March 30, 2007

JEFFERSON CITY, TN-- For the third straight game, Carson-Newman surpassed the 100-point mark, but Wingate's Justin Baker scored 32 points and Sean Barnette added 31 points to propel Wingate to a 122-116 victory over the Eagles at Holt Fieldhouse in the regular season finale for both teams.

C-N (9-18, 2-14 SAC) kept close in the first half, shooting 41 percent from three-point range. Scott Williams scored 18 first half points on 70% shooting from the field and three treys, but Barnette and Baker scored 16 and 11, respectively, to give the Bulldogs (19-8, 11-5 SAC) the 53-52 edge at halftime.

In the second half, Wingate built a quick six-point lead, but a Scott Williams layup kept the Eagles within four at 58-54. Wingate then went on a 11-4 run early in the second half for a 67-58 advantage, but Jordan Dixon made two free throws and Darren Williams swished a three-pointer to pull the Eagles back within six at 73-67 with 14:21 to go. Darren Williams hit another triple while Kente Hart and Andy Tipton hit consecutive jumpers as Wingate's lead was narrowed to 87-81. Scott Williams' trey with 11:14 to go gave C-N new life as the Eagles trailed by just three points at 87-84 with 11:14 remaining. Midway through the game, Tipton hit another triple and Scott Williams hit one of two free throws to pull within two points at 99-97 with 6:52 left.

Justin Baker hit another three and Kenny Villines made two free throws to put the Bulldogs in the lead again. Two Kente Hart three-pointers made the score 113-11 with less than three minutes to go and Scott Williams' two free throws made the score 117-114 with 2:03 to go, but Bill Smith made two free throws and Larry Staley's layup with 33 seconds left gave the Bulldogs their 19th win of the season.

Scott Williams led the Eagles with 32 points while Hart posted a double-double with 29 points and 10 assists. Darren Williams added 16 points while Andy Tipton and Clay Scott finished with 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Justin Baker posted a double-double with 32 points and 10 rebounds while Barnette grabbed eight rebounds to go along with his 31 points. Shaun Kirkland added 14 points, Larry Staley contributed 12 points and Bryan Grier finished with 11 points for the Bulldogs.

The Eagles travel to Mars Hill on Monday night, February 26, to take on the Lions in the first round of the 2007 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference tournament.