SAC Tournament Central

Wingate, N.C.----The 2012 Food Lion SAC Tournament champion Wingate University Bulldogs look to defend their title this week, starting Wednesday night in Cuddy Arena, when the third-seeded Bulldogs host sixth-seeded Newberry College at 7 p.m. (Free Live Video, Live Stats) Wingate finished the regular season in a tie for second, going 18-8 overall and 14-4 in SAC play. Newberry enters the tournament 14-12 overall, after going 10-8 in the SAC, finishing alone in sixth place.

“It’s a great time of the year for basketball,” head coach Brian Good says. “Win or go home. I think the way we schedule each year helps prepare us for March. In addition, we have played some very important games in the last two weeks that should help us.”

Wingate’s senior class has a wealth of SAC Tournament experience, playing in seven SAC Tourney contests in the last three seasons. Wingate has played in each of the last two SAC championship games. Senior forward Odell Turner (Charlotte, N.C.) has had an impressive tournament career, averaging 15.6 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game. Senior guard Paidrick Matilus (Boynton Beach, Fla.) has also played in seven SAC Tournament games, averaging 10.7 points and 4.3 rebounds per game.

The Bulldogs closed out the regular season with a 63-52 win at Carson-Newman Saturday. Matilus knocked down four-of-six shots from beyond the arc en route to a team-high 16 points. Junior center Deion Turman (Pittsburgh, Pa.) added 13 points and seven rebounds, while Turner had 10 points and nine rebounds. Sophomore guard Ryan Daye (Burlington, N.C.) also contributed 10 points for the Bulldogs, while senior guard Ethan Kincaid (Morganton, N.C.) had six points, six rebounds and eight assists.

Wingate dropped a tough 63-60 decision at home last Wednesday to league champion Lincoln Memorial, who finished one game ahead of the Bulldogs in the SAC standings. Turner had 18 points and 13 rebounds, while Daye added 13 points.

The Bulldogs and Wolves met twice during the regular season, with Wingate winning both contests. The Bulldogs held Newberry to its two lowest point totals of the season. Wingate has won six straight against the Wolves, outscoring them by 114 points in the six contests, winning by an average of 19 points per game. The Bulldogs and Wolves last met in a SAC Tournament contest in 2008, with Wingate winning 94-83 thanks to 30 points from two-time All-American Sean Barnette.

In the first meeting this season, Wingate held the Wolves 46 points below their season average, winning 79-42 at Newberry. The ‘Dogs held Newberry to 20.7 percent shooting from the field and five-of-27 shooting from beyond the arc (18.5 percent). Wingate shot 56.7 percent from the field, with Turman leading the way with a game-high 16 points on seven-of-eight shooting. Turner and Daye added 11 each, while Kincaid had 10 points, nine rebounds, six assists and five steals.

The Bulldogs and Wolves met in Cuddy Arena last month, with Wingate prevailing 78-65. The game was tied at 55 with eight minutes to go, but the Bulldogs closed the game on a 23-10 run to win by 13 points. Matilus had 18 points and eight rebounds to lead the Bulldogs. Turner added 15 points, seven rebounds and four assists, while Kincaid contributed 14 points, five rebounds and four assists.

“Newberry, like each season, continues to improve and is playing at a high level,” Good says. “Our game last month with them was a tough one. We had to play extremely hard and well to get a win.”

Wingate’s balanced attack features three players averaging over 11 points per game and seven scoring over 5.5 points per contest. Matilus and Turner both average 12 points per game. Turner is third in the SAC with 9.0 rebounds per contest, while ranking sixth in the league in field goal percentage (52.7 percent). The preseason All-SAC selection has 899 career rebounds. He is 20 rebounds shy of Wingate’s all-time record, and 25 away from the all-time SAC record. Daye is scoring 11.3 points per game, ranking fifth in the SAC in three-point field goal percentage (45.3 percent).

Turman is averaging 8.8 points per game, while shooting a league-best 65.4 percent from the field. He has been even better against SAC opponents, shooting 67.5 percent. Turman is fifth in the conference with 1.1 blocks per game and sixth with 7.0 rebounds per contest. Kincaid ranks third in the SAC with 4.4 assists per game and fifth in assist-to-turnover ratio.

Newberry enters the tournament ranked fourth nationally with 88.5 points per game. Wingate has limited the Wolves to 107 points in two contests for an average of 53.5 points per game. The Wolves have scored more than 107 points in a single game three times this year, including a 113-98 victory over league champion Lincoln Memorial. Dondray Walker leads the Wolves with 14.0 points per game. Demarkus Smith is averaging 10.4 points per contest for Newberry, who capped its regular season with an 85-83 win over Lenoir-Rhyne for its fourth straight victory. Mitch Riggs led the way with 21 points, while Walker added 17.

The winner of the Wingate-Newberry contest takes on the winner of the Anderson-Catawba game in the SAC semifinals. That game will take place Saturday at 8 p.m. in Greenville, S.C. The championship game will be Sunday at 4:30 p.m.

2013 SAC Tournament Schedule
Wednesday, March 6
7 p.m. #5 Lenoir-Rhyne at #4 Carson-Newman
7 p.m. #8 Tusculum at #1 Lincoln Memorial
7 p.m. 6 Newberry at (Burlington, N.C./Kimball Union Academy)3 Wingate
8 p.m. #7 Catawba at #2 Anderson

Saturday, March 9 (Timmons Arena – Greenville, S.C.)
5:30 p.m. LRU-CN winner vs. TC-LMU winner
8 p.m. NC-WU winner vs. CAT-AU winner

Sunday, March 10 (Timmons Arena – Greenville, S.C.)
4:30 p.m. SAC Championship Game

WINGATE UNIVERSITY

Wingate University, ranked as the 6th “best value” in the South by U.S. News & World Report, serves nearly 2,700 students on three campuses in Wingate, Matthews and Hendersonville, N.C. Founded in 1896, the University offers 35 undergraduate majors, 37 minors and career concentrations, numerous pre-professional programs, graduate degrees in business, accounting, education, physician assistant studies and sport administration, and doctorates in pharmacy, physical therapy and education.
 
With a 14 to 1 student/teacher ratio, Wingate students gain the tools and support needed to excel in academics and apply that learning toward an extraordinary career and life. To view current news, video and story ideas, visitwww.youtube.com/wingateuniversity. 
 
In addition to a robust intramural athletics program, Wingate student athletes compete in 22 NCAA Division II sports. The University has won the South Atlantic Conference Echols Athletic Excellence Award for the past six years.
 
Wingate is first among NCAA Division II Academic All-America®-producing private colleges in the 2000’s with 52 selections. Among North Carolina’s colleges and universities, Wingate’s 52 Academic All-America® honorees is second (to Duke University) during this millennium. Wingate’s 61 lifetime Academic All-America® picks are tops among all SAC schools. For more information, go towww.wingatebulldogs.com.