive 15-5 run, with senior guard Kevis Cornwell providing the spark by scoring eight of his 17 points during the outburst … There were three ties and eight lead changes in the first half of the Catawba contest, but junior guard Nick Trull sparked an 11-3 run late in the half that gave the Trojans a lead they would not surrender … Trey Britton and Cornwell each posted a team-high 14 points for the Trojans … Cornwell averaged a team-high 15.5 points on the week, reaching double figures for the 12th consecutive contest, while senior Trey Britton averaged 12.5 points and averaged 7.0 rebounds per game along with junior center Taylor Shugart … Anderson wraps up its three-game homestand by playing host to Newberry on Wednesday.
BREVARD - The Brevard College men's basketball team went 1-1 on the week, falling on Wednesday to Carson-Newman, 96-89, while defeating Mars Hill on Saturday, 91-87 ... Brevard never led in the game on Wednesday night as they fell to Carson-Newman in their first South Atlantic Conference loss on the season ... Five Tornados scored in double figures in the loss, led by Gaither Hendrix with 21, but 17 turnovers plagued Brevard as they fell for just the third time this season ... Hendrix went five of 13 from the floor and hitting a team-high three three-pointers as the Tornados shot 41.9 percent (26-62) from the field in the contest ... Josh Roper added 17 points and five assists, while Josh Jordan scored a career-high 17 points in addition to eight rebounds ... Drew Schauss and Vincent Dombrowski finished with 10 points apiece ... Brevard held the rebounding edge, outrebounding the Eagles 40-34, led by Darius Moose as the freshman pulled down a season-high 10 rebounds and the Tornados shot 87.9 percent (29-33) from the charity stripe, including 95.2 percent (20-21) in the second half ... On Saturday, Schauss scored 11 of his 17 points in the second half and Roper had his first career double-double with 23 points and 10 assists as the Tornados withstood a late second-half charge by the visiting Mars Hill Lions in winning their fifth game of the season, 91-87...Brevard connected on a blistering 62.9 percent (22-35) of their field goal attempts in the first half on their way to shooting 53.4 percent (31-58) from the floor in the contest, led by Roper's 23 point performance ... Moose added a career high 14 points, while Josh Jordan narrowly missed out on the double-double with nine points and 15 rebounds as the Tornados bounced back after their loss on Wednesday ... Brevard held the 39-37 rebounding edge in winning their fifth game out of their last six contests ... The Tornados also connected on 10 three-pointers in the contest, led by Ryson Felder as the junior guard went a perfect three for three from behind the arc as the Tornados hit 55.6 percent (10-18) of their three-pointers in the game ... Brevard heads to Catawba on Wednesday, continuing conference play, before returning back to Boshamer Gymnasium next Saturday in hosting Lenoir-Rhyne.
CARSON-NEWMAN - The Carson-Newman Eagles won their only contest of the week, claiming a 96-89 victory at Brevard College on Wednesday ... The 96 points were the most scored by the Eagles this season, while the victory was the first conference win for first-year head coach Chuck Benson ... It was also the Eagles first win over Brevard in their last four meetings ... C-N improved to 4-7 overall and 1-2 in SAC play ... The Eagles had one of their best offensive efforts of the season, shooting 50.8 percent from the floor, including 10-of-25 from 3-point range ... C-N also won the turnover battle, forcing 17 Brevard turnovers while only committing nine ... Junior forward John Holleman fired in a game-high 24 points to pace the Eagles, while junior guard Antonio Sullivan tossed in 20 points, including three 3-pointers ... Freshman Ishmael Sanders netted 18 points, including four 3-pointers, and Kevin Hare added 11 points ... Junior point guard Bradley Tumer pitched in eight points and seven assists in the win ... C-N got off to a hot start, outscoring the Tornados 8-2 behind a 3-pointer each from Sullivan and Holleman ... Brevard fought back to knot the contest at 22 apiece with 9:00 left, but the Eagles outscored the Tornados 27-14 to close out the first half and take a 49-36 lead into the locker room ... C-N pushed its lead to as many as 16 points in the second half, as a jumper by Sullivan at the 15:19 mark gave the Eagles a 59-43 cushion ... The Tornados made one last push and trimmed C-N's lead to 92-89 with 31 seconds left ... However, the Eagles went 4-for-4 from the free-throw line down the stretch to preserve the win ... The Eagles return to action on Wednesday at home against Tusculum ... Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. at Holt Fieldhouse.
