Dominant Defense Sends Wingate to SAC Men’s Basketball Championship Title

HICKORY, N.C. - Behind a stellar defense and clutch foul shooting down the stretch, Wingate held off several Anderson rallies to win the 2012 Food Lion SAC Men's Basketball Championship, 66-59, on Sunday afternoon at the Tarlton Complex in Hickory, N.C.

The SAC title earns the Bulldogs an automatic berth to the 2012 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Championship. The tournament's field will be announced on Sunday night.

[Box Score] [Wingate Press Conference]

A day after Anderson scored 113 points in a double-overtime victory against Newberry - including a SAC Championship-record 50 from junior Denzail Jones -- Wingate held the Trojans to just 30.5-percent shooting. Jones finished with a team-high 19 points, but labored for much of the game to get clean looks, finishing five-of-14 from the field.

Wingate came out on fire, opening the game on a 16-2 run and holding Anderson scoreless until the 14:59 mark. The Bulldogs were especially effective on Jones in the first half, holding the 2011-12 SAC Player of the Year without a point until the final minute.

But despite Jones' struggles, Anderson entered halftime down just four points. Sharp-shooting guard Chandler Hash was key in keeping the Trojans close, sparking a 9-0 run midway through the half that mitigated Wingate's hot start.

The second half saw runs by both teams, with Wingate consistently threatening to break the game open but always being met by an Anderson answer. The Bulldogs opened up a 10-point lead with 8:52 remaining in the half on a jumper by guard Jamie Vaughn, but Anderson followed with a 9-0 run to trail by just a point - the closest the Trojans had been since the game's opening minute.

Later in the half, Wingate again flirted with putting the game out of reach, extending its lead to 58-50 with 3:45 to play. Anderson had another answer, however, cutting the lead to three on a Tyrell McDowell layup with 2:01 remaining.

Wingate would not let the Trojans get any closer, though, outscoring AU 8-3 in the final minutes to capture the title. The Bulldogs went six-of-eight from the foul line in the final 41 seconds to ice the victory.

Vaughn was clutch down the stretch for Wingate, scoring 10 points in the game's final 4:32 en route to earning All-Tournament honors. The senior finished with a game-high 22 points, while Chase Smith scored 13 and Odell Turner added 12 points and eight rebounds.

Turner and center Deion Thurman controlled the paint throughout, holding Anderson's Taylor Shugart - who finished with 27 points and 19 rebounds on Saturday - to just five points on one-of-11 shooting before fouling out.

Despite his team falling short on Sunday, Jones was named the Championship's Most Valuable Player after scoring a combined 69 points in his two games in Hickory. He was joined on the All-Tournament Team by Shugart, Turner, Wingate's Paidrick Matilus and Newberry's Quayshun Hawkins.