Weekly Men’s Basketball Notes, November 17, 2008

Men's basketball notes and game recaps for week ending November 16, 2008.

BREVARD - The Brevard College men's basketball team played in two exhibition games this past week, both of them on the road against NCAA Division I and Big South Conference members … On Tuesday night, the Brevard College men's basketball team opened up their 2008-09 season with a solid performance in their exhibition opener against NCAA Division I member Gardner-Webb University, falling on the road by ten 62-52 in Paul Porter Arena … The Tornados got off to a great start, as senior forward Joseph Chilton opened up the game with a three-pointer from the top of the key after BC won the opening tip. Only minutes later Gardner-Webb hit their offensive stride while, over the next six minutes of play the Tornados hit an offensive lull, as Brevard scored only two points by way of two Jonathan Whitson free throws, while GWU jumped out to a 15 point lead at 32-17 with 5:30 to play in the first half … A lay-up by redshirt-junior guard Cody Siniard at the 5:11 mark stopped the Tornados scoring drought as BC finished out the half on a 10-4 run to put the score at 36-27 in favor of the Runnin' Bulldogs at the half … In the second half, the Tornados controlled the pace of the game as Coach Jones' squad ran their offense effectively and held the fast-paced Bulldogs to only 26 points in the final 20 minutes of play … The Tornados used solid team defense and good ball control to cut the Runnin' Bulldogs lead to one point at 49-48 on a free throw by Siniard with 8:07 to go in the game … Yet that is as close as Brevard would get, as GWU scored the next five points to pull ahead 54-48 with less than four minutes to go in the game. In the closing minutes of the game the Runnin' Bulldogs looked to their seniors Flittner and Aaron Linn, as the two took over the game scoring nine of their team's final 11 points to hold off the Tornados and come away with the 62-52 exhibition win … Leading the way for BC was Whitson with a team-high 16 points, with 14 of those coming in the second half. Starters Freeman and Chilton were both in double-figures, as Freeman had 11 points on 4-of-9 shooting, while Chilton had 10 points with eight of those coming in the first half … Despite missing senior Sean Ferretti, who sat out due to injury, the Tornados showed their depth, as Coach Jones played nine players - including Nathan Whitmire, Darin Dellinger and Sam Carlisle - who all saw their first action since 2006-07 having set out last season … On Friday night, BC wrapped up its exhibition play, as the Tornados fell to Radford University 74-55 in a sold out Peters Hall on the campus of Radford University … Just like in their opening exhibition on Tuesday night at Gardner-Webb University, the Tornados got on the board first as Jonathan Whitson started of the scoring with a turn-around jump shot in the lane 50 seconds into the contest … The Tornados Whitson would score on the next possession to go up 4-0, their largest lead of the contest … Yet Radford did not wait long to get on the scoreboard as guard Kenny Thomas hit a three from the top of the key to cut the BC lead to one at 4-3 at the 18:19 mark of the first half. The three-pointer got the Highlanders rolling, as Radford outscored the Tornados 41-13 over the remainder of the half to take a 44-17 lead into the halftime break … While the Highlanders torched the nets in the first 20 minutes of play, shooting 58.6 percent (17-of-26) from the floor overall and 66.7 percent (4-of-6) from behind the three-point arc, the Tornados struggled offensively connecting on 35.0 percent (7-of-21) from the field and were 0-6 from long range … In the second half, the Tornados outscored the Highlanders 38-30, as BC turned the ball only nine times and held Radford to only nine made field goals in the final 20 minutes of play … The Tornados, who cut the Radford lead to 20 points on three separate occasions, could not get any closer until the final 1:10 to play when BC cut the lead to 18 on a three-pointer by Whitson. Brevard got to within 18 points again with 28 seconds left in the contest when freshman Michael Gist hit a lay-up on an offensive rebound … Whitson led all scorers with 23 points, as he connected on 9-of-15 field goal attempts including going 1-of-2 from long range … Redshirt junior Nathan Whitmire recorded eight points for the game, all in the second half, while guards Andrew Freeman and Darin Dellinger had six points apiece … Whitson also had a game-high eight boards, while redshirt junior Sam Carlisle hauled in seven rebounds for the game … Brevard College out-rebounded the Highlanders 38-36 for the contest … The Tornados will open up their 2008-09 regular season on Tuesday, November 18, when they will play at home against Warren Wilson College. The game is slated for a 7 p.m. tip-off … The Tornados will then hit the road on Saturday, November 22, when they will play the first of six straight road contests against the Flying Fleet of Erskine College. That game is slated for a 4:30 p.m. start.