CATAWBA - The Catawba men dropped a pair of league games last week, falling 63-61 at home to Wingate and 81-56 on the road at Anderson ... Catawba battled back from a near double-digit deficit in the first half without top scorer and rebounder, Dominick Reid, but failed to score over the last four minutes in the two-point loss ... The Indians shot just 32 percent after the break ... Justin Huntley led Catawba with 17 points, hitting on 9-of-11 at the line ... Freshman Keon Moore added 11 and Stuart Thomson 10 ... Anderson halted a Catawba rally with a three-pointer at the buzzer of the first half then ran past the Indians in the second half ... The Trojans shot nearly 60 percent in the final period, while Catawba again hit on just 32 percent ... Moore was the only Catawba player in double figures with 21 points ... Reid may miss another week following a concussion against Wingate ... The Indians are shooting just 41 percent on the season, compared to 48 percent by their opponents ... Catawba has done well behind the line, hitting on 34 percent and making 95 thus far ... Reid is averaging 16.5 points and 4.8 rebounds to pace the Indians ... Moore adds 13.4 points a contest ... Catawba is being outrebounded by just over six boards per game ... The Indians host a pair of SAC outings this week, Brevard on Wednesday and Tusculum on Saturday afternoon.
LENOIR-RHYNE - The Lenoir-Rhyne University men's basketball team (2-9, 1-2) lost its third straight game when the Bears fell to the Trojans of Anderson University, 87-61, last Wednesday on the road in Anderson, S.C. … Anderson's Kevis Cornwell and Nick Trull each scored 17 points to lead the Trojans, who tallied 11 three-pointers en route to the win … After taking a 43-37 lead into intermission, Anderson broke the game open with a 14-3 run to start the second half … Freshman guard Allan Jones (Clemmons, N.C.) led all scorers with 19 points while freshman R.J. McClure (Canton, N.C.) added 17 points despite the loss for the Bears … Lenoir-Rhyne was also limited to just 31 percent (17-of-55) shooting for the game … Jones, who leads the team in scoring (12.5 ppg) this season, has scored in double digits in six straight games and has not scored less than 14 points in any one of those contests … L-R travels to Wingate (Wednesday at 8 p.m.) and Brevard (Saturday at 4 p.m.) to play a pair of league contests this week … Lenoir-Rhyne leads the all-time series Wingate (44-26) and Brevard (5-3) … The Bears were supposed to face the Eagles of Carson-Newman this past Saturday at 6 p.m., at home but the contest was postponed due to winter weather … The Bears and the Eagles will now play on Monday, January 17, at 4:15 p.m..
