Weekly Men’s Basketball Notes, February 25, 2008

Men's basketball notes and game recaps for week ending February 24, 2008.

BREVARD - The Tornados dropped two contests this past week with both losses coming on the road to South Atlantic Conference opponents ...On Wednesday night, Brevard made a late second half comeback, but ultimately fell to the Carson-Newman Eagles, 76-64, in Jefferson City, T.N... Brevard jumped out to an early 4-0 lead on a lay-up by sophomore Jonathan Whitson at the 18:24 mark, the Tornados last basket for the next seven minutes of play ... The Eagles made a run of their own, outscoring the Tornados 18-1 over the next seven minutes of play to take a 13 point lead halfway through the first half ... BC then battled back to cut the Eagles lead to three at 18-15, holding the home team scoreless during a 10-0 run of their own over the next two minutes ... The Tornados did not get any closer in the opening half until under a minute to go in the opening period, as a lay-up by sophomore Shane Galloway with 35 seconds to go in the half put the score at 40-37 in favor of the Eagles heading into the halftime break ... The Tornados took their first lead of the game since the opening minutes of the game at the 17:20 mark of the second half, as forward Joseph Chilton hit a three-pointer from the top of the key putting BC on top 45-44 ... However, the Tornados could not pull away as BC pushed the lead up to three before the Eagles came soaring back to regain the lead for good at the 14:51 mark on a lay-up by Andy Tipton ... Carson-Newman held off the Tornados for the remainder of the game and was able to push their lead up to double digit points at the 3:13 mark, pulling away late by scoring on a number of fast break opportunities until the final buzzer sounded with the scoreboard reading 76-64 ... Leading the way for the Tornados was Whitson with 15 points and 11 rebounds, his sixth double-double of the season ... Fellow sophomore Shane Galloway was the only other BC player in double figures, scoring 14 points off the bench for the Tornados ...Sophomore forward Jonathan Whitson had a career-high 30 points on Saturday night at Pioneer Arena in Greeneville, T.N., but it wasn't enough as the Tusculum Pioneers defeated the Tornados, 76-43 ... Brevard struggled from the start shooting the ball, as they shot 25.6 percent from the field and 11.8 percent from behind the three-point line for the game ... The Tusculum Pioneers took an early 12-0 lead and never looked back, pushing their lead to as high as 13 points with 11:01 remaining in the first half ... As the Tornados continued to struggle on the offensive end in the first half, the Pioneers slowly added to their lead, pushing it to 18 points at 42-24 heading into the halftime break ... The Pioneers held the Tornados to four made field goals in the opening 20 minutes of play, with all four coming by way of Whitson. The other 15 points for BC in the first half came from the charity stripe, as the Tornados connected on 15-of-19 from the free throw line ... The second half was almost a mirror image of the first, as the Pioneers scored first and continued to add to their lead pushing it to 30 at the 12:09 mark ... Tusculum's lead got to as high as 38 points with a little over five minutes to play, before the Tornados cut it down to 33 at 76-43 when the final horn sounded ... Whitson, who had 15 points in the first half, had 15 of the Tornados 19 points in the second half, connecting on 5-of-9 shot attempts in the final 20 minutes of play ... The sophomore from Clyde, N.C. had a game-high 30 points on the night, connecting on 9-of-15 shot attempts from the floor and 10-of-17 from the free throw line ... Whitson was one rebound shy of a double-double, pulling down nine rebounds for the game ... Only four other Tornados scored as sophomore Andrew Freeman had four points, while freshmen Jermichael Tanner and Tripp Taraldsen had five and two points, respectively ... Reserve guard Chase Lance added two points of the bench for the Tornados ... The Tornados will wrap up their 2007-08 season this week with two home games at Boshamer Gymnasium ... BC will play host to Newberry College on Wednesday night, as the Brevard College Athletics Department will host a "BLACK OUT" encouraging all BC fans to wear black to the game ... The start time is slated for 8 p.m. ... On Saturday afternoon, the Tornados will play their final game of the season; a 4 p.m. start time against the Indians of Catawba College.

