Story courtesy of Western Carolina sports information
Virginia Tech 54, Western Carolina 40
Blacksburg, Va. ? Western Carolina, which led 23-20 at the half and trailed by five with just under nine minutes, fell victim to a 15-4 to drop a 54-40 decision to host Virginia Tech at the 2005 NABC Classic. Jamon Gordon (11 points) and Zabian Dowdell (10 points) each drained 3-pointers during the run to help seal the victory. Markus Gordon, who scored 11 second-half points, led all scorers with 13.
Western, which was plagued with foul trouble early, did not back down from the trouble and played tough defense to limit The Hokies (2-1) only made three field goals in the first 20 minutes, shooting just 16.7 percent (3-of-18). The Cats also kept Virginia Tech without a field goal over a 11:20 span in the first half, with the Hokies sinking seven free throws over the span. Western, led by Jared Outing’s seven first-half points, made 8-of-18 shots form the field (44.4 percent). However, the Catamounts (1-2) would be whistled for 15 first-half fouls as the Hokies made 13-of-17 free throws to keep the game close.
Western would have only taken a one-point lead into the locker room at the break, but David Berghoefer made a tip-in off an inbounds pass with four-tenths of a second left for the 23-20 halftime lead.
Virginia Tech opened the second half with a 9-0 run, taking a 29-23 lead, and never surrendered the lead the remainder of the game. However, the Cats kept the game close, trailing by five (37-32) after an Antonio Russell layup. Sailes answered with a layup of his own to start the 15-4 run.
For Western, Berghoefer, who had four steals, came off the bench to score 11 points and grab eight rebounds. Outing, who hit his first career 3-pointer, added eight points and six boards, while Negus McKenna scored six.
The Catamount will return to action Friday, Nov. 18, for their season home opener. Western will host South Carolina at 6:00 pm. Please check back with catamountsports.com throughout the week for more updates on the game.
Story courtesy of Wofford sports information
West Virginia 61, Wofford 41
MORGANTOWN, WV ? The Wofford men’s basketball team raced to a 24-19 halftime lead but 15th-ranked West Virginia outscored the Terriers 42-17 in the second half to post a 61-41 win in the second round of the Guardians Classic being played at the West Virginia Coliseum.
A day after beating Fairleigh Dickinson 73-62 in the opening round of the tournament, the Terriers carried that momentum into a great start and a 24-19 halftime lead over the Mountaineers. Wofford’s defense held WVU to 8 of 27 shooting from the floor in the first half.
But WVU scored the first 13 points of the second half to take a 32-24 lead and were never headed. The Terriers did not score for the first 5:44 of the second half.
Kevin Pittsnoggle, who starred in WVU’s run to the NCAA Elite Eight last March, kept the Mountaineers in the game in the first half by making five of eight field goals while his teammates were a combined three of 19 from the floor.
Frank Young keyed WVU’s second half run, scoring eight in a row during the 13-0 run to open the second half. The Terriers were just seven of 28 from the floor after halftime.
Pittsnoggle finished with 19 points and eight rebounds.
Wofford was led by Eric Marshall with 11 points and Howard Wilkerson with 10.
Wofford’s Shane Nicholls outscored his brother Darris, a guard for West Virginia, 7 to 2.
Wofford’s next game will be on Saturday, Nov. 19 at Purdue. The Terriers will open at home on Monday, Nov. 21 when they host Toccoa Falls.
Story courtesy of UNC Greensboro sports information
Wisconsin-Green Bay 71, UNC Greensboro 48
SEATTLE, WA -- Wisconsin-Green Bay hit 9 of 12 from three-point range, including six three pointers in the first 12 minutes, led by freshman Ryan Tillema’s 18 first-half points as the Phoenix defeated UNCG, 71-48, in the opening round of the 2005 BCA Classic at University of Washington’s Bank of America Arena.
The Spartans will take on Morgan State in the consolation bracket Monday at 2 pm local time (5 pm ET). Morgan State got drilled by Washington, 118-51, on Sunday evening.
“We didn’t shoot the ball well and didn’t take good shots, but that is a little to be expected when we have young kids out there,” said coach Mike Dement, who coached the first game of his second coaching tenure at UNCG.
Tillema’s sixth three-pointer of the night pretty much summed up his first half. With six seconds left before halftime he launched a 25-footer that banked off the glass to go in and give the Phoenix a 39-25 lead going into the locker room.
The two most telling stats of the first half, however, were points of turnovers and points in the paint. A year ago, UNCG scored nearly 50 percent of its points in the paint and did in an exhibition game last week. However, in the first half of Sunday night’s game, UNCG did not record a point in the paint and had just one point off of UW-Green Bay miscues.
UNCG got within 13 in the opening minutes of the second half before the Phoenix went on a 10-2 run to put the game out of reach.
Sophomore Kevin Oleksiak led UNCG with 12 points, while sophomore Brian Beckford chipped in with a career-high 10 points. Both players were making their first collegiate starts.
After UNCG scored the first five points to open game, UW-Green Bay ran off 17 in a row, holding the Spartans scoreless for 8:29. Tillema knocked down four three-pointers in the Phoenix’ spurt.
UNCG regrouped, however, and cut the deficit to 10 on Beckford’s second three-pointer, 24-14. Everson Simmons’ first collegiate field goal, a three-pointer, at 2:41 got the margin to single-digits, 28-20.
The Spartans were playing shorthanded, opening the season without three potential starters. Kyle Hines, Ricky Hickman and Matt Akinosho were suspended from Sunday’s contest for playing in an unsanctioned recreation league in the off-season. Hines, the 2005 Southern Conference Freshman of the Year, will return to action on Monday, but Hickman and Akinosho will miss Monday’s contest. They will be able to return to action on Tuesday.
As a result, four out of UNCG’s five starters made their first collegiate start, including two freshmen. It was the first time UNCG had started two freshmen on opening night since December 1, 1992 when Scott Hartzell and Brian Brunson started for the Spartans against William & Mary.