LINCOLN MEMORIAL - The 14th ranked Railsplitters chopped their way through the competition for a 3-0 week and now stand at 12-0 on the season, 4-0 in SAC play … On Monday, the Railsplitters hit the court for their first game in three weeks and ran away with a 100-62 victory over Lees-McRae College ... With five minutes remaining in the half, LMU took a 41-30 lead. From that point on, the Railsplitters never led by fewer than 10 points … The Railsplitters were led by Desmond Johnson's and D'Mario Curry's double-double performances … Curry led all scorers with 25 points and pulled down 12 rebounds … Johnson finished with 22 points and led all players with 13 rebounds … Brandon Armstrong also recorded a strong game, notching 11 points and 5 rebounds … On Wednesday they torched the nets in a 73-52 win over Tusculum … LMU shot 60 percent from the floor, including a sizzling 16-of-22 (72.7 percent) in the opening period to take a 38-20 at halftime ... LMU's D'Mario Curry led the charge with 16 points … Desmond Johnson poured in 14 points and seven rebounds, while shooting 7-of-10 from the floor … Cam Carden added 12 points … Lincoln Memorial led wire-to-wire, opening the contest with a 14-4 run … The Railsplitters only led by three at the half, but hot shooting down the stretch gave LMU a 99-86 win over Newberry Saturday afternoon … LMU was led by a 27-point, 13-rebound double-double from Desmond Johnson, who also had four blocks and three steals … Chance Jones scored 18, Cam Carden hit for 15 and Brandon Armstrong Netted 11 … D'Mario Curry added in ten points … LMU shot 54.1 percent (33-of-61) from the field to win their 12th straight game to open the season … LMU's 51-34 advantage on the boards also helped them break open the game … LMU only missed five free throws (28-of-33, 84.8 percent) to help seal the Railsplitter win … LMU hosts Mars Hill on Wednesday to open up a three-game SAC home stand. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m.
MARS HILL - Mars Hill went 0-2 last week to take their season record to 4-8 on the season and 1-3 in the SAC … On Wedesday night the Newberry Wolves trailed Mars Hill by 21 points with seven minutes in the first half but stormed back in the second half and hit clutch shots down the stretch to earn a 104-100 overtime victory at Eleazer Arena … Donterious Hughes scored 29 points and added eight rebounds to lead MHC. Sammy Emile followed with 21 points and six boards. Dion Malachi recorded 14 points, 13 rebounds and six blocks … The game took nearly three hours to play. Newberry shot 18-of-41 (43.9 percent) from the field in the second half and limited Mars Hill to 13-of-35 (37.1 percent) in the second half … Davis had a double-double in the second half alone with 24 points and 10 rebounds … On Saturday, the Brevard Tornados withstood a strong second-half charge by the Lions to obtain a 91-87 victory in Boshamer Gymnasium … Hughes led four Mars Hill players in double figures with 22 points, 14 of which came in the second half comeback, while Emile added 12 in the second half on his way to an 18 point, five rebound performance. Malachi added 15 points and a pair of blocked shots, while Randolph Howell connected for 10 points as the Lions shot 45.6 percent (36-79) from the floor in the game … Brevard edged MHC on the boards, 39-37. Mars Hill recorded five blocked shots in the game with Malachi and Emile recording two apiece and the Lions, as a team, recorded 10 steals, led by Tarron Stewart's game-high five … Malachi leads the SAC in blocked shots and is second in the conference in rebounding and field goal percentage. Hughes is second in the league in scoring while Emile places fifth in that category … Mars Hill will play at SAC rival Lincoln Memorial University on January 12. The Lions will provide a live audio webcast of the game. The Coca-Cola Tip-Off Show will begin at 5:30 p.m. prior to the start of the women's game. MHC will then host at SAC foe Wingate University on Saturday at 4 p.m. The radio webcast will begin at 1:30 p.m. prior to the start of the women's contest
NEWBERRY - The Newberry Wolves split its games this week to move to 6-6 overall and 1-3 in SAC play … On Wednesday, the Wolves rallied from a 21-point first half deficit to defeat Mars Hill in overtime, 104-100 … It was the third time in four games the Wolves broke the 100-point mark, and the third time in four games against Mars Hill that the game went into overtime … Newberry set a SAC record for offensive rebounds with 32, and the Wolves' 63 total rebounds was just 4 short of a league record … Tony Davis scored 34 points and had 17 rebounds, 6 blocks and 3 steals… He had 13 offensive rebounds to break a SAC record of 9, which had stood since 1994… Shamel Akins scored 24 points with 8 rebounds and 4 steals, while Matt Dixon scored 13 points with 5 assists, Brunes Charles had 10 points and 8 rebounds, and Jawuan Lockhart dished out a career-high 10 assists … On Saturday, Newberry battled strong but lost to No. 14 Lincoln Memorial, 99-86 … Dixon led Newberry with 16 points, while Davis had 14 points and 7 rebounds, Akins had 12 points and Brandon Riley had 11 points … Lockhart scored 9 points with 6 assists and 3 steals … Newberry forced 24 LMU turnovers, but the Railsplitters shot 54.1% from the field to earn the win … Newberry returns to the road this week with games at Anderson on Wednesday and Carson-Newman on Saturday … Head coach Dave Davis needs one more win for his 350th career coaching win.