CARSON-NEWMAN - The Carson-Newman Eagles opened their season with 126-119 loss on Saturday night in Holt Fieldhouse to visiting King College …The Eagles knotted the game at 117-117 before King used a 9-2 run to close to grab the win … Junior forward Joey Cameron was impressive in his C-N debut, pouring in 24 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the floor, including four dunks …. He added 10 rebounds and two blocked shots … Senior Andrew Johnson added 18 points on 5-8 shooting with three steals … The 126 points allowed matches the school-record which was set by Catawba last season in a C-N overtime win, 129-126 … The Eagles hurt themselves, shooting just 67 percent at the line, 28-of-42 … The Eagles also committed 26 turnovers, but forced 25 … Preseason All-SAC selection Jordan Dixon added 10 points and eight assists for the Eagles … While senior Jesse McMurray (14), sophomore Adam Plavich (12), and junior Darron Maxtion (14) all reached double figures … Junior forward Kevin hare added five points and six boards … C-N averaged 90.3 points per game a season ago, a SAC record for PPG … Carson-Newman returns to action Tuesday night at Lees-McRae. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. in Banner Elk, N.C.

CATAWBA - Catawba opened the season with a pair of wins at the Salisbury Roundball Classic ... The Indians topped Felician 83-66 on Saturday then held off Mount Olive for a 68-65 win over Mount Olive ... against Felician, Catawba shot 57 percent, including 64 percent in the second half as the Indians pulled away from a tie game at the break ... Antonio Houston scored 15 of his game-high 22 points in the second half, while adding six rebounds and six assists ... Cliff Burns posted 19 points, hitting 8-of-9 field goals, and blocked three shots ... The Indians survived a desperation three-pointer against Mount Olive ... Rob Fields made a free throw with 30 seconds left for a 67-65 lead and added another with 10 seconds left following a Mt. Olive turnover ... The game was a see-saw affair for the first most of the second half with eight lead changes before a Houston jumper with 6:40 left gave Catawba the lead for good at 59-58 ... Houston scored 20 points, while Dominick Reid had 12 points and five assists ... Burns tallied 10 points with five rebounds ... The Indians held a 20-2 edge in points off turnovers ... Catawba played an exhibition game with N.C. State on the Tuesday prior to the start of the season and was within 13 points of the Wolfpack at the ten-minute mark ... State pulled away down the stretch for an 85-61 win ... Fields led all scorers with 21 points as he hit on 8-of-15 shots ... Donald Rutherford, who missed the opening action with an ankle injury, grabbed 10 boards ... Catawba shot just 38 percent and were out-rebounded 47-34 ... Catawba will next face Queens on the road next Saturday.