CARSON-NEWMAN - The Carson-Newman Eagles posted a 2-0 week, ending their first two-game losing streak of the season ... C-N started the week with a 76-64 win over Brevard...The Eagles won a slow-paced second half 36-27 to build the bulk of their final margin ... Junior Zach Hyatte had one of his best games of the season, pouring in 16 points on 8-of-10 shooting ... Hyatte's success didn't carry over to the free throw line ... He missed all five of his attempts ... Junior Andrew Johnson added 10 point as the only other Eagles in double figures ... The Eagles overcame 20 turnovers by shooting 47 percent for the game, knocking down 30-of-63 shots from the floor ... The Eagles 59 percent (22-of-37) of their two-point attempts to keep Brevard at bay...C-N won on "Senior Night" with a 102-85 win over Lincoln Memorial ... It was the sixth time this season the Eagles have broken the 100-point mark ... Senior Scott Williams had his best game of the season, or maybe his best spurt ... The Macon, Georgia-native finished with 23 points and 14 rebounds ... He had 13 of C-N's last 15 points to keep the game out of reach ... C-N used a 14-1 run in the second half to grab a double-figure lead ... Senior Andy Tipton had 18 points in the win ... Fellow senior Darren Williams added 15 ... Carson-Newman is now 18-6 overall and 8-4 in the South Atlantic Conference ... The Eagles have clinched at least third place in the SAC regular season and will host in the first round of the Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Tournament ... The Eagles are at Catawba Wednesday night ... A rematch of a 129-123 overtime game from January in which the Eagles outlasted the Indians ... The game saw the Eagles surrender the most points in school history, as well as C-N setting a school-record for combined points (252) in a single game ... C-N will also face Wingate next Saturday afternoon in Wingate, North Carolina.

CATAWBA - The Catawba Indians split their two games last week, picking up a win at Lincoln Memorial on Wednesday before falling to No. 15 Lenoir-Rhyne at home on Saturday ... In the 70-67 win over the Railsplitters, the Indians survived four late attempts by LMU to take the lead then iced the game on a pair of free throws by Antonio Houston with two seconds left ... The Catawba Indians led most of the way before LMU rallied to take the lead at 61-60 with 6:35 to go ... Norman Monroe regained the lead with a tip-in with 5:14 left and Catawba stayed in front the rest of the way ... Monroe finished with 21 points and nine rebounds, while Rob Fields added 11 points off the bench ... The Catawba Indians had an early lead against LR and stayed within six points most of the way before falling 79-72 ... A basket by Monroe with 6:30 left had the Indians down by just three and his three-point play left Catawba down 71-67 with 2:10 remaining ... Lenoir-Rhyne would score eight of the next 10 points to push the lead to 79-69 in the closing seconds ... Donzell Williams scored a career-high 14 points to lead the Indians, Houston added 12 points, while Monroe and Dominick Reid each had 11 ... Catawba shot 47 percent, but the Bears canned 52 percent and held a 34-25 edge on the boards ... Catawba will close out league play at home on Wednesday against Carson-Newman then will travel to Brevard on Saturday.

