Salisbury, N.C.----Following an impressive 15-point victory over Lincoln Memorial Saturday, the first-place Wingate University men’s basketball team will hit the road for the first time in the new year and in South Atlantic Conference play, as they take on rival Catawba College Wednesday night in Goodman Gymnasium. Wingate is 9-4 on the season, including a 2-0 record in the SAC.
Picked to finish fifth in the pre-season coaches’ poll, the Bulldogs are currently sharing first place with the Brevard. The BC Tornados were picked to finish eighth. Catawba sits at 7-5 overall and 0-1 in the South Atlantic Conference. The Indians were out of league play Saturday, earning a 100-86 victory over Queens University of Charlotte.
The road wasn’t friendly last season to the Bulldogs, as they finished 2-14 away from Cuddy Arena. Wingate’s SAC road ledger was 2-6 last year. This season has been a complete turnaround for Wingate. As a result, the team’s confidence is high heading into the match-up with Catawba. Wingate is 3-1 away and 1-1 on a neutral floor with both losses coming in the first week of the season. Catawba has only played three home games, winning against Queens and Pfeiffer and falling to USC Aiken.
Last season, the road teams won both games in the season series. The 2008-09 campaign marked the third straight year the teams split the series. On Jan. 7 2009, Catawba became the first team to beat Wingate head coach Brian Good in Cuddy Arena with a 97-90 win. The ‘Dogs had four players in double-figures but were unable to overcome 48 percent shooting by the Catawba Indians. Almost one month later in Salisbury, the Bulldogs picked up one of the two road wins by returning the favor with a 92-79 win behind 50 percent shooting, including 45 percent beyond the arc and 17-of-18 from the foul line.
This season, Wingate has the most balanced offense in the SAC. The Bulldogs have five players averaging 9.9 points or more, led by reigning SAC Player of the Week Odell Turner (Charlotte, N.C.). The former Myers Park star is posting 12.5 points per game, complimented by a team-high six rebounds per contest.
Guards Larry Staley (Charlotte, N.C.), Paidrick Matilus (Boyton Beach, Fla.) and Jaime Vaughn (McDonough, Ga.) are all scoring 11 points per contest. Quan Alexander (Charlotte, N.C.) rounds out the scoring with 9.9 points per game. He is second on the team in rebounding with five per contest. The five aforementioned players are all averaging 24 minutes or more this season.
Wingate can spread it out beyond the arc as well, with four players connecting on ten three-pointers or more this season. Vaughn and guard Tracy Parks (St. Petersburg, Fla.) top the charts with 18 triples each.
Catawba is led by head coach Jim Baker, who is in his 16th season as the Tribe’s leader. The Indians were picked to finish first by the league’s head coaches. Catawba has two pre-season All-SAC first team selections in Antonio Houston (Charlotte, N.C.) and Rob Fields (Orangeburg, S.C.).
Houston has team highs in points (16.3) and rebounds (5.3), while Fields checks in second on the team with 15.3 points per game. Catawba’s lone conference game was an 18-point loss on the road to arch-rival Lenoir-Rhyne. The Tribe shot 50 percent from the field, but allowed 60 percent shooting by the Bears in the 95-77 loss.
The Wingate Sports Network will provide a live audio broadcast on Stretch Internet. The Lowe’s “Countdown to Tip-Off Show” is scheduled to begin at 7:45 p.m., but could be later due to the length of the women’s game. Ryan Brown (Wingate class of 2006) and Wayne Shadrick will have the call from courtside at Goodman Gym. Catawba College will also provide in-game live statistics.
WINGATE UNIVERSITY
Founded in 1896, Wingate University is a private four-year co-educational institution of 2,159 students offering active learning opportunities through personalized instruction, world travel, career discovery and community service.
Wingate offers more than 40 undergraduate majors in arts and sciences, business, communication, education, fine arts, music and sport sciences. It also offers graduate degrees in business, education, physician assistant studies and sport administration. In addition, the school awards the doctor of pharmacy and the doctor of education degrees.
Bulldog student-athletes compete in 19 NCAA Division II sports. Wingate University has won the South Atlantic Conference Echols Athletic Excellence Award for the past three years.
Wingate University is ranked number three among NCAA Division II Academic All-America® producing schools in the 2000’s with 34 honorees during this millennium. Only Pittsburg State (Kan.) University and Truman State (Mo.) University have produced more Academic All-America® honorees during this time period. Wingate’s 43 Academic All-America® honorees (lifetime) is tops among all SAC schools.
