ROCK HILL, S.C. --- The Tusculum College men's basketball
team will be the No. 3 seed in the 2009 Food Lion South Atlantic
Conference Tournament and will host No. 6 seed Wingate University
this Wednesday night. The quarterfinal round contest will tip-off
at 8 p.m. from Pioneer Arena. The Tusculum women will be hosting
Lincoln Memorial University at 6 p.m. in a quarterfinal match-up of
the SAC Women's Tournament
The Pioneers (18-9) finished in a three-way tie for second place
in the conference race with Newberry College and Catawba College.
Newberry won the tiebreaker to earn the No. 2 seed, posting a 3-1
record against Tusculum (2-2) and Catawba (1-3). Tusculum won the
tiebreaker over Catawba by virtue of going 1-1 against Newberry,
while Catawba was swept by the Scarlet and Gray.
Lenoir-Rhyne University is the top-seed by winning the SAC
Championship and will host No. 8 seed Carson-Newman College on
Wednesday. No. 4 seed Catawba will host fifth-seeded Lincoln
Memorial, while Newberry will entertain No. 7 seed Mars Hill
College.
The winner of Wednesday's quarterfinal will advance to take on the
winner of the Newberry/Mars Hill game at 8 p.m. this Saturday (Mar.
7) at the Catawba Valley Community College Arena in Hickory, N.C.
The SAC Tournament championship game will be held at 4 p.m. on
Sunday in Hickory.
Tusculum and Wingate split the regular season series, winning on
their respective home courts. On Jan. 24, the Pioneers rallied from
an 18-point second half deficit to defeat the Bulldogs 60-55.
Wingate won the rematch at Cuddy Arena on Feb. 11, scoring the
first 12 points of the game en route to a 67-55 victory.
This will mark the fourth time Tusculum and Wingate have met in
the SAC Tournament, with the Bulldogs winning the previous three
encounters, all at Wingate.
The Pioneers will host their fourth SAC Tournament game and first
since Mar. 2, 2005. Tusculum is 3-0 when hosting a SAC Tournament
game.
Wingate has won the SAC Tournament three times (2000, 2006, 2007),
while the Pioneers won the title in 2005.
The winner of the SAC Tournament earns an automatic berth to the
NCAA Division II Tournament.
- SAC -
2009 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Men's
Basketball Tournament
Quarterfinal - Wednesday, March 4, 2009 (campus
sites)
No. 8 Carson-Newman at No. 1 Lenoir-Rhyne, 8 pm
No. 7 Mars Hill at No. 2 Tusculum, 8 pm
No. 6 Wingate at No. 3 Tusculum, 8 pm
No. 5 Lincoln Memorial at No. 4 Catawba, 7 pm
Semifinal - Saturday, March 7, 2009 (CVCC Arena, Hickory,
N.C.)
Lenoir-Rhyne/Carson-Newman winner vs. Catawba/Lincoln Memorial
winner, 6 pm
Newberry/Mars Hill winner vs. Tusculum/Wingate winner, 8 pm
Final - Sunday, March 8, 2009 (CVCC Arena, Hickory, N.C.)
Championship Game, 4 pm
