Men’s Basketball Notes, January 31, 2011
Men's basketball notes and game recaps for week ending January 30, 2011
ANDERSON - The Trojans earned two wins on the week, holding off Wingate, 83-72, at home and defeated Brevard, 90-66, on Saturday to claim sole possession of second place in the league standings heading into the second half of the conference schedule … Senior forward Trey Britton notched his second double-double of the season and blocked four shots, while freshman guard Denzail Jones tallied a game-high 20 points as AU held off the Bulldogs at the Abney Center … Paced by junior center Taylor Shugart's second double-double of the season, Anderson garnered its third win in four games with the victory at Brevard. Seven Trojans averaged double figures over the two-game span, with Shugart leading the Trojan offensive attack on the week, averaging nearly a double-double with 15.5 points and 9.0 rebounds, while shooting nearly 60 percent from the field. The Rock Hill, S.C. native also recorded three blocked shots.
BREVARD - The Tornados went 0-3 on the week, 0-2 in conference action to fall to 7-8, 5-5 SAC on the season ... Brevard opened the week in non-conference action on Monday against Winston-Salem State, battling the Rams even throughout the second half, but the Tornados were unable to overcome a 13-point halftime deficit in falling on the road in the Clarence E. Gaines Center, 77-64 ... Josh Roper led all scorers with 21 points as the Tornados overcame first half shooting woes to hit 38.5 percent (25-65) of their field goal attempts in the contest ... Roper added eight rebounds, six steals and four assists to lead the Tornados ... Gaither Hendrix added 18 points, hitting four three-pointers ... On Wednesday in Boshamer Gymnasium, the Tornados were unable to overcome the fast-paced Newberry attack led by Tony Davis' 31 point, 14 rebound performance as the Wolves took home the victory, 91-86 ... Roper again led the Tornados with 29 points, adding six rebounds, four assists, four steals and two blocked shots as the Tornados shot 45.3 percent (29-64) from the floor in the contest ... Drew Schauss added 13 points, going a perfect five of five from the free throw line and Ryson Felder added a pair of three-pointers on his way to 12 points ... On Saturday, Anderson used a balanced attack paced by an 18 point, 13 rebound double-double by Taylor Shugart as the Trojans offset 15 points by Hendrix to take home the 90-66 victory ... Hendrix hit five of 14 shots from the floor, adding three assists ... Roper added 10 points and Vincent Dombrowski added 10 off the bench as the Tornados shot 37.3 percent (25-67) from the floor in the contest ... The Tornados continue the 2010-2011 season on Monday as they travel to take on Erskine College, before continuing conference play on Wednesday at Carson-Newman and Saturday at home against Tusculum..
CARSON-NEWMAN - The Carson-Newman Eagles went 0-2 on the week, falling to eighth-ranked Lincoln Memorial and Catawba at home ... With the losses, the Eagles drop to 8-10 overall and 5-5 in conference play ... C-N fell to eighth-ranked Lincoln Memorial, 90-69, on Wednesday ... The Railsplitters rallied from a nine-point deficit late in the first half to beat the Eagles ... Carson-Newman led by nine at the 4:17 mark of the first half before LMU turned the game on a 36-10 run to close the first half and open the second ... During the stretch, the Railsplitters made 13-of-14 shots from the floor ... The Eagles jumped out to an early lead behind guard Ishmael Sanders ... The freshman connected on 3-of-5 three pointers in the first half, including three straight during a 24-10 run as the Eagles built a 32-23 lead with four minutes to play in the half ... LMU would answer with its decisive run ... Sophomore forward Desmond Johnson scored six-straight points for the Railsplitters to cut into the Eagle lead, while guard Brandon Armstrong would add a pair of three-pointers and a 17-foot jumper at the first half buzzer to give LMU a 40-36 lead at the break ... LMU scored on eight of its final nine possessions in the first half … The Railsplitters would open the second half on a 19-6 run, connecting on 7-of-8 field goals, to pull away ... Sanders led Carson-Newman with 22 points ... Antonio Sullivan and Kevin Leatherwood each added nine for the Eagles … C-N wrapped up the week with an 85-75 loss to Catawba … The Eagles trailed by as many as 20 points in the first half before they began to chip away at the Indians' lead ... Trailing 46-26 at the 5:06 mark of the first half, C-N outscored Catawba 39-19 during the next 17 minutes of action to knot the game at 65-65 with 8:25 left in the second half ... But a 3-pointer by Lee Martin gave the Indians the lead for good on the next trip down the floor, as Catawba outscored C-N 20-10 to close out the game ... The Eagles shot 43.9 percent (25-of-57) on the night, including an 11-of-24 effort from behind the arc ... Catawba scored at a 40.3 percent clip (29-of-72) and was 9-of-21 from 3-point range ... The Indians dominated the glass, outrebounding C-N 46-38 with 22 offensive rebounds that led to 34 second chance points ... Catawba also scored 23 points off of 16 C-N turnovers ... Sullivan tossed in 16 points to lead C-N, while Sanders and Kevin Hare added 14 and 11 points, respectively ... The Eagles return to the hardwood on Wednesday at home against Brevard ... Tipoff is slated for 8 p.m. at Holt Fieldhouse.
