Lincoln Memorial opens SAC play with 69-52 victory at Wingate Saturday

Wingate, N.C.----Pre-season favorite Lincoln Memorial University opened its 2010-11 South Atlantic Conference men’s basketball slate with a 69-52 victory at Wingate University Saturday in Cuddy Arena. Three Railsplitters combined for 56 points on the afternoon.
           
With the victory, LMU improves to 7-0 overall and 1-0 in the SAC. Wingate falls to 3-4 overall and 0-1 in the SAC. The Bulldogs visit Carson-Newman College Monday for a 7 p.m. SAC contest. The Railsplitters return to action Saturday, Dec. 11, venturing to Glenville State (W.Va.) College for a 7:30 p.m. encounter.
           
LMU junior guard Darryl Garrett (Detroit, Mich.) had 24 points to lead all scorers. Junior forward Desmond Johnson (Lynch, Ky.) posted a monster double-double with 17 points and 15 rebounds. Redshirt sophomore shooting guard Cam Carden (Clearwater, Fla.) had 15 points, hitting five-of-nine from downtown.
           
For Wingate, sophomore guard Paidrick Matilus (Boynton Beach, Fla.) came off the bench to score 17 points on five-of-nine shooting from the floor and seven-of-eight accuracy from the charity stripe. He pulled down five rebounds. Sophomore forward Quan Alexander (Charlotte, N.C.) contributed 12 points and four rebounds. Classmate Odell Turner (Charlotte, N.C.) narrowly missed a double-double with eight points and eight boards.
           
Lincoln Memorial led 40-35 at intermission, despite the fact Wingate shot 54.5 percent (12-of-22) in the first 20 minutes. Carden had 15 points at the break, while Garrett had 14 of his 24. Carden hit his first four triples in a row before missing a trifecta. The Railsplitters hit seven-of-14 of their first half three-pointers (50 percent). Matilus and Alexander led Wingate with nine points each in the opening stanza.
           
Wingate hit only 16 percent (four-of-25) of its second half field goals. A Turner jumper pulled the Bulldogs within six (45-39) at the 16:10 mark. Wingate did not hit another field goal until Matilus converted a lay-up with 2:39 remaining. Lincoln Memorial led 61-50 following Matilus’ three-point play completing free throw.
           
The Railsplitters never trailed in the contest, leading by as many as 17 in the waning moments. LMU had 34 points in the paint, compared to 22 for Wingate. The ‘Splitters outrebounded the Bulldogs 38-33, thanks to Johnson’s huge night on the boards. LMU senior forward D’Mario Curry (Detroit, Mich.) had seven rebounds and eight points for the visitors.
           
Wingate had 37 bench points, compared to four for Lincoln Memorial. The Railsplitters’ starters played 170 of a possible 200 minutes. The two teams combined to block nine shots. Alexander and Turner split four of Wingate’s five rejections. Curry, Garrett, Johnson and junior guard Brandon Armstrong (Decatur, Ga.) had one block each for the ‘Splitters.