Eagles falter down stretch at Wingate, 87-74
Jan. 14, 2009
Wingate, N.C.----Wingate University senior forward Tommy Coles (Danville, Va.) tallied 18 points to lead four players in double figures as the Bulldogs topped Carson-Newman 87-74 Wednesday night in Cuddy Arena on the Wingate campus.
With the South Atlantic Conference victory, Wingate improves to 6-9 overall and 2-2 in the SAC. The C-N Eagles fall to 5-10 overall and 2-2 in the SAC. Wingate travels to Brevard College Saturday for a 4 p.m. SAC contest. Carson-Newman hosts Tusculum College Saturday at 8 p.m. for a local league rivalry game.
Coles topped the Bulldog charts with 18 points and seven rebounds. Wingate sophomore guard Chase Smith (Upper Marlboro, Md.) had 12 points, while seniors Kenny Villines (Fayetteville, N.C.) and Rosco Turner (Lexington, N.C.) contributed 10 points each. Villines led all defenders with three blocked shots Wednesday.
The Bulldogs received a solid performance from senior point guard DeMario Mattox (Rocky Mount, Va.). He had seven assists, five points, four steals, two blocks and two rebounds. Mattox led the Bulldogs with 33 minutes played Wednesday.
Carson-Newman freshman guard Jared Stephens (Oak Ridge, Tenn.) led the Eagles with 18 points off the bench. C-N junior center Joey Cameron (Tuskegee, Ala.) had 17 points and a game-high nine rebounds. Eagle junior forward Tray Okoth (Richmond, Va.) had 11 points and four boards.
The visiting Eagles led 18-9 when senior guard Andrew Johnson (Cairo, Ga.) nailed a three-point field goal with 11:11 remaining in the opening frame. Wingate answered with a 13-2 run to take a 22-20 lead on a Turner lay-in at the 7:42 mark.
Carson-Newman pushed the lead back to 27-22 on a Johnson lay-up with 6:14 to go in the first half. Wingate took the lead for good when freshman guard Jamie Vaughn (McDonough, Ga.) hit an inside hoop with two minutes to play, giving the host Bulldogs a 33-32 edge. Wingate led 40-34 at intermission.
The Bulldogs pushed the advantage to 48-37 when Villines hit an inside hoop with 17:46 to go in the contest. The visiting Eagles cut the deficit to 65-63 on two Cameron free throws at the 9:46 plateau. Carson-Newman would get no closer down the stretch.
Wingate pushed the lead to 80-63 on a fast-break dunk from Coles at the 5:01 mark. The 17-point bulge was Wingate's largest lead of the evening. Coles hit six-of-13 field goals and two-of-three trifectas on his way to his 18-point evening. He also converted four-of-five free throws.
In the decisive second half, Wingate shot 64.5 percent from the field (20-of-31). For the evening, Wingate hit at a 52.9 percent clip (37-of-70). The Bulldogs dominated the inside game, posting 54 points in the paint to 36 inside markers for the Eagles.
Carson-Newman shot 45.2 percent for the night (28-of-62). The Eagles made nine three-point field goals (compared to six for the Bulldogs). Stephens led the visitors with four triples in seven attempts.