LENOIR-RHYNE - The No. 15 Lenoir-Rhyne College men's basketball team (21-3, 12-0) clinched at least a share of the South Atlantic Conference Regular Season Title on Saturday … L-R, which ran its winning streak to 14 games, defeated North Carolina Central (81-69) on Wednesday in Durham, N.C., and Catawba (79-72) on Saturday in Salisbury, N.C. … The Bears league title was the seventh in school history and seventh under 22-year mentor John Lentz, who picked up his 400th career coaching victory in the win over Catawba … Ironically, Lentz's 300th coaching win was at Catawba as well … Senior forward Josh Kindred (Holly Springs, N.C.) tallied 18 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks while junior guard Josh Rudder (Graham, N.C.) added 15 points and a season-high 10 assists as the Bears defeated the Eagles, who are in their first year as a member of NCAA Division I … L-R led by as many as 19 points early in the second half en route to the win … Junior forward Donte Watson (Fayetteville, N.C.) scored a season-high 15 points and was one of five Bears to score in double figures in Lenoir-Rhyne's victory over Catawba … Rudder added 14 points and senior forward Reggie Bratton (Charlotte, N.C.) finished with 11 points and hit three consecutive buckets for the Bears late in the game to key L-R's win … Lenoir-Rhyne's winning streak is the longest since the 1960-61 campaign, when it reeled off 16 straight victories … Lenoir-Rhyne is also ranked third in the latest NCAA Division II South Atlantic Region Poll … Rudder is just one point away from becoming the 48th player in school history to score 1,000 points for his career … Bratton (1,326) and Kindred (1,195) already surpassed the mark this season … Bratton and Kindred will be honored at Senior Day on Wednesday against Wingate beginning at 8 p.m. … Lenoir-Rhyne is 28-1 in its last 29 SAC Regular Season home games … L-R needs to win at least one of its remaining two games or have Wingate lose to clinch the title outright … Lenoir-Rhyne defeated Wingate by a 72-68 score on Wednesday, January 30, in Wingate, N.C. … L-R also leads the all-time series with Wingate, 40-25 … The Bulldogs (20-5, 10-2), however, have not lost since that game (six straight) and are 11-1 in their last 12 contests … Lenoir-Rhyne finishes the regular season with a trip to Mars Hill, N.C., to face Mars Hill beginning at 4 p.m., on Saturday … L-R won, 91-85, earlier this year (January 16 in Hickory, N.C.) and leads the all-time series, 45-22 … Lenoir-Rhyne has also beaten Mars Hill eight straight times and 13 consecutive times in the regular season.

LINCOLN MEMORIAL - After reeling off an 11-4 lead in the first three minutes of Wednesday night's final home conference game of the year against Catawba College, the Railsplitter men's basketball team trailed for more then 12 minutes of the first half and for the first fourteen minutes of the second half before coming back to take a 61-60 lead … Catawba, the South Atlantic Conference's fourth ranked team, continued to hold the Railsplitters at bay. However, Lincoln Memorial wouldn't go quietly into the night and cut Catawba's lead to only one with two seconds remaining on the clock … Despite two separate attempts to convert a go-ahead basket, both attempts failed and the Railsplitters fell to CC 70-67 to close out the home conference schedule … Catawba's Norman Monroe led all scorers with 21 points, while teammate Rob Fields came off the bench to contribute 11 as the only two CC players to score double figures. Lincoln Memorial on the other hand place four players in double-figures and were led by junior Wadner Joseph who scored a team-high 16 points. Other LMU players scoring double figures were Terry Delaney and Beau Brown who both had 13 points and freshman Ryan Whitaker who scored 12. Joseph also led all rebounders with 10 … After going to the locker room tied at 41, the Carson-Newman Eagles turned up the tempo of Saturday afternoon's east Tennessee rivalry game in the early minutes of the second half to pull away for a 102-85 win over Lincoln Memorial's Railsplitters … Entering Saturday's game, LMU Head Coach Hugh Watson knew it would be an up hill battle but felt that his team was ready to face their biggest rival. "We knew we couldn't run with them." said Watson. "Our guys did a good job of taking care of the ball and slowing the game down when they could but our lack of depth made us get tired and Carson-Newman was able to pull away because of it." … The Railsplitters' Emmanuel Njomo came off the bench to tie for top scoring honors in Saturday South Atlantic Conference game with Carson-Newman's Scott Williams. Both players contributed 23 points, while LMU's Terry Delaney scored 20 and pulled 14 rebounds to lead in that category. Also in double figures for Lincoln Memorial were freshman Ryan Whitaker who had 11, sophomore Beau Brown who finished with 11 and senior Ronnie Jones who had 10 along with nine boards … Despite the loss, the Railsplitters shot 50 percent from the field, on 36 of 72 shooting … Most of the Railsplitters' offensive success came on the inside as Njomo and Delaney combined for 43 of LMU's 85 points … Now 8-17 overall and 1-11 in the South Atlantic Conference, the Railsplitters have only their conference road game with Newberry College next Saturday before entering the league tournament as the No. 8 seed in the tournament.

