Men's Basketball Southern Conference

SoCon Men's Basketball Results, Dec. 11, 2003

Liberty 85, Chattanooga 69

LYNCHBURG, Va. - The Flames led nearly wire-to-wire and were aided by a 66.7 percent first half shooting performance in an 85-69 victory over Tennessee-Chattanooga, Thursday evening, to close a three-game homestand at the Vines Center.

Larry Blair (Fr., 6-1, Charlotte, N.C.) gave the Flames their first lead on a jumper 44 second into the game, while Jason Rogan (Sr., 6-2, Portland, Tenn.) tied the game seven seconds later on a fast break lay-up.

However, Liberty (3-5) took complete control of the game thereafter as the Flames outscored the Mocs, 25-11, over the next eight minutes of action to open up a 27-13 lead on a three-pointer by Blair.

During the first 10 minutes of the game, Liberty connected on 11 of its first 14 field goal attempts and maintained a 70 percent shooting percent over a majority of the first half before officially finishing the first period by shooting 66.7 percent from the field (16-for-24). Liberty headed into the locker room at halftime with a 42-30 lead and the 42 points was evenly distributed as five different players scored five or more points in the opening half.

Tennessee-Chattanooga (4-2) attempted to get back into the game in the second half as the Mocs cut the Flames' lead to nine points on three different occasions. However, Liberty responded quickly with a run of its own on each occasion to keep the visiting team at a comfortable distance.

The Flames finished the game by shooting a season-best 56.4 percent from the field (31-for-55) and 74.1 percent from the free throw line (20-for-27), while outrebounding Tennessee-Chattanooga by 15 boards, 42 to 27, also marking a season-best.

Gabe Martin (Sr., 6-5, Junction City, Kan.) and Glyn Turner (Sr., 6-8, Auckland, New Zealand) led the Flames with 15 points each, marking a new career-high for Turner. Blair followed with 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting from the field, while adding a season-best six assists. Martin led the squad with eight rebounds.

Ashley Champion (Sr., 6-6, Bolivar, Tenn.) scored a game-best 21 points on 8-of-15 shooting from the field and 4-of-5 from the free throw line, while Ray Trowell (Sr., 5-9, Alytus, Lithuania) and Rogan followed with 13 and 12 points, respectively. Champion and Rogan tied for team-high rebounding honors with five boards apiece.

The Flames will begin a six-game road swing on Saturday, December 13, when the face Iowa State at Noon in Ames, Iowa. The game will be televised LIVE as part of the ESPN Regional Television package.

Charlotte 76, Davidson 65

HARLOTTE, N.C. - The Hornets' Nest Trophy returned to Charlotte on Thursday evening, and it will remain there until the rematch next year. The Davidson men's basketball team fell, 76-65, to the Charlotte 49ers in Halton Arena in front of 7,273 rowdy fans. The Wildcats, still winless at Halton, fell to 2-5 on the season while the home team improved to 5-2 overall.

"I congratulate Bobby Lutz and his team on a strong effort this evening," said Davidson head coach Bob McKillop. "They were very willing to go after loose balls and take control of the offensive glass. That was where the game was won tonight - on their ability to get the offensive board and earn second chances."

Sophomore Brendan Winters tallied his sixth straight game in double figures, leading all scorers with 21 points on 8-of-12 from the field. Winters, junior forward Logan Kosmalski and sophomore forward Ian Johnson tied for the team lead in rebounds with six apiece. Kosmalski dumped in 16 points for the 'Cats and sophomore Matt McKillop added 13.

After a 36-34 Wildcat lead at the half, the teams traded buckets to open the final half of play. Several Davidson turnovers started a 19-2 Charlotte run that spanned almost eight minutes and gave the 49ers a 61-46 advantage with 8:12 remaining.

Although the Wildcats were able to settle down and use a 9-0 run of their own to cut the advantage to only six with just under five minutes to play, the 49ers continued their pressure defense to stop the Davidson attack. The 'Niners reeled off seven straight points to push their lead back to double figures. Davidson was unable to recover and Charlotte hung on for the win.

Charlotte outrebounded the Wildcats, 41-31, only the second time Davidson has been beaten on the boards this season. The 49ers dominated the offensive glass, pulling down 18 offensive boards to the Wildcats' eight. Charlotte also earned 20 more trips to the free throw line, connecting on 23-of-37 attempts.

Ball handling continued to be a struggle for the Wildcats, but credit the 'Niners pressure as Charlotte was attributed with 15 steals on 22 Davidson turnovers.

The 'Cats also put up a strong defensive effort against a team that was averaging almost 90 points a game coming into the contest. Charlotte averages over eight three-pointers a game, but they connected on only 3-of-22 from long range tonight. Both teams shot 43 percent from the field.

The Wildcats return home after a grueling road schedule that included Texas Tech, North Carolina, College of Charleston and Georgetown. Davidson will battle Haverford on Saturday evening in Belk Arena at 7 p.m. Charlotte matches up with Appalachian State in Halton Arena on Saturday at 7 p.m.