named SAC Player of the Week
ROCK HILL, S.C. — Brevard College's Josh Roper has been named the South Atlantic Conference men's basketball Player of the Week for the week ending December 5, 2010.
Roper, a senior guard from Charlotte, N.C. (Pfeiffer University) averaged 23.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 3.0 steals per game in leading Brevard to wins over Lees-McRae, 76-68, and Anderson, 85-84. Roper also connected on 59.2 percent (16-27) of his field goal attempts, 62.5 percent (5-8) of his three-point attempts and 90 percent (9-10) of his free throw attempts on the week.
Roper opened up the week on Monday, sparking the Tornados offense with 16 points, six rebounds and four steals. Roper was 6-13 from the floor and 3-5 from behind the arc in the game and added a pair of assists.
Saturday against Anderson, Roper scored 10 of the Tornados first 12 points on the way to his second 30+ point scoring output of the season. During the second half, as the Trojans brought the game back, Roper scored 16 of his game-high 30 points, adding a key blocked shot before setting up the winning basket by taking the inbounds pass, driving the length of the court and finding an open Travis Jackson on the block with three seconds left to win the game, 85-84. Roper was 10-14 from the floor, 2-3 from behind the arc and 8-8 from the free throw line, while pulling down a game-high nine rebounds and taking two steals.
For the season, Roper leads the Tornados and the South Atlantic Conference with 26.0 points per game. Roper also is averaging 6.5 rebounds, 2.25 steals and 1.75 assists per game.
Game Recaps and Notes from around SAC
ANDERSON – The Trojans posted a 2-1 record on the week with a convincing 67-52 road win pas rival Erskine before returning home to split a pair of contests – topping Southern Wesleyan, 99-88, then dropping a heartbreaking 85-84 setback to Brevard in their league opener … Oskars Ernsteins lead four Trojans in double figures at Erskine, finishing with a season-high 17 points - 14 coming in the final six minutes. AU used a 21-3 run over the final six minutes to earn a sweep of the season series over one of its biggest rivals, claiming its eighth win in the last 11 meetings between the teams … Kevis Cornwell, who has reached double figures in each of the last six games, added 14 points and Nick Trull notched 12 points off the bench in the win … Five players hit for double figures in the win over SWU, as the Trojans posted a season-high offensive output. Trull ignited a 12-0 run with two of his season-high 21 points late in the first half and Ernsteins followed with a 3-pointer from the right corner to give the Trojans a lead they would not relinquish at 31-30 … Anderson broke the game open with a 16-5 run to open the second stanza, taking a 63-39 lead with 15:37 left in the contest … Brevard’s Travis Jackson dropped in a basket with 3.5 seconds left in the game to spoil AU’s league debut on Saturday … Senior Trey Britton’s slam and ensuing free throw gave AU its final lead, 84-83, with just 7.9 seconds left showing on the clock before the Tornados’ Josh Roper drove the lane and found Jackson for the game-winning basket … The Trojans Denzail Jones’ last-second three-point attempt hit the front of the rim as the Tornados escaped with the win … The Trojans are off for final exams before visiting Mars Hill on Saturday, as AU plays two of its next three contests on the road.
