Box Score
Brevard, N.C.----The Wingate University Bulldogs erased an 18-point first half deficit, taking the lead in the second half before ultimately falling 88-79 to the Tornados of Brevard College in quarterfinal action of the 2010 Food Lion SAC Tournament Wednesday night. The Tornados improve to 19-9 overall and move on to the tournament semifinals Saturday in Hickory. The Bulldogs fall to 14-14 overall.
Junior guard
Josh Roper (Charlotte, N.C.) led the Tornados with 30 points and eight assists. Redshirt senior guard
Nathan Whitmire (Rosman, N.C.) added 18 points and eight rebounds for Brevard, while senior forward
Jonathan Whitson (Clyde, N.C.) chipped in with 15 points and nine rebounds.
Freshman guard
Paidrick Matilus (Boynton Beach, Fla.) led the Wingate attack with 18 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Freshman forward
Odell Turner (Charlotte, N.C.) added 17 points and eight rebounds. Sophomore guard
Jaime Vaughn (Tallahassee, Fla.) had 15 points, while freshman forward
Quan Alexander (Charlotte, N.C.) and senior guard
Larry Staley (Charlotte, N.C.) chipped in with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
The Tornados used a 10-0 run to take a 29-14 lead eight minutes into the first half, capped by a layup from Roper. A jumper from Whitson gave Brevard a 42-25 lead at the 7:10 mark. The Tornados took their largest lead of the game at 47-29 with 1:48 remaining in the half.
The Bulldogs answered with a 9-0 run to cut the halftime lead to 47-38. Staley got it started with a three-point play, while freshman guard
Ethan Kincaid (Morganton, N.C.) capped it with a layup five seconds before intermission.
Wingate continued its run coming out of the locker room, scoring the first seven points to cut the Brevard lead to two. Vaughn started it with a jumper, then capped it with a three 66 seconds into the half to make it 47-45, finishing a 16-0 run. A three from Matilus at the 14:23 mark gave Wingate its first lead of the half at 52-51.
Brevard used a 7-1 run to take a 64-59 lead at the midway point of the second half. Roper scored the final four points of the spurt. The Bulldogs responded with five straight points, tying it on a layup from Turner at the 8:13 mark. A Roper layup, followed by a three from redshirt senior guard
Darin Dellinger (Stanley, N.C.) pushed the lead back to five for the Tornados with 6:19 remaining.
A Vaughn jumper cut the lead to three at the 5:27 mark. Roper scored five straight points for Brevard, capped by a three at the 4:24 mark for a 76-68 lead. A three from Vaughn cut the lead back to four with two minutes left. Whitson and Dellinger hit four free throws to push Brevard’s lead back to eight with 44 seconds to go. Wingate would get no closer the rest of the way.
Brevard shot 56.6 percent from the field, while hitting eight-of-16 from three-point range (50 percent). Wingate shot 42.6 percent from the field, while knocking down six-of-21 from beyond the arc (28.6 percent). The Tornados also held a 37-31 rebounding advantage, while Wingate held a 16-8 edge in second chance points.