BOX SCORE
Hickory, N.C.----The third-seeded Wingate University Bulldogs cut a 16-point second half deficit down to three, but could not overcome top-seeded and 12th-ranked Lincoln Memorial University in the championship game of the 2011 Food Lion SAC Tournament, falling 68-58 on Sunday afternoon. Lincoln Memorial wins its first-ever Food Lion SAC title and improves to 27-2 overall, while Wingate falls to 19-10 on the season.
The Railsplitters receive the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Bulldogs will have to wait until later Sunday night to see if they receive an at-large bid to the tournament. The selection show can be seen live via webcast at 10 p.m. by going to the ncaa.com.
Junior forward Desmond Johnson (Lynch, Ky.) led the LMU attack with 24 points and 10 rebounds. The SAC Player of the Year hit seven-of-14 shots from the field and 10-of-12 free throws, while also handing out a team-high four assists, earning All-SAC Tournament honors. Junior guard Darryl Garrett (Detroit, Mich.) added 15 points, while senior forward D’Mario Curry (Detroit, Mich.) had 12 points and five boards, earning SAC Tournament MVP honors.
Sophomore forward Odell Turner (Charlotte, N.C.) had 18 points and nine rebounds to lead the Wingate attack, hitting eight-of-12 shots from the field while earning all-tournament accolades. Junior guard Jaime Vaughn (Tallahassee, Fla.) added 12 points, four rebounds and three assists, joining Turner on the all-tournament squad.
The Railsplitters relied on their defense in the first half, holding Wingate scoreless for the final 3:33 of the opening stanza to stretch the lead to 14 points at halftime. Johnson hit a pair of free throws and a jumper to start the closing spurt for LMU, while junior guard Carlos Sanford (Durham, N.C.) added a three. Armstrong knocked down a jumper with three seconds remaining to give the Railsplitters a 36-22 halftime lead.
An alley-oop to Curry on the opening play of the second half put LMU on top by 16. The Railsplitters maintained their lead over the next few minutes, holding a 54-40 advantage with 12 minutes remaining in the game. The Bulldogs used a 9-0 run to cut the lead down to three. Junior guard Chase Smith (Upper Marlboro, Md.) drained a three to start the spurt, while Vaughn added with a three-point play to cut the deficit to six. A Turner free throw, followed by Turner layup made it 54-51 with 9:15 to go.
LMU got a big bucket from Garrett on the next possession, followed by a jumper from sophomore guard Cam Carden (Clearwater, Fla.) to push the lead back to seven. The Bulldogs cut the lead back down to four on a three from sophomore guard Paidrick Matilus (Boynton Beach, Fla.) at the 4:32 mark. The Railsplitters had the answer once again, scoring the next seven points to push the lead to 11. Five points in the stretch came via free throws, while Garrett added a layup in the run which made it 67-56 with 48 seconds remaining.
LMU shot 41.1 percent from the field, while holding a 40-28 rebounding advantage. The Railsplitters compiled 12 second-chance points, compared to Wingate’s four. The Bulldogs shot 42.3 percent from the field, while knocking down five-of-18 from three-point range (27.8 percent). Lincoln Memorial also had a big advantage at the free throw line, knocking down 20-of-28 while the Bulldogs hit just nine-of-12 for the day.