BREVARD – Brevard College finished up last week with a 2-0 record, defeating Lees-McRae last Monday, 76-68 in Banner Elk, N.C., while winning the SAC opener at Anderson on Saturday, 85-84 in a thrilling game which went down to the wire ... On Monday, four Tornados scored in double figures and Brevard was able to hold off a late Lees-McRae rally as Vincent Dombrowski and Jermichael Tanner hit key free throws down the stretch as the Tornados recorded their first victory of the 2010-2011 season, 76-68 ... Gaither Hendrix led all players with 17 points as the Tornados (1-2) converted 41.3 percent of their field goals in the game ... Josh Roper added 16 points, six rebounds and four steals for Brevard, while Josh Jordan led the way down low with 12 points and a game-high eight rebounds … Dombrowski added 10 points, hitting two three-pointers and went a perfect four-for-four at the free throw line ... Brevard held a 61-35 lead midway through the second half, but the Bobcats put together a late rally, cutting the lead down to six with 35 seconds left in the contest, but Dombrowski went four-for-four from the free throw line as the Tornados put the Bobcats away for their first win of the season ... Against Anderson, Roper found a wide-open Travis Jackson underneath the basket with three seconds left and the sophomore forward placed the layup in the basketball and Denzail Jones’ last-second three-point attempt hit the front of the rim as the Tornados escaped from the Abney Athletic Center on Saturday afternoon with the 85-84 victory ... With the win, Brevard has won their SAC opener in each of their past two seasons ... Roper paced the Brevard offense with 30 points, narrowly missing out on the double-double with a game-high nine rebounds in the contest, while Hendrix added 24 points on nine of 15 shooting from the floor, including three of five from behind the arc ... Brevard held the lead throughout most of the contest, going up by 11 early in the second half, but Anderson brought the game all the way back, taking their first lead in the game with 4:02 left on the clock following a Brandon Young layup ... The Tornados would have one final possession with nine seconds left after Trey Britton completed a three-point play, connecting on a free throw with nine seconds left to put the Trojans up 84-83, but the ensuing inbounds led to the joint Roper and Jackson late-game heroics ... The Tornados take next week off for exams before hosting their first game of the 2010-2011 season in Boshamer Gymnasium on Wednesday, December 15th against North Greenville University.
CARSON-NEWMAN - The Carson-Newman Eagles split a pair of games on the week, defeating Maryville College, 87-85, in overtime on a last-second shot on Wednesday before opening South Atlantic Conference play with a 81-62 loss at Catawba ... Junior guard Antonio Sullivan streaked to the basket for a layup with two seconds left in overtime to lift the Eagles past Maryville College ... Sullivan finished the night with 16 points...C-N came close to winning in regulation, as junior guard Bradley Tumer knifed down the lane for a layup with a second left, but Tumer was called for a double dribble to send the contest into overtime ... Tumer poured in 21 points and had six steals for the Eagles, while junior forward John Holleman tossed in 25 points and pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds ... Kevin Hare added nine points, and forward Brandon Evans grabbed eight rebounds and blocked six shots in the win ... In the loss at Catawba, C-N shot 46.4 percent from the floor (26-of-56) to Catawba's 41.5 percent (27-of-65), but the Indians dominated the glass, outrebounding the Eagles 50-27 with 19 rebounds on the offensive end ... Evans scored 10 points, pulled down five rebounds and tallied five blocks to lead the Eagles, while sophomore Collin Crane added 10 points ... Kevin Leatherwood and Ishmael Sanders pitched in nine and eight points, respectively ... The Eagles are now 2-5 on the season and 0-1 in SAC play ... C-N returns to the Hardwood on Monday at home in a SAC matchup with Wingate at 7 p.m.
CATAWBA – The Catawba men split a pair of games last week, capping it with an 81-62 league-opening win over Carson-Newman on Saturday ... After being beaten handily on the boards in its three losses (-19.3 avg.), the Indians controlled the glass against C-N, winning the battle 50-27 ... Catawba had a balanced scoring attack with Lee Martin leading the way with 12 points, five rebounds, five assists and three blocked shots ... A 14-0 run midway through the first half gave the Indians a 24-8 edge and Carson-Newman never got closer than nine the rest of the way ... On Tuesday, Catawba dropped an 84-77 decision at Queens ... The Indians led by seven at the half, but hit only 26 percent of their shots in the second half, while Queens was making 84 percent to rally ... The Royals outrebounded Catawba 44-29 to help offset 25 turnovers ... Dominick Reid scored 21 points in the loss, while adding six rebounds, six assists and five steals ... Freshman Keon Moore added 19 points ... Reid leads the team this season, scoring at a 15.5 clip ... Moore follows at 13 points a game with Justin Huntley adding 10.3.
