Game recaps and notes from around the South Atlantic Conference:

CARSON-NEWMAN - The Eagles scored 67 points in both games but came up short in losses to Lenoir-Rhyne and Presbyterian ... The Eagles struggled shooting the ball, connecting on only 24 of 64 attempts (37.5 percent) as they lost at Lenoir-Rhyne Wednesday night, 79-67. The Eagles scored the first basket of the game but then L-R reeled off 15 straight to take command of the contest early. The Bears were a red-hot 59 percent (17-29) from the floor in the first half while C-N managed only nine field goals ... Scott Williams and Milo Johnson each had 12 points for the Eagles ... For the second consecutive season, C-N dropped a close game at Presbyterian, losing to the Blue Hose 69-67 on Saturday. The Eagles shot the ball very well, ending the game with a 51 percent (22-43) field goal percentage. C-N also out-rebounded PC 32-24. But the Eagles were haunted by 22 turnovers. C-N built a lead early in the first half until PC used a 14-5 run to end the half and cut the C-N advantage to 32-31 at half time ... The Blue Hose started the second half hot and built a 64-53 lead before the Eagles used a 14-5 run of their own to cut the lead to 69-67 with 46 seconds remaining in the game. But the Eagles’ three-point try at the buzzer fell short and the Blue Hose held on for a 69-67 win ... Darren Williams came off the bench to score 15 points to lead the Eagles. Milo Johnson was close behind with 14 points, just missing out on a double-double as he also had nine rebounds ... The Eagles return to Holt Field House for an 8 p.m. tip-off against intra-state rival Tusculum on Wednesday night. C-N will once again hit the road on Saturday as they travel to Salisbury for a 4 p.m. start against Catawba.

CATAWBA - The Catawba men’s basketball team stayed unbeaten in the league with a pair of road wins last week ... The Indians defeated Newberry 86-78 on Wednesday and Tusculum on Saturday by a 79-63 count ... Catawba jumped to big leads in the opening half in both contests ... the Tribe opened up a 29-10 edge on Newberry in the opening 10 minutes and held a 26-13 edge over Tusculum at the midpoint of the first half ... The Indians continue to shoot extremely well from the floor, hitting on 57 percent at Newberry and 51 percent at Tusculum and were 16-of-33 from three-point range for the week ... Jolly Maning tossed in 19 points, hitting all five field goals and 9-of-10 at the line, in the won over Newberry ... Five Indians hit double digits as Brian Graves followed with 17 points and Helgi Magnusson 14 ... Jamel Hamilton, 13 points, and Chris Wooldridge, 11 points, reached the mark off the bench ... Hamilton scored a career-best 26 points in the win at Tusculum ... He connected on 8-of-12 shots, including six three-pointers ... Graves and Wooldridge each added 16 points and Magnusson 10 ... Catawba is shooting 49 percent for the season and is 129-of-367 (35 percent) from long range ... The Tribe is outscoring its opponents by 10 a game, averaging 86 points per game ... Catawba has failed to reach 75 points only once this season which came in a 74-63 win over Midwestern State ... Four Indians are averaging double figures led by Graves at 13.4 points ... Magnusson follows at 12.4 points and Wooldridge 12.2 off the bench ... Hamilton also comes off the bench and adds 11.5 a game ... Catawba returns home for both games this week, hosting Mars Hill for a Time Warner TV broadcast on Wednesday and Carson-Newman on Saturday afternoon.