MARS HILL - Mars Hill split its games last week. The Lions are now 11-14 overall and 4-8 in the SAC … In the first game of the week, senior forward/guard Sean Barnette (Rock Hill, S.C.) and redshirt senior forward/center Bryan Grier (Charlotte, N.C.) guided the Wingate University Bulldogs to a 99-91 overtime men's basketball victory over the Lions of Mars Hill College Wednesday night in South Atlantic Conference action in Cuddy Arena … Barnette notched his 28th career double-double with 27 points and 10 rebounds. Grier recorded his 30th career double-double with 31 points and 11 rebounds. The NCAA Division II career blocked shots leader also had five blocks and three steals on the night. Sophomore guard Brandon Plummer (Norfolk, Va.) added 18 points for the hosts. Wingate is 7-0 overall this season when they score at least 90 points … Sophomore guard Stoney Polite (Morganton, N.C.) led the Lions with a game-high 28 points. He also handed out five assists. Junior guard Jordan Skinner (Yellow Springs, Ohio) added 15 points and nine rebounds. Mars Hill junior guard P.J. Gore (North Myrtle Beach, S.C.) chipped in 13 points, while freshman forward Josh Goble (Lenoir, N.C.) contributed 12 markers … The Bulldogs started five seniors on Senior Night. Wingate got out of the gates to an 11-2 lead … Senior forward Ryan Thys (Raleigh, N.C.) scored five points in the opening spurt. Wingate would take its largest lead of the game on a jumper from Barnette at the 12:26 mark to make it 22-11. The Lions chipped away at the lead, cutting it to two on a three-pointer from Skinner with 8:44 to go in the half … Mars Hill took the lead for the first time on a three- pointer from Polite one minute later. Neither team would lead by more than five the rest of the half. A tip-in at the buzzer from junior guard Akeene Coakley (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.) tied the game at 45 going into the intermission … The second half would be tightly contested throughout, with neither team leading by more than four points until the final minute. There were 11 ties and 14 lead changes in the game. With the score tied 77-77 with 2:42 remaining, Plummer drained a three. Polite answered with a lay-up to cut the lead to one … The Bulldogs came right back with a Grier lay-up to extend the lead. Wingate would then take a five-point lead on putback from Barnette with 37 seconds remaining. A pair of free throws from Mars Hill junior forward Jamarl Glen (District Heights, Md.) cut the lead to three with 21 seconds left … After a pair of missed Wingate free throws, Gore made a lay-up and was fouled. He converted the free throw to tie the game 84-84 with 12 seconds remaining. The Lions had a shot to win the game at the end of regulation, but a three-point attempt from Polite was blocked by Wingate junior forward/guard DeMario Mattox (Rocky Mount, Va.) … In the overtime period, Mars Hill took a one-point lead on a Skinner tip-in with 2:20 left. The Bulldogs had the answer, with Plummer hitting a huge triple at the two minute mark for a 91-89 lead. Barnette nailed a jumper to extend the lead to four at the one minute mark. The lead would not go below four the rest of the way, with Wingate hitting all six free throws in the final 42 seconds to seal the victory … Wingate was 34-of-68 (50 percent) from the field, while hitting eight-of-22 (36.4 percent) from beyond the arc. The Lions were 36-of-81 (44.4 percent) from the field while going nine-for-26 (34.6 percent) from three-point range … Mars Hill held a slim 44-43 rebounding edge, while the Bulldogs outscored the Lions 28-14 in fast break points … The Wingate bench held a 41-23 advantage over the Mars Hill bench. Both teams committed 20 turnovers and handed out 15 assists … In the secod contest of he week, Mars Hill College defeated North Greenville University 63-53 in a tough and physical game Saturday afternoon in Hayes Gymnasium … North Greenville came out strong and opened up an early seven-point lead five minutes into the game. The Lions, however, chiseled into NGU's lead over the next four and a half minutes … Tony Blake (Canton, NC) converted a Crusader turnover into an easy layup to give MHC its first lead with 10:29 to go in the half. The teams exhanged leads for the next four minutes … Then, the Lions hit their offensive stride with a 20-6 run to close the half. MHC held a 38-24 advantage heading into the break … The Crusaders slowly cut into the Lions' lead, but could never get any closer than four points. North Greenville outscored Mars Hill 29-25 in the second half, but it was not enough as MHC held on to win 63-53 … The game was tough, physical, and emotional. Twenty-three fouls were called on each team. Each team also had one starter foul out. Three technical fouls were called … P.J. Gore (North Myrtle Beach, SC) led the Lions with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Jamarl Glen (District Heights, MD) and Stoney Polite (Morganton, NC) added 12 and 11 points, respectively … Mars Hill will host Tusculum College on February 27 at 8 p.m. and then close out the 2007-08 regular season hosting Lenoir-Rhyne College on Saturday, March 1 at 4 p.m.

