2006 Food Lion SAC Men's Basketball Championship: Wingate Upsets Lenoir-Rhyne, Presbyterian Defeats Tusculum
March 4, 2006

Tourney Cental

Wingate 77, Lenoir-Rhyne 61

Presbyterian 67, Tusculum 62

Wingate 77, Lenoir-Rhyne 61
HICKORY, N.C. – Wingate University placed four players in double figures led by All-SAC selection, sophomore Sean Barnette’s (Rock Hill, S.C.) team-high 18 points as the Bulldogs upset top seed Lenoir-Rhyne College 77-61 in the semifinals of the 2006 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament Saturday afternoon at the Catawba Valley Community Center.

The Bulldogs (17-12), seeded fourth, advance to tomorrow’s championship game where they will face the winner of No. 2 seed Presbyterian College/No. 6 Tusculum College winner at 2:00 pm. The Bears, winners of the SAC regular season title, drop to 18-10 overall.

In the first half, the Bulldogs jumped out to a 14-5 advantage on a jumper by Barnette at the13:43 mark. Wingate pushed the lead to double figures on the five different occasions in the first half, the longest margin coming at 34-21 with 1:34 remaining on a three-pointer by junior Bill Smith (Manasquan, NJ).

Lenoir-Rhyne scored four straight points including a pair of free throws by senior David Lawson (Kinston, N.C.) to trim the lead to 34-25 with :21 seconds remaining, but Wingate’s freshman Sam Carlisle (Raleigh, N.C.) scored a on a tip-in at the buzzer to give the Bulldogs a 36-25 advantage entering halftime.

Smith and junior Ernest Magnum (New London, N.C.) paced the Bulldogs in the first half with eight points apiece as Wingate shot 42.4 percent from the floor. Lenoir-Rhyne was led by All-SAC selection, sophomore Josh Kindred (Holly Springs, N.C.) who tallied a game-high 10 points as the Bears turned the ball over 10 times in the first period and shot 34.6 percent from the floor.

The second half opened with the Bulldogs going on a 13-5 run to pull ahead 49-30 at the 15:17 mark on a three-pointer by Magnum. The Bears fought back and cut the lead to 13 points at 53-40 on a tip-in by SAC Freshman of the Year selection, Donte Watson (Fayetteville, N.C.) with 9:19 remaining.

Wingate responded by pushing the lead to its largest margin of the game at 75-55 with 2:07 remaining in the game on a three-point play by freshman Kenny Villines (Fayetteville, N.C.). The Bears trimmed the lead back to 16 points on two occasions in the final minutes, but could not get any closer.

Barnette led the Bulldogs with 18 points and nine boards, while Smith chipped in 13 points, and Magnum added 11 points on three-of-six shooting from beyond the arc. Rounding out the double figure scorers for Wingate was Villines who tallied 10 points.

Lenoir-Rhyne was led by Kindred’s double-double of 25 points (career-high) and 11 rebounds, while juniors Marcus Springs (Charlotte, N.C.) and Eric Mauldin (Albemarle, N.C.) added 11 points apiece.

Wingate finished the game shooting 45.2 percent from the floor, while Lenoir-Rhyne struggled to shoot 38.9 percent and hit only 15-of-31 from the free throw line.

“We didn’t shoot the ball well either,” said Wingate coach Parker Laketa. “Both teams were hyped up. But I was pleased with our consistency with our defense. We weren’t hitting shots, but we got out to a 6-0 lead with our defense.”

The loss ends the season for Lenoir-Rhyne, the regular-season champions. The Bears are not ranked in the NCAA Division II South Atlantic Region poll.

“We are the only league champion not ranked in the top 10,” said Lenoir-Rhyne coach John Lentz. “That’s the ultimate disrespect, not only for us, but for the SAC. We didn’t play well. We’ve been dodging the bullet for the last three weeks. We were 3-3 in our last six contests.”

WINGATE UNIVERSITY 77, LENOIR-RHYNE COLLEGE 61
WINGATE UNIVERSITY (17-12 overall): Barnette, Sean 7-12 4-4 18; Smith, Bill 4-11 2-3 13; Mangum, Ernest 4-8 0-0 11; Villines, Kenny 4-4 2-3 10; Baker, Justin 2-12 3-4 8; Carlisle, Sam 3-5 0-0 6; Kirkland, Shaun 3-4 0-6 6; Grier, Bryan 1-4 3-4 5; Powell, Fernando 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 28-62 14-24 77.
LENOIR-RHYNE COLLEGE (18-10 overall): Kindred, Josh 8-18 9-15 25; Mauldin, Eric 5-8 0-4 11; Springs, Marcus 4-13 0-2 11; Rudder, Josh 1-4 3-5 5; Watson, Donte 2-4 0-1 4; Lawson, David 0-1 3-4 3; Hinds, Stephen 1-4 0-0 2; Sharpe, Jason 0-0 0-0 0; Brown, A.J. 0-0 0-0 0; Boardman, Tyler 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 21-54 15-31 61.