CATAWBA - The Catawba men posted a pair of wins last week, defeating Mars Hill 101-92 and Carson-Newman 85-75 ... It marks only the second time this season the Indians have won consecutive games ... Freshman Keon Moore keyed the Indian wins, notching career highs in both outings ... First he scored 24 points in the win over Mars Hill and then tallied 28 in the victory at Carson-Newman ... After a slow start against the Lions, Catawba got things going and led by ten at the break ... Mars Hill could only get as close as five in the final half ... Justin Huntley also scored 24 points vs. the Lions, which was his career high ... Dominick Reid had 16 points with seven rebounds and eight assists ... Moore had 21 points in the opening half at Carson-Newman as the Indians held as much as a 20-point edge ... The Eagles rallied and would tie the game 8:25 to go ... Moore hit a three-pointer with just over five minutes left to put the Indians up 73-69 then Huntley scored seven straight points as Catawba stretch the advantage to 80-71 ... Reid recorded a double-double as the point guard had 14 points and a dozen rebounds, while adding four assists and four steals ... Catawba committed just six turnovers and grabbed 22 offensive rebounds ... Reid leads Catawba in scoring (16.4) and rebounding (5.3) ... Moore is right behind in scoring at 16.3 a game, but leads the way in league games at 18.5 a contest ... Catawba, winners in three of the last four games, travels to Wingate on Wednesday and hosts Lincoln Memorial on Saturday afternoon.
LENOIR-RHYNE - The Lenoir-Rhyne University men's basketball team (2-16, 1-9) lost both its South Atlantic Conference games last week as the Bears fell to Tusculum (53-44) and Mars Hill (68-55) on Wednesday and Saturday, respectively … L-R also saw its losing streak stretch to 10 games, the most since the Bears lost the first 11 contests of the 1998-99 campaign … Lenoir-Rhyne cut a 16-point deficit (35-19) early in the second half to three points (45-42) with 3:31 remaining in the contest but couldn't get any closer … Tusculum, which was held without a point for over five minutes, ended the game with an 8-2 run keyed by a pair of free throws on a technical foul … Rob Troutman led Tusculum with 16 points while L-R freshman forward Allan Jones (Clemmons, N.C.) scored a team-high 16 points and freshman guard R.J. McClure (Canton, N.C.) scored all of his 13 points in the second half including three treys for the Bears despite the setback … Freshman guard Bryce Hawkins (Charlotte, N.C.) led L-R with a career-high 20 points off the bench including four treys in the losing effort … Jones added 17 points but Lenoir-Rhyne couldn't overcome a 21-point, seven-block performance from Mars Hill's Dion Malachi … Lenoir-Rhyne remains at home to take on Anderson Wednesday at 8 p.m., before traveling to Newberry, S.C., to take on Newberry Saturday at 6 p.m. … Lenoir-Rhyne lost to Anderson (87-61) on the road and defeated Newberry (76-71) at home in the earlier meetings this year.