NEWBERRY - The Newberry College Indians entered the week with a chance to enter the top four in the South Atlantic Conference, but two close losses have eliminated the Indians' chances of hosting a Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Tournament game… With the two losses, Newberry falls to 11-14 overall and 4-9 in league play… On Wednesday, the Indians lost at Tusculum, 71-63… Clemente Martin scored 17 points to lead the Indians, while Stephane Bakinde was the only other Newberry player in double digits with 16 points while grabbing eight rebounds… Newberry didn't score its first point of the game until Matt Alexander connected on a free throw at the 12:49 mark… The Indians' first field goal came on a Ty Overmyer putback at the 11:52 mark which cut the Pioneer lead to 17-3… However, despite the cold shooting (30 percent) in the opening 20 minutes, Newberry only trailed by nine points at the break, 29-20… No Indian scored more than one field goal in the opening half, while only three Pioneers scored in the first period… The Pioneers shot the lights out in the second half, connecting on 59.1 percent (13-of-22) of their shots to help hold off a late Newberry rally… With Tusculum leading by 15 at the 5:45 mark, the Indians mounted a comeback… Newberry chipped away at the lead and went on a 7-0 run after the 2:23 mark to narrow the margin to five points with 1:37 to play… The Indians used a Martin steal to setup an Alexander layup and cut the margin to three points with 27 seconds left.. However two fouls, a missed layup and a late turnover prevented the Indians from successfully executing the comeback... Newberry outrebounded Tusculum by a 35-26 margin, but the Pioneers' shooting was too much to overcome… On Saturday, the Indians lost their fourth consecutive conference game, as Wingate earned a 78-75 victory… Martin was once again the high-point man with 18… Vytautas Valiulis scored 12 points, but was limited to one assist… Cory Etheridge scored 12 points, while senior Keith Marshall netted a career-best 10 points… The Bulldogs jumped out quickly, using an early 12-0 run to take an 18-7 lead with 14:07 left in the first half… But it took less than five minutes for Newberry to tie the game back up… A 17-6 surge was capped by a thunderous putback dunk from Martin after Alexander missed a three… Newberry took the lead on an Alexander free throw and an Etheridge triple… Newberry pushed the lead ahead to as many as seven in the first half and appeared poised to take that advantage into the break, but a three-pointer by Rosco Turner beat the buzzer, making it 41-37 in Newberry's favor at the half… A jumper in the paint byValiulis gave the Indians their largest lead of the game at 49-40 with 18:07 to play, but the Bulldogs' 14-5 run tied the game at 54-all with 13:37 left… Over the next five minutes, Wingate would pull ahead slightly, with Newberry reeling the guests back in with clutch shots. However, DeMario Mattox's jumper in the paint with 6:55 to play gave WU the lead for good… But Newberry would not go away quietly, and held their visitors without a point in the final 3:38 of the game when a Grier dunk gave Wingate an 8-point advantage. An Alexander free throw, a Bakinde layup and a Valiulis layup cut the lead to three points inside the final minute… The Indians forced the Bulldogs into a turnover, giving them a chance to tie the game late, but a Grant Domsic triple from the corner rimmed out and the comeback fell short… Bakinde scored nine points and grabbed 10 rebounds to fall just short of a double-double… The Indians play their final road game of the regular season on Wednesday at 8 p.m. at provisional conference member Brevard… Newberry will celebrate the careers of Cory Etheridge and Keith Marshall on Senior Day as the Indians close out the regular season at home on Saturday, March 1 at 4 p.m. against Lincoln Memorial.

