SAC Championship Central

Harrogate, Tenn.----The eighth-seeded Wingate University Bulldogs open South Atlantic Conference Tournament play Wednesday night, traveling to Lincoln Memorial to take on the top-seeded and 13th-ranked Railsplitters at 8 p.m. Wingate finished the regular season 14-12 overall and 11-11 in the SAC, ending the season in a tie for seventh place with Coker. LMU went 24-2 in the regular season and 20-2 in the SAC, winning the regular season conference title by four games.

The Bulldogs and Railsplitters have met in the SAC Tournament in each of the past three seasons, with two of those meetings coming in the SAC championship game and the other coming in the semifinals. LMU defeated Wingate 68-58 to win the SAC Tournament title in 2011. The Bulldogs rallied for a 64-60 overtime win against LMU in the 2012 SAC Tournament semifinals en route to winning the tournament championship. The 'Dogs outscored the Railsplitters 48-25 in the second half of the 2013 SAC title contest to win their second consecutive tournament title. Junior guard Ryan Daye (Burlington, N.C.) had 14 points to lead the Wingate attack, while senior center Deion Turman (Pittsburgh, Pa.) had 12 points and 15 rebounds.

Wingate and Lincoln Memorial met twice in the 2013-14 season, with the Railsplitters winning both contests. LMU won 81-67 in Harrogate on Jan. 11, getting 26 points and 10 rebounds from Vincent Bailey. Curtis Webb added 14 points off the bench for the 'Splitters. Turman had 18 points and 12 boards to lead the Wingate attack, while Daye contributed 15 points. LMU had a two-point lead in the contest in Cuddy Arena on Feb. 22, but outscored the Bulldogs 51-39 in the second half to win by 14. Chance Jones had 21 points for LMU, while Bailey added 18 points and 13 boards. Turman had 21 points and 11 rebounds for Wingate, while Daye contributed 15 points.

The Bulldogs wrapped up the regular season Saturday with a 90-73 victory at Brevard. Daye scored 22 points, going nine-for-nine at the free throw line. Freshman forward Isiah Cureton (Waxhaw, N.C.) had 20 points and 11 rebounds, while Turman had 17 points and eight boards. Freshman forward Josh Dominguez (Matthews, N.C.) contributed 14 points and four assists, hitting three-of-four shots from beyond the arc.

Daye leads the Bulldogs and ranks ninth in the SAC with 17.6 points per game. He has scored over 30 points four times this year, while scoring 15 points or more 17 times. Daye ranks seventh in the league in free throw percentage (83.9 percent). Turman is averaging 13.4 points per contest, while averaging a league-best 10.0 rebounds per game. He ranks 14th nationally with 13 double-doubles, while ranking 16th in the nation in rebounding.

Dominguez is third on the team with 9.9 points per game, ranking second in the league in scoring among freshmen. Dominguez ranks ninth in the SAC in three-point shooting (39.7 percent). Cureton is averaging 9.3 points and 6.6 rebounds per game, ranking fifth in the conference with 1.6 steals per contest. Sophomore guard Xavier Griffin (Marshville, N.C.) scores 8.2 points per game, ranking fifth in the SAC with 3.8 assists per contest and seventh in assist-to-turnover ratio. Senior forward Jeff Parker (Madison, N.C.) averages 7.2 points and 5.5 rebounds per game, while ranking second in the conference with 2.0 blocks per contest.

Bailey leads the LMU attack, ranking second in the SAC with 21.6 points and 9.8 rebounds per game, while ranking fourth in the league in field goal percentage (61.6 percent). Jones is second on the team with 15.1 points per game, shooting 51.5 percent from the field and 46.1 percent from three-point range. Lorenza Ross is second in the SAC with 4.3 assists per game.

The winner of the Wingate-LMU contest advances to the SAC Tournament semifinals Saturday at Timmons Arena in Greenville, S.C. to take on the winner of the Lenoir-Rhyne vs. Newberry contest. The SAC championship game is Sunday at 1:30 p.m. in Timmons Arena.