LENOIR-RHYNE - The Lenoir-Rhyne College men’s basketball team (7-7, 1-1) moved back to .500 not only overall but in South Atlantic Conference play with an easy, 79-67 win over Carson-Newman College last Wednesday night at Shuford Gymnasium … The Bears, after trailing 2-0, scored the next 15 points and were in complete control throughout the game … Lenoir-Rhyne, which would lead by as many as 24 on two occasions in the second half, was led by junior guard Marcus Springs (Charlotte, N.C.) … Springs scored a season-high 20 points including 16 in the first half as the Bears built a 45-26 lead over the Eagles … Freshman guard Tyler Boardman (Clemmons, N.C.) scored a career-high 14 points to go along with six assists while sophomore forward Josh Kindred (Holly Springs, N.C.) added 14 points and a game-high nine rebounds as well … Lenoir-Rhyne, as a team, finished with a 52 percent (30-of-58) shooting night and forced the Eagles into 38 percent (24-of-64) shooting and 18 turnovers … Including the South Atlantic Conference Tournament, the Bears have defeated 10 straight league opponents at home … Lenoir-Rhyne's postponed contest at Mars Hill College on Saturday due to winter weather will force the Bears into three contests next week … L-R will play at Mars Hill (where it has won four straight games) on Monday at 8 p.m., before hosting Wingate (Wednesday at 8 p.m.) and Presbyterian (Saturday at 8 p.m.).

MARS HILL - Mars Hill won both of their games last week … The Lions' SAC contest against Lenoir-Rhyne College was postponed from Saturday to Monday due to snow … The Lions are now 7-7 overall and 1-1 in the SAC … In the first game of the week, Elliot McDowell (Canton, NC) scored his career high 37 points to lift MHC over the visiting Crusaders of North Greenville College in overtime Monday night in Stanford Arena, 96-92 … In the first half MHC jumped out to a 10-point lead (24-14) with 11:12 remaining in the opening period after Walt Baxley (Winston-Salem, NC) hit a layup … NGC fought back out scoring the Lions 32-to-11 over the next eight minutes to take a seven-point (42-35) advantage with 2:06 left after Victor Duck (Taylors, SC) hit a 3-pointer … James Hippolyte (Spring Valley, NY) was fouled on the Lions’ next possession and he sank two foul shots to send the teams into the locker room with the Crusaders enjoying a 42-39 lead at the intermission … NGC led for 19:50 of the second half … They took their biggest lead of nine points (76-67) with 2:28 on the clock after Duck hit a shot in the lane … MHC then out scored NGC, 12-to-3 in the remaining two minutes of regulation to tie the game at 79-all with 10 seconds left in the contest after Baxley hit a long-range 3-pointer from the left wing … Baxley hit a layup 21 seconds into the first overtime period to give MHC an 81-79 advantage they would not relinquish … MHC led by as many as seven points (90-83) with 1:06 on the clock in the extra frame after Baxley hit 1-of-2 free throws … A 3-pointer by Josh Burgess (Pickens, SC) trimmed the Lions’ lead to just two points (94-92) with 17 seconds left but McDowell hit a layup on a full court outlet pass eight seconds later to seal the win … McDowell was 11-for-18 from the floor and 12-of-13 from the foul line to obtain his game-high 37 points … He added seven rebounds and two assists in the victory. Baxley followed with 24 points, five assists and three rebounds as the only other Lion in double-figures in scoring ... MHC hit 48.6 percent (34-70) of their field goals in the game, scored 50- points in the paint, received 21 points off their bench and had 29 second chance points … The Lions won the rebound battle, 36-to-34. MHC leads the series against NGC, 7-2 … In the Lions second game of the week, Elliot McDowell scored 25 points and Mark Hamilton (Savannah, GA) pulled down his career high 14 rebounds to lead the Lions to a 10-point SAC victory over the visiting Pioneers of Tusculum College Wednesday night in Stanford Arena … Solid first half shooting (48.4 percent) allowed Tusculum to take an eight point lead (30-22) with 8:43 left in the first stanza after Douglas Tshomba (Brussels, Belgium) hit a layup … TC held on to a 39-34 lead at the break … The Lions came out of the locker room with purpose out scoring TC 8-to-2 to take a one-point 42-41 lead with 16:20 left in regulation after McDowell hit the first of two foul shots. MHC would not trail again … The Lions extended their lead to as many as 12 points (75-63) with 4:55 left in the contest after McDowell hit a high percentage shot on a fast break … TC trimmed the deficit to eight points (83-75) with 1:18 left in the game but that was as close as they would get … MHC scored 44 points in the paint and receive 23 points off their bench. Following McDowell was Walt Baxley with 19 points, Marques Maxwell (West Palm Beach, FL) with 12 and Chris Aline (Reinach, Switzerland) with 11 … Hamilton added eight points, a block and an assist to go along with his 14 boards … Jamison McIver (Taylorsville, NC) added six points and nine rebounds in the win … Tony Blake (Canton, NC) dished out seven assists in the victory … MHC will host Lenoir-Rhyne College Monday night at 6 p.m. and then play at Catawba College on Wednesday night before returning to Stanford Arena to host Wingate University on Saturday afternoon.