TUSCULUM - The Tusculum Pioneers (12-14, 5-8 SAC) went 2-0 last week, posting home wins over Newberry (71-63) and Brevard (76-43)… Tusculum led wire-to-wire in both games… In fact, the Pioneers haven't trailed in the last 114 straight minutes, dating back to the second of TC's road win at Carson-Newman… Kyle Moore scored 26 points, including five 3-pointers in TC's 71-63 win over Newberry… The Pioneers avenge an earlier season loss to the Indians… Seniors Lavonti Jeter and Jordan Lear accounted for 17 and 16 points, respectively, while Ryan Troutman added three points and a game-high eight rebounds in the victory… Tusculum scored the first 14 points of the contest, while Newberry didn't record a point until the 12:49 mark of the first half on a free throw… The Indians' first field goal came with 11:53 remaining to trim the TC lead to 17-3… Newberry battled back and would cut the deficit to six points (26-20) on a three-pointer with 15 seconds left before halftime… Moore answered for the Pioneers as he canned a 25-footer, falling into the Newberry bench with four ticks left as Tusculum carried a 29-20 lead into the intermission… In the second half, TC would increase its advantage to 18 (52-34) on Jeter's lay-up with 10 minutes left in the game… But the Indians wouldn't go away… Following a three-point play by Troutman to give Tusculum a 62-48 lead with 3:50 left, Newberry went on an 11-2 spurt and cut the deficit to 64-59 with 1:37 remaining… After a Tusculum turnover, Newberry had a chance to cut into the deficit, but two blocked shots by Jeter and a steal by Troutman down the stretch kept TC with the advantage… Moore added a pair of free throws to move Tusculum out to a 66-59 lead with 40 seconds left… Newberry cut the deficit to 66-63, but Tusculum's Jimmy Boone made three of four throws in the final 30 seconds and came up with a key defensive rebound as the Pioneers recorded the victory… Tusculum shot 51 percent from the floor, including 13-of-22 in the second half (59.1 percent)… Moore shot 7-for-14 from the field, including 5-of-8 from beyond the arc, while also going a perfect 7-for-7 from the free throw line… For a second straight game, the Tusculum led wire-to-wire as the Pioneers defeated visiting Brevard 76-43… Tusculum completes the season-sweep over the Tornados as the Pioneers have won their last three contests and four of its last five… Lear led the charge on "Senior Night" as he posted 22 points, including the 1,500th of his stellar career… Lear shot 8-for-13 from the floor, including 4-of-8 from three-point territory… Moore added 19 points, while Darren Hobbs finished with a career-best 14 markers and six boards… Boone contributed 11 markers off the bench in the winning effort… Tusculum roared out to a 12-0 lead to open the game and would maintain a double-digit lead throughout most of the contest as TC led 42-24 at halftime… TC recorded 10 three-pointers on the night, while limiting Brevard to 25.6 percent shooting including 2-of-17 (11.8%) from beyond the arc… Senior Emory Cain recorded two assists and two rebounds in his 23 minutes of action in his final regular-season home game at Pioneer Arena… Jeter added eight points and six rebounds in the TC win… Jordan Lear is one of 19 players in recorded, school history to score 1,000 points… He enters this week's action with 1,511 points to his credit (7th in school history)… Lear has scored in 81 straight games and in 106 of his 107 career contests… Lear has recorded a rebound in 48 straight games and in 106 of his 107 career appearances… Tusculum has made a 3-point field goal in 579 consecutive games… Tusculum head coach Jim Boone enters this week with 360 career victories, which are 35th most amongst active NCAA Division II coaches.