TUSCULUM - The Tusculum Pioneers (5-9, 2-2 SAC) split its two South Atlantic Conference games last week… The Pioneers dropped a 73-52 home loss to No. 14 Lincoln Memorial, but bounced back with a thrilling 76-74 double-overtime win at Wingate… The Wingate game was postponed 24 hours due to inclement weather as the contest was moved to Sunday… Sophomore guard Dionte Grey scored the game-winning lay-up with 7.6 seconds remaining as the Pioneers snapped a four-game losing streak… All five Tusculum starters scored in double figures… Senior Rob Troutman tallied 24 points, including a career-best six 3-pointers… Junior Tommy Klempin accounted for 16 points, including 14 markers after halftime… Juniors Justin Steigerwald and Kevin Vest scored 10 points apiece as Tusculum snaps Wingate's four-game winning streak, while also posting its fourth consecutive win against the Bulldogs… There were many heroes for the Pioneers in Sunday's victory… Grey kept Tusculum's hopes alive in the first overtime period coming up with a critical offensive rebound following a missed free throw attempt, setting up Vest's game-tying jumper with 2.2 seconds left to send the game into a second extra frame… It was the Pioneers' first double-overtime victory since Dec. 5, 1985 when TC defeated Milligan College 93-91 at Pioneer Gym… It was also TC's first double-overtime game of any kind in 21 seasons… Grey finished the night shooting 5-of-7 from the floor, while recording five points and four assists in his 45 minutes of action… Vest shot 5-of-8 from the field and grabbed five boards in his 49 minutes of work. Troutman went 6-of-12 from beyond the arc and tallied six rebounds, while playing in 49 minutes… Klempin, who experienced early foul trouble, shot 5-of-7 from the floor and 6-of-7 from the free throw line. He also hauled in nine rebounds, including a career-best seven on the offensive glass… In the LMU game, Klempin scored a career-high 23 points, including 18 markers in the second half… Klempin finished the night shooting 8-of-11 from the floor and 7-of-8 from the free throw line… Steigerwald added a dozen points, along with a game-high seven rebounds and four assists for the Pioneers… Since becoming a NCAA Division II member in 1998, the Pioneers are 3-21 all-time against nationally-ranked opponents… Klempin is averaging 19 points per game in his last four contests, while shooting a sizzling 24-of-37 (64.9%) from the floor during that span… He is also grabbing 6.5 rebounds per game in his last four contests and shooting 29-of-34 from the free throw line (85.3%) in his last six… Troutman was held to only one point against LMU ending a 15-game streak of hitting a three-point field goal… He is still shooting 45.5 percent from three-point territory in his last 32 games and has converted a three-pointer in 20 of his last 22… Steigerwald has recorded an assist in his last 31 starts… Tusculum has also made a three-point field goal in 653 consecutive games, dating back to 1987… Through its first 14 games, Tusculum has faced teams with a combined 114-64 record (.640)… TC's losses have come against programs with a combined 85-27 worksheet (.759)… Tusculum will play two games this week on the road, traveling to Carson-Newman on Wednesday and wrap up a three-game road swing at Catawba on Saturday… Wednesday's game with Carson-Newman will be the 129th recorded meeting between the Pioneers and the Eagles… C-N leads the all-time series 87-41, but Tusculum has won 12 of the last 17 meetings, including eight straight in Jefferson City… Saturday's contest at Catawba will be the 30th recorded meeting between Tusculum and the Indians with Catawba leading the series 15-14.