Wingate University............ 36 41 - 77 
Lenoir-Rhyne College.......... 25 36 - 61

3-point goals-Wingate University 7-22 (Smith, Bill 3-8; Mangum, Ernest 3-6; Baker, Justin 1-5; Powell, Fernando 0-1; Barnette, Sean 0-2), Lenoir-Rhyne College 4-12 (Springs, Marcus 3-7; Mauldin, Eric 1-2; Lawson, David 0-1; Rudder, Josh 0-2). Fouled out--Wingate University-Grier, Bryan, Lenoir-Rhyne College-None. Rebounds-Wingate University 44 (Barnette, Sean 9), Lenoir-Rhyne College 34 (Kindred, Josh 11). Assists-Wingate University 14 (Smith, Bill 3; Barnette, Sean 3; Baker, Justin 3), Lenoir-Rhyne College 6 (Springs, Marcus 2). Total fouls-Wingate University 25, Lenoir-Rhyne College 20. A-625

Presbyterian 67, Tusculum 62
HICKORY, N.C. – Second-seeded Presbyterian College placed four players in double figures to advance to Sunday’s Food Lion South Atlantic Conference championship game with a 67-62 victory over the sixth-seeded Pioneers of Tusculum College. Presbyterian improves to 24-8 overall and will face fourth-seeded Wingate University, who won in the earlier semifinal today at 2:00 pm in the finals. Tusculum concludes its season at 14-15.

The Blue Hose broke open a closely contested first half with a 18-6 run to take a 33-21 advantage into halftime. PC hit six-of-10 three-point field goals in the first stanza and were led by junior Sean Dixon’s (Marietta, Ga.) 13 points on three-of-three shooting from beyond the arc. Junior Matt Farus (Zanesville, Ohio) paced the Pioneers with six points in the first half.

The Pioneers stormed back in the second half with 19 straight points, six of those from sophomore Gabe Story (Greeneville, Tenn.) off two three-point plays, to close to 54-51 with six minutes left.

Presbyterian overcame the six-minute scoring drought by pouring in 13 points in the final six minutes, including five in the final 28 seconds, to pull away for the final margin. Dixon converted all six of his free throws during the crucial stretch as the Blue Hose hit all 11 free throw attempts in the second half. Tusculum was equal to the task, hitting all 10 of their second half free throw attempts.

Dixon led all scorers with 19 points, while junior Grant Herren (Oviedo, Fla.) and sophomore Pat Kiscaden (Oviedo, Fla.) each tallied 12 points. Herren added five boards, while Kiscaden went four-of-seven from three-point land. Senior All-SAC selection, Tray Ballenger (Wellford, S.C.), added 10 points for the Blue Hose.

Tusculum was led in scoring on the night by sophomore Jordan Lear’s (Zanesville, Ohio) who tallied a team-high 16 points, while senior Donald Sexton (Oneida, Tenn.) added 13 points and five boards. Junior Chris Poore (Greeneville, Tenn.) chipped in 12 points for the Pioneers.

Presbyterian Coach Gregg Nibert: “We came out early ready to play. We had an excellent first half and got a 20-point lead. You expect every good team to make a run, we just didn’t expect them to make that big of a run.”

(On playing Wingate in the championship game) “They are an athletic and quick team. Everyone thinks of them just as a scoring team, but their field goal percentage defense leads the league, so they are a good defensive team, too. That’s what makes them a better basketball team.”

Tusculum Coach Jim Boone: “I’m really pleased with the tremendous effort our kids gave to come back from a 20-point game and give ourselves a chance to win. But what our kids have to realize is that in tournament play, every single possession counts. Presbyterian stepped up and played like you do when you are a championship team. They were the better team tonight and deserved to win.”

PRESBYTERIAN COLLEGE 67, TUSCULUM COLLEGE 62
TUSCULUM COLLEGE (14-15): Lear, Jordan 6-8 4-4 16; Sexton, Donald 4-13 3-5 13; Poore, Chris 6-8 0-1 12; Farus, Matt 3-5 2-2 9; Tshomba, Douglas 2-7 2-2 6; Story, Gabe 2-5 2-2 6; Poppe, Serge 0-1 0-0 0; Minnefee, Larry 0-1 0-0 0; White, Tyler 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-48 13-16 62.
PRESBYTERIAN COLLEGE (24-8): Dixon, Sean 4-10 8-8 19; Kiscaden, Pat 4-7 0-0 12; Herren, Grant 5-11 2-3 12; Ballenger, Tray 3-8 2-2 10; Sligh, Travis 2-4 2-2 6; Collins, Johann 0-4 3-4 3; Biggs, Drew 1-2 0-0 3; Versinskas, Martynas 1-4 0-0 2; Bostic, Bryan 0-0 0-0 0; Ferrell, Quinton 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-50 17-19 67.

Tusculum College.............. 21 41 - 62 
Presbyterian College.......... 33 34 - 67

3-point goals-Tusculum College 3-7 (Sexton, Donald 2-5; Farus, Matt 1-1; Lear, Jordan 0-1), Presbyterian College 10-19 (Kiscaden, Pat 4-7; Dixon, Sean 3-5; Ballenger, Tray 2-4; Biggs, Drew 1-2; Sligh, Travis 0-1). Fouled out--Tusculum College-None, Presbyterian College-Collins, Johann. Rebounds-Tusculum College 23 (Sexton, Donald 5; Tshomba, Douglas 5), Presbyterian College 35 (Collins, Johann 8). Assists-Tusculum College 6 (Lear, Jordan 2), Presbyterian College 14 (Herren, Grant 3; Collins, Johann 3; Ballenger, Tray 3). Total fouls-Tusculum College 19, Presbyterian College 24. A-565