LENOIR-RHYNE - The Lenoir-Rhyne men's basketball team started the season 2-0 with a pair of victories over Mount Olive (82-71) and Felician (73-65) last Saturday and Sunday in the Salisbury Roundball Classic on the campus of Catawba College … In the opener, the Bears were led by senior guard Elliott McDowell (Canton, N.C.) with a game-high 27 points, including 18 in the first half, in the win over the Trojans, who were ranked No. 18 in the NCAA Division II NABC Top 25 National Preseason Poll … L-R is ranked 17th … Junior guard Ryan Crawford (Stuarts Draft, Va.) added 13 points and sophomore forward D.J. Blackmon (Albemarle, N.C.) also scored in double figures (11) as the Bears used a late 6-0 run culminated by McDowell's three-point play to take the win … On Sunday, Blackmon was one of four players to score in double figures for the Bears, leading the way with 20 points as Lenoir-Rhyne downed the Golden Falcons of Felician … Lenoir-Rhyne jumped ahead to a 35-22 advantage at break aided by 14 Felician turnovers and was able to hold off a late Felician rally to take the win … A pair of three-pointers by McDowell late in the contest sealed the win … Rudder added 17 points for the Bears and now has 1,113 points for his career, good for 32nd place on Lenoir-Rhyne's all-time scoring list … Lenoir-Rhyne has started the year 2-0 for the third straight year … L-R remains on the road this week as it faces Queens (Wednesday at 7 p.m. in Charlotte, N.C.) before heading to Mount Olive, N.C., to play in the 43rd annual Pickle Classic … Lenoir-Rhyne plays Mount Olive Friday at 8 p.m., before taking on Barton Saturday at 4:30 p.m. … L-R leads the all-time series with Queens (2-1), Mount Olive (6-2) and Barton (82-25).

LINCOLN MEMORIAL - From the starting five, to the end of the bench, every Railsplitter player contributed in Saturday evening's season-opening 73-67 win over Tennessee Temple University in Chattanooga, Tennessee … The young but talented Railsplitters received a team-best effort from senior forward Wadner Joseph who led the Railsplitters in scoring with 14 points. LMU Junior transfer Stuart Miller and freshman guard Brandon Armstrong also chipped in 12 points en route to the Railsplitters first win of the year. Railsplitter junior D'Mario Curry led LMU on the boards with eight rebounds on the night … While LMU placed several players in double figures, the bench play could have been the most vital part of the Railsplitters success against the Crusaders. Including the three players in double figures, nine Railsplitter players scored in season opener and 13 played in helping the LMU men move to 1-0 on the year … The LMU men showed a great deal of determination throughout the game as they trailed in the first half by as many as 12 points and in the second by as many as 11. Midway through the second half of play, the Railsplitters opened up a 12 point lead of their own before eventually coming away with the six point victory in the opening game of the Josh Schertz coaching era … Monday night the Railsplitters travel to Vienna, West Virginia to take on West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference opponent Ohio Valley University.

MARS HILL - Mars Hill opened the 2008-09 campaign with a 79-62 win at Limestone Saturday night … Head Coach Thomas Nash won his first collegiate game … P.J. Gore (North Myrtle Beach, S.C.) scored 28 points in the win. Gore added four steals in the win over the Blue Bears … Danny Sanders (Shelby, N.C.) posted a double-double with 18 points and 14 rebounds. Jamarl Glen (District Heights, Md.) recorded 10 points and seven boards … Mars Hill hit 45 percent of their field goals as opposed to Livingstone who only connected on 31 percent of their shots from the floor … MHC was 9-21 from behind the arc. The Lions edged the Blue Bears on the boards, 45-44 … MHC will play at Belmont Abbey College on November 19. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. The Lions will then host Anderson in their home opener on November 22 at 2 p.m.