LINCOLN MEMORIAL - The 8th-ranked Lincoln Memorial University men's basketball team surged ahead just before the half and never looked back in the 90-69 win at Carson-Newman Wednesday evening … The Eagles got on the board first with the dunk by Brandon Evans right after the tip-off … The teams swapped the lead several times before the Eagles flew out to a 28-21 lead with 8:27 left in the half … LMU fought back, eventually tying the game 36-36 with 1:09 to go on a three-pointer by Brandon Armstrong … Baskets by D'Mario Curry and Armstrong then gave LMU a 40-36 lead at the half … LMU exploded out of the gates in the second half, pulling out to the 50-39 lead with 18:27 to go … A lay-up by Armstrong put LMU up 42-57 and the Eagles never got closer than 13 points the rest of the game … LMU was led by Desmond Johnson's career high-tying 29 points … Armstrong had a career night as well as he poured in 22 points … Darryl Garrett had 13 points while Curry and Vincent Bailey added in 10 points each … The No. 8 Railsplitters made yet another strong statement as they beat the Bulldogs of Wingate University 85-67 Saturday evening … With the win, LMU remains perfect at 10-0 in the South Atlantic Conference and 18-0 overall … Both teams started sluggishly and by the fifteen minute mark Lincoln Memorial trailed Wingate 10-9 … Darryl Garrett then knocked down a three-point basket to move the game back in LMU's favor and the Railsplitters would never trail again in the game … The two teams would trade baskets until the end of the half, but the Railsplitters headed to the locker room with a 43-33 advantage … The Bulldogs were able to put together a run midway through the half, cutting the Railsplitter lead to four at the 8:35 mark … LMU quickly extended that lead back to 11 as Cam Carden drilled a three-point basket, effectively ending the Wingate run … From that point on, the Railsplitters closed the game with an offensive onslaught as they outscored the Bulldogs 37-16 in the final eight minutes … The Railsplitters were led by D'Mario Curry's 29 points as he went 10-14 from the field and 9-11 from the charity stripe … Garrett was pivotal with 13 points, while Brandon Armstrong and Vincent Bailey had 12 apiece … Curry led all-players with eight rebounds. Bailey also played a big role on the glass, as he was able to grab seven rebounds … Lincoln Memorial will look to continue their dominance in the South Atlantic Conference on Wednesday, as the Pioneers of Tusculum College travel to Tex Turner Arena for an 8 p.m. tip-off.
MARS HILL - Mars Hill went 1-1 last week to take their season record to 6-12 on the season and 3-7 in the SAC … Dion Malachi leads the SAC in blocks. He is third in the league in field goal percentage and fourth in rebounding. Dion ranks 11th in the SAC in scoring … Donterious Hughes is second in the conference in scoring while Sammy Emile is third in that category … Last week, Dion averaged 21 points and eight rebounds while recording his career high seven blocks in the Lions 68-55 win over Lenir-Rhyne Saturday night. Dion converted on 66.7 percent (18-27) of his shots from the field last week. He had a double-double in points and rebounds (21/10) in the loss at Catawba … Hughes averaged 18.5 points and 5.5 rebounds last week while recording six steals … Mars Hill will host SAC rival Newberry College on February 2. The Lions will provide a live video and 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 play at SAC foe Anderson 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 College Wolves men's basketball team swept a pair of road contests to run their winning streak to three games and put their record at 9-9 overall and 4-6 in SAC play … On Wednesday, the Wolves held on for a 91-86 win at Brevard … Newberry led by as many as 14 in the second half and saw that lead whittled down to one point, but never relinquished the lead … Tony Davis had a dominant game with 31 points and 14 rebounds … Ray Robinson scored 14 points and Brandon Riley scored 10 to round out double-digit scorers … On Saturday, Newberry came back from a 12-point deficit in the second half for a 71-66 win over Tusculum … After scoring just 22 points in the first half, the Wolves shot 58.6 percent in the second half to earn the win … Davis scored 12 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for his third straight double-double … Matt Dixon led Newberry with 15 points, while Brunes Charles scored 10 … Newberry takes on Mars Hill on the road on Wednesday night before returning to Eleazer Arena on Saturday for a 6 p.m. game against Lenoir-Rhyne.