LENOIR-RHYNE - The Lenoir-Rhyne University men’s basketball team (1-5, 0-1) suffered a pair of losses last week to Shaw (65-50) at home Wednesday and Mars Hill (86-74) on the road in the South Atlantic Conference opener on Saturday … The Bears were held to just 36 percent shooting (22-of-61) for the game including 0-for-12 from behind the three-point line in the setback to Shaw … Junior forward Jeff Thomas (Chapel Hill, N.C.) led the Bears with a team-high 12 points while sophomore forward Matt Kunz (Kernersville, N.C.) added 10 points off the bench in the losing effort … Shaw was led by Raheem Smith’s game-high 19 points … Thomas scored a career-high 18 points while freshman guards Allan Jones (Clemmons, N.C.) and Bryce Hawkins (Charlotte, N.C.) scored 14 points each but it wasn’t enough against Mars Hill … The Lions were led by Donterious Hughes (Gastonia, N.C.) and Sammy Emile (Lake Worth, Fla.) with 24 and 21 points, respectively … Mars Hill also hit 10 three-pointers including eight in the first half in the win … Lenoir-Rhyne does not play again until Wednesday, December 15, when it hosts Augusta State beginning at 4 p.m.
LINCOLN MEMORIAL – LMU moved to 61-25 all-time vs. the Tornado with the 62-57 win at King Wednesday evening … D'Mario Curry and Darryl Garrett both finished with 17 points … Curry also led all rebounders in the game with 10 … King (3-5) got 14 points from Brian Hewitt, Mark Dockery had 13 points and Jason Seymore and Clarence Smith both scored 11 … The score was 32-27 at halftime … King finished the game 22-for-57 (38.6 percent), just one fewer field goals than Lincoln Memorial, 23-for-52 (44.2 percent) … Lincoln Memorial had a 39-31 rebounding advantage … Aggressive defense and a strong second-half performance from junior Desmond Johnson helped LMU pick up their first-ever win at Wingate with the 69-52 win over the Bulldogs Saturday evening … The win improves LMU's record to 7-0 and bests the old record of 6-0 to start a season that was set by the 1925-26 team … LMU (7-0, 1-0 SAC) was led by junior Darryl Garrett's 24 points. Johnson added in 17 points (15 in the second half) and 15 rebounds…. Wingate (3-4, 0-1 SAC) was led by Paidrick Matilus with 17 points … LMU never trailed in the game … LMU out-shot Wingate 41.4 percent to 34 percent for the game and out-rebounded the Bulldogs 38-33 … Next up for the Railsplitters is a few days off to concentrate on finals before they hit the road next weekend for a 7:30 p.m. game at Glenville State … They then return home when they host Catawba in the SAC home opener on Dec. 14.
MARS HILL - Mars Hill went 1-0 last week to take their season record to 4-2 on the season and 1-0 in the SAC … Donterious Hughes and Sammy Emile scored 24 and 21 points, respectively, to lift the Mars Hill men's basketball team over Lenoir-Rhyne by a final of 86-74 … The Lions shot 61.5 percent from behind the arc (8-13) in the first period. Emile had 12 points before halftime and was 4-5 from behind the arc … In the first period, Lenoir-Rhyne outscored Mars Hill, 22-6, in the paint and 11-1 off second chance points … The Lions' bench outscored the Bears' reserves, 16-7. Dion Malachi added 15 points and three blocks in the game for Mars Hill … Mars Hill will host Shaw on Tuesday. Tipoff from Stanford Arena is set for 8 p.m. … The Lions will then host Anderson University in a SAC contest on Saturday at 4 p.m. … There will be a live video and audio broadcast of the games on the Internet. The Coca Cola tip-off show will begin 30 minutes prior to tip-off. MHC will also provide live in-game statistics of the contests.
NEWBERRY - The Newberry College Wolves dropped their SAC opener to Tusculum, 80-73, in their only action last week … Shamel Akins led the Wolves with 25 points, while Coleman Young scored 11 … A tightly called game saw a combined 67 fouls and 91 free throws taken … Tusculum took did the best job taking advantage of their chances at the charity stripe, knocking down 35-of-46 (76.1 percent) of its free throws, while the Wolves hit 26-of-45 (57..8 percent) of their free throws … There were 10 lead changes and 10 ties in the game and neither team was able to lead by more than one possession in the second half until a 10-0 Pioneers run helped the guests to a 7-point lead at the 4:57 mark, 64-57 ... From that point on, Tusculum held the Wolves at arm's length … Newberry cut the lead to three points with 2:46 to go, but Tusculum made 10-of-11 free throw opportunities in the final minute and a half and allowed Newberry to rebound just two missed shots in the final 2:30 to hold onto the win … The Pioneers' 22-11 rebounding margin in the second half and 11-of-19 shooting in the period helped them overcome 12 turnovers and win the game … Newberry moves on to the Joe Manchin Classic hosted by Salem International University in Salem, W. Va., next Friday and Saturday … The Wolves play California (Pa.) at 3 p.m. Friday and Hiwassee (Tenn.) at 5 p.m. Saturday.