NEWBERRY - The Newberry College men's basketball team started the 2008-09 season with a 75-58 win at St. Andrews Presbyterian College on Saturday afternoon ... Senior first team all-SAC forward Clemente Martin led the scarlet and gray with 27 points, 9 rebounds and 3 steals in the victorious effort ... Junior transfer Brett Goodwell showed up well in his Newberry debut with 13 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks and 2 steals ... Sophomore Grant Domsic rounded out the double digit scorers with 10 points ... Newberry jumped out to a quick lead on a Goodwell three-point play and never relinquished the lead … The scarlet and gray were efficient offensively, and led by as many as 12 in the opening stanza ... The Knights hung with Newberry in the latter stages of the half, whittling that lead down to 29-20 at the half ... The scarlet and gray started the scoring in the second half, and quickly brought the lead to 17 with just under 17 minutes to play … But the Knights continued to battle, narrowing the lead to 10 points on a Grooms bucket with 6:28 to go ... However, it was all Newberry from there on out, as a Domsic triple gave Newberry its largest lead at 20 points in the final minute, before a Grooms trifecta brought the game to its final score of 75-58 ... Newberry forced the Knights into 20 turnovers, while only committing 14 turnovers of its own and registering 17 assists ... Kendrick Johnson, Newberry's all-time leading shot blocker led the team with 3 blocks, bringing his career total to 136 blocks, just one short of 9th place in SAC history ... Martin now has 1,104 career points, which places him at 24th all-time in the Newberry record books ... Martin led the league in steals per game last season and continued on that trend, earning three steals in the win ... Newberry returns home to kick off its home schedule against Erskine College ... The game against the Flying Fleet is slated to tip off at 7 p.m. Wednesday in Eleazer Arena ... NC will stay at home for its weekend game against Carver Bible College on Saturday for a 2 p.m. tip.

TUSCULUM - The Tusculum Pioneers (0-1) opened the 2008-09 season with a 71-57 road loss at Anderson (S.C.) ... All-SAC guard Kyle Moore led all scorers with 21 points, including 14-of-15 from the free throw line … Senior Ryan Troutman added 10 points and a career-high 12 rebounds, while sophomore Rob Troutman added 10 markers in the loss … The Pioneers have made a three-point field goal in 581 consecutive games, dating back to 1987 … Tusculum head coach Jim Boone enters this year with 361 career victories which are the 31st most in NCAA Division II history … There are three sets of family members on the Tusculum team this year … Coach Boone has his oldest son, Jimmy on the roster … There are also two sets of brothers, Ryan and Rob Troutman, and Darren and Taylor Hobbs … Tusculum returns to action this weekend when it hosts the 2008 Sodexho Classic … Participating in this year's event are Lincoln Memorial, Columbus State and Flagler.

WINGATE - Five players hit double digits as the USC Aiken Pacers picked up a 93-67 season-opening men's basketball victory over Wingate University Saturday night in the Convocation Center on the USC Aiken campus ... USC Aiken (1-0 overall) is the number one team in The Sporting News pre-season poll. Wingate (0-1 overall) has made three consecutive trips to the NCAA tournament and seven total appearances in the big dance ... For the host Pacers, senior forward Chris Commons (Toledo, Ohio) had 24 points. Junior forward and Auburn transfer Josh Dollard (Hemingway, S.C.) had 16 points. USC Aiken senior guard Kingsley Oguchi (Houston, Texas) also netted 16 points Saturday ... Two players hit 11 points each for Wingate: senior forward Kenny Villines (Fayetteville, N.C.) and freshman guard Chase Smith (Upper Marlboro, Md.). Smith was one of four Bulldogs to hit a three-point field goal Saturday afternoon ... USC Aiken led 44-26 at halftime. Wingate battled back, cutting the deficit to 10 with 14 minutes remaining in the second half. The Pacers had the answer, as they hit seven three-point field goals in the final 20 minutes ... On the afternoon, USC Aiken hit 13 three-point field goals. The Pacers shot over 50 percent in the first half and over 60 percent in the second half. USC Aiken also won the battle of the boards, thanks to seven rebounds each by Commons and junior guard Seth Leonard (York, Pa.) ... Wingate visits NCAA Division I East Tennessee State University Thursday for a 7 p.m. contest. The Bulldogs travel to Belmont Abbey College Saturday, Nov. 22 (7 p.m.) before opening the home portion of their schedule Monday, Nov. 24 against Barton College (7 p.m.). USC Aiken plays Barton Friday in the Mount Olive College Pickle Classic (5:30 p.m.).