February 27, 2008

Wingate Surprises No. 11 Lenoir-Rhyne, 80-72, In Men’s Basketball
 
Bears see their 14-game winning streak snapped

Hickory, N.C. – The Wingate University Men’s Basketball Team (21-5, 10-2) snapped No. 11 Lenoir-Rhyne College’s (21-4, 12-1) 14-game winning streak with an 80-72 victory Wednesday evening at Shuford Memorial Gymnasium.

Wingate’s Sean Barnette (Rock Hill, S.C.) led the way with 31 points and 16 rebounds, his 30th career double-double, while Bryan Grier (Charlotte, N.C.) added 21 points and eight blocked shots as the Bulldogs ran their winning streak to seven games and pulled to within a game of the Bears in the league standings.

Barnette, the reigning league MVP, added five assists and connected on nine-of-10 free throws as well.

Wingate, which rallied from a 15-point, first-half deficit (31-16), took control with a 28-2 run that covered both stanzas for a 49-37 advantage with 14:24 remaining and never trailed again. L-R got to within three on several occasions (59-56 and 61-58 later in the half) but couldn’t take the lead.

The Bulldogs were also aided by a 72-percent shooting performance (18-of-25) in the second half.

Three players led the Bears with 12 points apiece – junior forward Elliott McDowell (Canton, N.C./Pisgah HS) and senior forwards Josh Kindred (Holly Springs, N.C./Fuquay-Varina HS) and Reggie Bratton (Charlotte, N.C./West Charlotte HS) – while junior guard Josh Rudder (Graham, N.C./Southern Alamance HS) added 10 points to become the 48th player in Lenoir-Rhyne history to score 1,000 points for his career.

Lenoir-Rhyne’s loss to Wingate was only its second against a league team at home in the regular season in its last 30 games.

L-R, which can still clinch the South Atlantic Conference Regular Season outright, travels to Mars Hill, N.C., to face Mars Hill College on Saturday at 4 p.m., while Wingate returns home to play Carson-Newman in a league contest Saturday at 4 p.m., as well. Both contests are the last ones of the regular season.

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