WINGATE - The Wingate University men's team went 2-0 on the week, topping Mars Hill 99-91 in overtime on Senior Night Wednesday, then defeating Newberry 78-75 on the road Saturday afternoon. Wingate is 20-5 overall and 10-2 in the South Atlantic Conference … On Wednesday, senior forward/guard Sean Barnette (Rock Hill, S.C.) notched his 28th career double-double with 27 points and 10 rebounds. Redshirt senior forward/center Bryan Grier (Charlotte, N.C.) recorded his 30th career double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds. The NCAA Division II career blocked shots leader also had five blocks and three steals on the night. Sophomore guard Brandon Plummer (Norfolk, Va.) added 18 points for the Bulldogs … The Mars Hill-Wingate game featured 11 ties and 14 lead changes. With the score tied 77-77 with 2:42 remaining, Plummer drained a three. Mars Hill answered with a lay-up to cut the lead to one. The Bulldogs came right back with a Grier lay-up to extend the lead. Wingate would then take a five-point lead on putback from Barnette with 37 seconds remaining. A pair of free throws from Mars Hill junior forward Jamarl Glen cut the lead to three with 21 seconds left … After a pair of missed Wingate free throws, the Lions converted on an old-fashioned three point play to tie the game with 12 seconds remaining. The Lions had a shot to win the game at the end of regulation, but a three-point attempt from Stoney Polite was blocked by Wingate junior forward/guard DeMario Mattox (Rocky Mount, Va.) … In the overtime period, Mars Hill took a one-point lead on a tip-in with 2:20 left. The Bulldogs had the answer, with Plummer hitting a huge triple at the two minute mark for a 91-89 lead. Barnette nailed a jumper to extend the lead to four at the one minute mark. The lead would not go below four the rest of the way, with Wingate hitting all six free throws in the final 42 seconds to seal the victory … Wingate was 34-of-68 (50 percent) from the field, while hitting eight-of-22 (36.4 percent) from beyond the arc. Mars Hill held a slim 44-43 rebounding edge, while the Bulldogs outscored the Lions 28-14 in fast break points. The Wingate bench held a 41-23 advantage over the Mars Hill bench. Both teams committed 20 turnovers and handed out 15 assists … On Saturday, Grier scored a career-high 25 points on 10-of-15 shooting to lead the Bulldogs to a 78-75 win at Newberry. Eight of his 10 field goals were dunks. Grier almost notched another double-double, as he pulled down nine rebounds. Barnette added 16 points and 10 rebounds, racking up his 29th career double-double. Plummer and Mattox chipped in with 13 and 11 points, respectively … The Indians held a 49-40 lead early in the second half when Wingate responded with a 16-7 run to tie the game at 56. Barnette had six points in the spurt; Grier added five … The teams would trade baskets over the next six minutes, with neither team taking a lead of more than four. With the score tied at 68, the Bulldogs would go on a 10-2 spurt to take a 78-70 lead at the 3:38 mark. Mattox had six points in the run, while Grier put a punctuation mark on the flurry with a dunk. Newberry would score the final five points of the game, but the Bulldogs held on for a three-point win … Wingate was 29-of-57 (50.9 percent) from the field, while struggling from the free throw line. The Bulldogs hit only 17-of-38 (44.7 percent) from the charity stripe. The Indians held a 41-36 rebounding advantage. Wingate converted 16 Newberry turnovers into 24 points, while also holding a 19-9 edge in fast break points … Wingate University head coach Parker Laketa is approaching 150 victories for his Bulldog career. In eight seasons, the Kansas State University graduate is 149-89 overall. The Bulldogs have won 25-plus games in three of Laketa's seven previous seasons. Laketa and the Bulldogs made history in 2007, as Wingate became the first school in South Atlantic Conference men's basketball history to advance to the Elite Eight … Barnette leads the league with 20 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. Grier is right behind him with 14.1 points and 9.2 rebounds per game. Grier leads the conference in blocks and field goal percentage, while ranking in the top five nationally in both categories … Plummer is third on the team with 11.8 points per game. He leads the league, shooting 86.7 percent from the free throw line … Wingate travels to Lenoir-Rhyne College Wednesday. The Bulldogs suffered their lone home loss of the season to the Bears earlier in the year, falling 72-68. Barnette had 20 points and 11 rebounds, while Grier added 14 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks … The Bulldogs host Carson-Newman College Saturday. Wingate won a thrilling 83-82 contest early in the season in Jefferson City, Tennessee. Barnette racked up 31 points and 17 rebounds. Grier added 16 points, nine rebounds and three blocks. Mattox had 10 points, seven rebounds and seven steals for Wingate.