TUSCULUM – The Tusculum Pioneers (3-5, 1-0 SAC) defeated Newberry 80-73 in the South Atlantic Conference opener for both teams … It was the 400th career victory for Tusculum coach Jim Boone … Saturday’s South Atlantic Conference opener was a physical, grinding battle that included 67 fouls and 91 free throw attempts combined between the two teams … Junior guard Justin Steigerwald recorded a career-high 19 points, while shooting 11-of-13 from the foul line and hauled in a season-high nine rebounds … Steigerwald became the first player in recorded school history to lead the Pioneers in points, rebounds, assists (3), blocked shots (1) and steals (3) in a single-game … Senior forward Rob Troutman posted 14 points and eight boards, while junior Kevin Vest tallied a season-best 12 points and three assists in the victory … Boone, who is coaching in his 25th collegiate season, is the 29th winningest active coach in NCAA Division II … Boone has recorded 307 of those victories at the DII level, including 79 in his six seasons at Tusculum … In the Newberry game, Tusculum went 35-for-46 at the charity stripe for 76.1 percent … The Pioneers’ 35 free throws made are the fifth-most in school history, while the 46 attempts are tied for the fourth most in a TC single-game … Tusculum’s 34 personal fouls also tied a school single-game record, matching the foul tally against Robert Wesleyan College on Jan. 3, 1994 … The Pioneers have connected on a three-point field goal in 647 consecutive games … Troutman has made a three-pointer in 11 straight games and 15 of his last 16 outings … Tusculum will host Tennessee Wesleyan on Wednesday, before traveling to NCAA Division I Wright State on Saturday … It will be a homecoming for three Ohio natives, including Kevin Vest, who is from Dayton.
WINGATE - The Wingate University men’s basketball team hits the road Monday, visiting Carson-Newman College for the second of two pre-Christmas South Atlantic Conference games. The Bulldogs swept the season series with the Eagles last year. On Feb. 27, Wingate edged Carson-Newman 66-65 in Cuddy Arena. Sophomores Quan Alexander and Paidrick Matilus had 10 points each as the Bulldogs’ two seniors (Larry Staley and David Johnson) combined for 29 points … The last time the two teams met in Jefferson City, Wingate never trailed, leading from wire-to-wire in a 93-81 victory in Holt Fieldhouse. Five Bulldogs hit double figures in the road win. Sophomore forward Odell Turner led the way with 18 points … Wingate opened SAC play Saturday night. Pre-season SAC favorite Lincoln Memorial University came to town and picked up a 69-52 victory over the host Bulldogs in Cuddy Arena … For Wingate, Matilus 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. Alexander contributed 12 points and four rebounds. Turner narrowly missed a double-double with eight points and eight boards … UNC Pembroke defeated Wingate 94-72 Tuesday night in Cuddy Arena. The Braves hit eight-of-nine three-point field goals (88.9 percent) in the first half, snapping a four-game losing streak to the Bulldogs. Matilus had 14 points, while junior guard Chase Smith scored 13 points, while freshman forward Robert Carpenter posted a career-high 11 points off the Wingate bench … Matilus tops the Wingate charts with his 14.1 points per game. He also leads the Bulldogs with his 11 three-point field goals. Turner contributes 13.7 points per game and a team-best eight rebounds per contest. Alexander averages 10.7 points per game. Following Wingate’s journey to Carson-Newman, the Bulldogs will take a break for final exams. Wingate visits Mount Olive Tuesday, Dec. 14 at 7 p.m.
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