NEWBERRY - Newberry lost its sixth game in a row, dropping two conference contests this week and still seeking its first SAC win ... Down by 19 early on, Newberry orchestrated a long rally to pull within three, 76-63 with 2:50 remaining in the game before Catawba’s 75 percent shooting from the line in the second half held off the Newberry rally as the Scarlet and Gray Indians fell, 86-78, Wednesday. Alonzo Hinds led Newberry’s way with 22 points ... Hinds was the leading scorer again Saturday, this time with 27 points, but Newberry was edged out by Wingate, 100-93 Saturday night ... Newberry had five players put up double digit points while Wingate had six. The Bulldogs become the first team to post 100 or more points on Newberry this season ... Newberry held a slight advantage in rebounds, 36-35, and dominated the offensive boards, 19-8. Wingate held a 48-43 halftime lead as the Bulldogs shot 61 percent from the floor to Newberry’s 41 percent. Newberry dominated man play as the Indians had 13 steals in the half to Wingate’s four ... Sammy Monroe was a potent force for the Indians in the first period, putting up 16 points for Newberry. Newberry returns to action next Wednesday as they travel to Clinton to face the arch-rival Blue Hose of Presbyterian College.

PRESBYTERIAN - Presbyterian College (12-5, 2-1 SAC) split a pair of games this past week with a 73-64 loss on the road to Wingate University this past Wednesday, followed by a 69-67 victory over Carson-Newman College at home on Saturday ... Presbyterian College struggled to shoot 37.5 percent from the floor including only 25 percent in the second half as the Wingate University Bulldogs came from behind to defeat the Blue Hose 73-64 this past Wednesday. The Blue Hose turned the ball over 20 times in the contest even though they out-rebounded the Bulldogs 38-30. Senior center Johann Collins (Raleigh, N.C.) scored a team-best 23 points and added eight boards in the loss. Junior forward Grant Herren (Oviedo, Fla.) added 10 points and 11 boards, while senior forward Tray Ballenger (Wellford, S.C.) chipped in 11 points and five steals ... The Blue Hose bounced back from Wednesday’s 73-64 defeat to Wingate University with a 69-67 victory over Carson-Newman College at home on Saturday. PC shot 49.1 percent from the field including 60.9 percent in the second half. Collins led the way with 15 points and seven boards, while Ballenger and freshman guard Bryan Bostic (Norcross, Ga.) each added 11 points apiece. The Blue Hose assisted on 20 of 27 made field goals and hit six-of-18 three-point field goals. In addition, PC held the Eagles to 26.7 percent shooting from three-point land, far below the league-leading 43.2 percent. The Eagles did out rebound the Blue Hose 32-24, only the second time this season ... Senior center Johann Collins leads the team in scoring (12.9 ppg), rebounding (6.6 rpg), free throw percentage (81.3 percent), and is second in field goal percentage (53.3 percent). Fellow senior, guard Tray Ballenger, is averaging 11.8 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 2.6 apg, 1.5 spg, while shooting 48.4 percent from the field, 30.4 percent from three-point land, and 56.1 percent from the charity stripe. Junior forward Grant Herren continues his solid play by averaging 8.7 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 2.5 apg, 0.8 spg, while shooting 55.9 percent from the field and 71 percent from the line ... The Blue Hose are using a balanced offensive attack and a stingy defense this season. PC has six players averaging atleast 8.5 ppg this season and 10 players averaging atleast 11.6 minutes per game. Defensively, the Blue Hose are holding opponents to 65.8 ppg and hold a +6.3 rebound margin over their opponents. PC is shooting 46.2 percent from the field, 34.9 percent from three-point land, and 70.6 percent from the line as a team this season ... Seniors Tray Ballenger and Johann Collins both enter their final season at PC with their sights set on the 1,000 career point plateau. Ballenger has 923 career points and Collins has 933 career points entering this week’s games. These two players will become the 15th and 16th players under head coach Gregg Nibert’s tenure to reach 1,000 career points ... PC hosts the Indians of Newberry College on Wednesday, January 18 at 8:00 pm. The Blue Hose return to the road on Saturday, 21 with a trip to Hickory, N.C. to face Lenoir-Rhyne College for a 8:00 pm tip.