TUSCULUM - The Tusculum Pioneers (9-11, 6-4 SAC) went 1-1 last week at home in South Atlantic Conference play … The Pioneers opened the week with a 53-44 victory over Lenoir-Rhyne, but dropped a 71-66 decision to Newberry … In the win over Lenoir-Rhyne, senior Rob Troutman led the Pioneers with 16 points as Tusculum posted its fourth consecutive win over the Bears … As a team, TC shot 58.1 percent from the field and never trailed in the contest … Tusculum shot a sizzling 9-of-12 (75 percent) from the floor in the first half, paced by Troutman who went 5-for-5, including three 3-pointers for his 14 markers … Tusculum limited the Bears to only 13 rebounds on the night, while TC tallied 26 boards, including seven each by juniors Justin Steigerwald and Kevin Vest … Junior Tommy Klempin finished with 14 points, shooting 4-of-4 from the paint and 6-of-7 from the charity stripe … In the Newberry game, sophomore Brett Williams poured in a career-best 22 points … Steigerwald added 13 points, while Troutman accounted for 12 markers … TC led 30-22 at halftime and by a dozen early in the second period, before Newberry mounted a 17-5 run to tie the contest as the Wolves fired 58.6 percent (17-of-29) in the second half, ending a four-game losing streak to Tusculum and its first win at Pioneer Arena in four seasons … Tusculum has made a three-point field goal in 659 consecutive games … Troutman recorded his 3,000 career minute in a Tusculum uniform in Saturday's game with Newberry … Steigerwald has recorded an assist in his last 37 starts ... After going 2-2 on its last home-stand, the Pioneers will be on the road for a pair of games this week at nationally-ranked Lincoln Memorial on Wednesday and at defending SAC Tournament champion Brevard on Saturday … Tusculum is a perfect 4-0 on the road in SAC games this season.
WINGATE - The Wingate University men's basketball team dropped two tough road games last week. On Saturday night, number eight Lincoln Memorial earned a hard-fought 85-67 victory over the Bulldogs in Tex Turner Arena … Both South Atlantic Conference teams are listed in the most recent NCAA Division II Southeast Region rankings. Number one LMU is 18-0 overall and 10-0 in the SAC. Number six Wingate is 10-8 overall and 5-5 in the SAC … For Wingate, junior guard Chase Smith had 15 points Saturday. Sophomore forward Odell Turner recorded 11 points and seven rebounds, while classmate Quan Alexander had 10 points and five boards … The Bulldogs put together an 8-0 run to cut the deficit to 55-51 with 8:35 remaining in the contest Saturday. A tip-in by Turner concluded the flurry. Four different Wingate players scored in the run. The Railsplitters answered with a 10-0 run to put the game on ice. LMU started and ended the outburst with three-point field goals. The second triple made the score 65-51 Railsplitters with 6:58 to play … Lincoln Memorial led 43-33 at halftime, hitting 50 percent (13-of-26) of its first-half field goals. Bulldog freshman forward Robert Carpenter hit a three-pointer to give the visitors a 10-9 lead at the 15:04 mark. LMU answered with a triple at 13:46 to give the Railsplitters the lead for good … Lincoln Memorial blocked five shots, while Wingate rejected four shots. Bulldog freshman Jeffrey Parker had two blocked shots for the visitors. Parker has 23 rejections in 10 SAC contests. He leads the Bulldogs (and ranks third in the league) with his 31 total blocked shots … Anderson survived 83-72 over Wingate Wednesday night in the Abney Center. The league newcomers remain in second place, thanks to the home-court victory … For Wingate, freshman guard Nick Ross led the way with a career-high 18 points. Smith equaled his career-high scoring output with 17 points. Junior shooting guard Jaime Vaughn posted 15 points, while Turner had 11 points and a team-best eight rebounds. The Bulldogs hit 11-of-21 three-point field goals Wednesday (52.4 percent) … Vaughn nailed four-of-six long-range jumpers, helping Wingate post its 52.4 percent shooting from three-point land Wednesday. Ross hit four-of-seven triples. The Bulldogs outrebounded the Trojans 35-32, thanks to Turner's eight boards. Alexander pulled down six caroms.