WINGATE, NC -- Sophomore forward Odell Turner poured in a career-high 30 points to lead Wingate University past Francis Marion University 96-84 in the championship game of the 2010 OrthoCarolina Classic, Saturday afternoon (Nov. 27).
Francis Marion (5-1) suffers its first loss of the season, while the Bulldogs improve to 3-2.
Freshman guard Evrik Gary led FMU with a career-high 26 points. The Camden native hit 8-of-9 free throws and added a game-high four steals. Junior forward Liki Turner equaled his career high with 24 points, while hauling down eight rebounds and nailing all three of his three-point field goal attempts.
Odell Turner was nearly perfect as he hit 11-of-12 shots from the field and 8-of-11 free throws. The 2009-10 SAC Freshman of the Year added nine rebounds, two blocks, two steals, and two assists. Junior guard Jaime Vaughn had 16 points, knocking down four-of-six shots from three-point range.
Odell Turner was named the Most Valuable Player of the classic, while Wingate's Quan Alexander, FMU's Gary and Turner, Shaw's Raheem Smith, and Coker's Tom Wright were all named to the All-Tournament Team.
Francis Marion was whistled for 30 fouls in the contest and Wingate took advantage by making 30-of-38 free throws, while Francis Marion was only 16-of-19 at the foul line.
The Bulldogs scored the first seven points of the game, before the Patriots rallied to tie the score at 9-9 on a jumper from senior guard Simel Boyd. However, that would be the only tie of the game as a three-point play and a jumper from Odell Turner put Wingate on top by seven with 7:28 remaining in the first half.
A pair of Paidrick Matilus' free throws, followed by a three from Vaughn, pushed the Bulldog lead to 12 at 39-27. Wingate's largest lead of the half came at 46-30 before the Patriots trimmed the lead to 10 on a three from Liki Turner with 29 seconds to go, but the Bulldogs went to the locker room with a 49-37 advantage.
Alexander knocked down a jumper to put Wingate on top by 15 two minutes into the second half. The Patriots used a 12-2 run to cut the lead to five at 59-54 at the 13:33 mark. Gary drained a pair of three-pointers to cap the flurry.
The Bulldogs got back-to-back threes from Vaughn in a 20-second span to take a 70-56 lead with 11 minutes remaining. A three-pointer from Ethan Kincaid got Wingate's lead back to 16 points with 8:44 to go. Francis Marion responded by scoring the next nine points, capped by a jumper from senior guard Dominique Coleman, to trim the lead to seven with 5:38 to go. An Odell Turner jumper, followed by a layup by Alexander pushed Wingate's lead back to double figures at 80-69 with 4:20 to go.
Wingate shot 54.7 percent from the field on the day, while knocking down eight-of-18 shots from beyond the arc. FMU shot 44.8 percent for the game, hitting eight-of-25 shots from three-point range.
Francis Marion will open Peach Belt Conference play at nationally ranked USC Aiken on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.
Newspaper Box Score
11-27-10 4 p.m. at Cuddy Arena, Wingate, N.C.
WINGATE MEN 96, FRANCIS MARION 84
FRANCIS MARION (5-1 overall)
Gary, Evrik 8-15 8-9 26; Turner, Liki 9-17 3-3 24; Smith, Andrew 3-3 3-5 9; Boyd, Simel 3-9 0-0 7; Greenfield, Shawn 2-9 2-2 7; Todd, Matt 2-4 0-0 5; Coleman, Dominique 2-5 0-0 4; Julious, Bryant 1-3 0-0 2; Turner, David 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 30-67 16-19 84.
WINGATE (3-2 overall)
Turner, Odell 11-12 8-11 30; Vaughn, Jaime 5-9 2-2 16; Alexander, Quan 4-7 7-9 15; Matilus, Paidrick 2-8 8-10 13; Smith, Chase 3-5 2-2 10; Tankersley, Mike 2-4 1-1 5; Kincaid, Ethan 1-4 2-2 5; Parker, Jeffrey 1-2 0-1 2; Ross, Nick 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 29-53 30-38 96.
Halftime: Wingate 49 Francis Marion 37.
3-point goals--Francis Marion 8-25 (Turner, Liki 3-3; Gary, Evrik 2-7; Boyd, Simel 1-3; Todd, Matt 1-3; Greenfield, Shawn 1-7; Turner, David 0-1; Coleman, Dominique 0-1), Wingate 8-18 (Vaughn, Jaime 4-6; Smith, Chase 2-3; Kincaid, Ethan 1-3; Matilus, Paidrick 1-4; Ross, Nick 0-2). Fouled out--Francis Marion-Turner, David; Coleman, Dominique; Boyd, Simel, Wingate-None. Rebounds--Francis Marion 29 (Turner, Liki 8), Wingate 37 (Turner, Odell 9). Assists--Francis Marion 16 (Julious, Bryant 8), Wingate 19 (Kincaid, Ethan 9). Total fouls--Francis Marion 30, Wingate 14. Technical fouls--Boyd. A-209