WINGATE - The Wingate University men's basketball team opened its 2011 slate with a 63-61 come-from-behind victory at Catawba College Wednesday night. Bulldog junior guard Jaime Vaughn and sophomore forward Odell Turner scored 19 points each as Wingate rallied SAC road victory in Goodman Gymnasium ... Vaughn and Turner combined to hit 14-of-21 shots Wednesday night. Turner had six rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots, while Vaughn recorded three rebounds, two assists and two blocks. Bulldog junior guard Chase Smith contributed 10 points for the visitors ... Vaughn scored the game-winning points with two free throws at the 2:19 mark. The charity tosses by the All-SAC performer were the last points of the contest, as Catawba missed two lay-ups and a three-point field goal down the stretch. Wingate had only one field goal miss in the waning moments. A steal by Bulldog sophomore guard Ethan Kincaid with four seconds remaining helped the visitors seal the deal ... Wingate scored the first seven points of the contest as the Bulldogs never trailed in the opening frame. Wingate shot 53.8 percent (14-of-26) in the first stanza. The Bulldogs led by nine points on three occasions, the final time at 24-15 on a Vaughn jumper with 8:56 remaining in the first half. Wingate led 38-35 at intermission ... Catawba took its first lead of the game with 12:05 to play, as the hosts took a 47-46 edge. The Indians hit a triple on the next possession to make the score 50-46 ... A Catawba inside hoop at the 6:44 mark made the score 57-52 Catawba. Turner answered with a basket in the paint. Catawba hit two free throws to give the hosts a 59-54 advantage with 6:17 remaining ... The Bulldogs finished the game with a 9-2 run to take the hard-fought decision. Vaughn hit a huge three-point field goal to tie the game at 61 with 3:58 to go. Baskets by Turner and sophomore forward Quan Alexander set the stage for Vaughn's big basket and subsequent free throws. Catawba's only field goal in the last six-plus minutes was a lay-up at the 4:22 plateau ... Wingate saw a four-game winning streak end Sunday night, as Tusculum College earned a 76-74 double overtime victory over Wingate University in Cuddy Arena. The Pioneers hit the game-winner with seven seconds remaining Sunday night ... Vaughn led the Bulldogs with 24 points. Turner had a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Alexander had 10 points and nine rebounds for the Bulldogs. Wingate is 7-5 overall and 2-2 in the SAC … The contest featured 11 lead changes and 11 ties. With Wingate leading 72-70 in the second overtime, the Pioneers converted an offensive rebound into a put-back to tie the game for a 10th time at 72-72 with 1:40 left. Two free throws gave the Pioneers a 74-72 lead on their next possession ... Wingate's next possession was a wild one as the Bulldogs got off six shots in a wild 17-second frenzy which was capped by a made jumper from Turner to level the contest at 74-74 with 21 seconds remaining ... Following a timeout, the Pioneers hit the game-winning lay-up with less than eight seconds left. Wingate would get the ball to midcourt and call a timeout with 3.8 seconds remaining. Vaughn put up a jumper to tie the game, but his shot went off the rim and was hauled in by Alexander, but his tip-in came after the buzzer … Kincaid led Wingate with 43 minutes played, while Turner logged 42 minutes. Kincaid filled his statistics sheet with five points, five rebounds and a team-high six assists. Classmate Paidrick Matilus had nine points, four rebounds and two assists. Both Matilus and Vaughn played 39 minutes each ... The Bulldogs are the only team in the SAC to have four players ranked in the top 25 in scoring. Turner leads the way with 13.3 points per game, ranking 14th in the league. The reigning SAC Freshman of the Year is second in the conference with 8.3 rebounds per game and third with 1.1 blocks per contest. Vaughn's 43-point week has boosted his scoring average to 12.7 points per game. He is 18th on the SAC scoring charts. His 44.9 percent shooting from three-point range is fifth-best in the league ... Alexander is 22nd in the league with 11.5 points per game and 15th with 5.3 boards per game. He also leads the team and is 12th in the SAC, shooting 49.5 percent from the field. Matilus is 25th in the SAC with 10.8 points per game.