TUSCULUM - The Tusculum men’s basketball team went 0-2 last week dropping a pair of South Atlantic Conference contests… TC opened the week with an 87-77 road loss at Mars Hill… The Pioneers returned home and dropped a 79-63 decision to league front-runner Catawba… Sophomore forward Jordan Lear averaged 19.5 ppg in his two outings last week… Senior guard Donald Sexton moved into sole possession of second place in all-time career assists at Tusculum as he has recorded 403 assists as a Pioneer… That tally is also seventh all-time in South Atlantic Conference history… Sophomore Gabe Story had a season-high 16 points and nine rebounds against Catawba… The loss to Catawba ended a five-game home winning streak and marked the Indians’ first win in Greeneville since 2001… Tusculum will be on the road twice this week with SAC contests at Carson-Newman and Newberry… When TC and C-N meet, it will mark the 98th recorded meeting on the hardwood between the two in-state foes… The Eagles lead the series 73-24, but the Pioneers have won the last three meetings and five of the last six, including the last three times in Jefferson City… The Newberry series is a younger one, but is just as competitive as TC leads 7-5.

WINGATE - The Wingate University men’s basketball team picked up two big South Atlantic Conference wins last week. On Saturday, the Bulldogs placed six players in double figures in a 100-93 SAC home victory over Newberry ... Bulldog junior guard Justin Baker led the hosts with a career-high 22 points against the Indians. He hit a career-best 10-of-10 free throws. In addition, Baker hit a huge three-point field goal with 2:40 to play to stretch Wingate’s lead to 81-76 ... Wingate redshirt sophomore Bryan Grier had 17 points, seven blocks and five rebounds against Newberry. The Vance High graduate hit eight-of-eight field goals, missing a 24-year-old Wingate record by one made field goal. Perry Brown hit nine-of-nine field goals against Winthrop in 1982 ... Sophomore guard/forward Sean Barnette had 27 points to lead the host Bulldogs to a 73-64 SAC win over Presbyterian Wednesday night. Barnette gave the Bulldogs their first lead since the 15-minute mark of the first half when he nailed a three-point field goal with 4:30 remaining in the contest to put Wingate up 62-61 ... The Bulldogs never trailed again in the Presbyterian contest. The 2005 SAC Freshman of the Year, Barnette converted four-of-six three-point field goal tries against the Blue Hose. The Bulldogs finished the PC contest on a 14-3 run. Barnette and Baker both hit three-pointers during the crucial late-game flurry. Baker had 14 points off the Wingate bench, while Grier had a solid 11 points, nine rebounds and five blocks ... The number one shot blocker in NCAA Division II, Grier averaged 14.0 points per game, 7.0 rebounds per game, 6.0 blocks per game and 2.5 steals per game last week. He shot 85.7 percent (12-of-14) from the field in the two contests combined. On the season, Grier is averaging 14.6 points per game, 8.9 rebounds per game and 5.4 blocks per game. He is shooting 64.9 percent from the floor. He leads the SAC in rebounds and blocked shots ... Thanks to the defensive efforts of Grier and his teammates, Newberry and Presbyterian combined to shoot 40 percent (54-of-135) from the field last week. In 14 games, Wingate has allowed only one opponent (Tusculum at Tusculum, Jan. 7) to shoot over 50 percent. Bulldog foes are shooting 41.0 percent on the season ... Barnette is averaging 24.3 points per game in SAC play. In addition to Barnette’s stellar play in league games, both Baker (18.0 points per game) and Grier (15.3 points per game) have high scoring averages in SAC contests.