Story courtesy of Davidson sports information

Davidson 66, Massachusetts 63

DAVIDSON, N.C. ? Trailing 60-50 with with less than 5:30 to play, Davidson (1-1) finished the game on a 16-3 run to win its 14th consecutive home opener, 66-63 over visiting Massachusetts (1-1). Sophomore Thomas Sander laid in the game-winning shot with 33 seconds to play, and senior Brendan Winters blocked the possible game-tying three as time expired to seal the victory.

A Sander putback with 11:32 to play gave the host Wildcats a 50-49 lead before the Minutemen went on an 11-0 run over the next four minutes to build a 10-point lead. The Davidson defense clamped down after that, however, holding UMass scoreless for the next six minutes.

The Wildcat offense, meanwhile, came to life. Matt McKillop hit a pair of free throws, then drained a three-pointer and was fouled with four minutes to play. He missed out on the four-point play, but senior Ian Johnson got hold of the rebound and dished to freshman Andrew Lovedale for a layup, cutting the deficit to three.

With 2:22 on the clock, sophomore Jason Richards knocked down a pair of free throws to cap the 9-0 run. It seemed UMass had foiled the comeback when Maurice Maxwell, who led the Minutemen with 13 points, drilled a three-pointer with 1:24 left in the game for a four-point lead. But McKillop answered with a trey of his own on the next possession.

A defensive stop gave the ’Cats the opportunity to take the lead. Sander got the ball underneath the basket and pump-faked three times on Stephane Lasme ? who had blocked nine shots already ? before going up for the game-winning bucket.

“I tried to slow [Lasme] down with the pump fakes,” Sander said. “By pumping three times, it took a bit of the athleticism away from him and made him just a little slow when I did go up.”

Sander then corralled a missed three by Maxwell with 5.7 seconds left, and Winters canned a pair of free throws one second later. UMass still had time to tie the score, but Chris Lowe’s three from the corner was rejected by Winters to end the game.

In this back-and-forth affair, neither team could build a lead of more than two points in the first half, and until the Minutemen’s 11-point run, the largest lead was four. The game also featured 12 ties and 24 lead changes.

Davidson survived despite shooting just 36.8 percent (21-of-57) from the floor, but made up for that with 18-of-22 (.818) from the charity stripe. Johnson led the Wildcats with 20 points and nine rebounds with markedly different halves. In the first stanza, he scored 16 points and did not grab one board as Davidson entered the intermission with a 35-34 lead. In the final 20 minutes, Johnson was all over the glass with nine rebounds ? five offensive ? while scoring just four points.

McKillop was the only other Wildcat in double figures with 11 points, including a trio of trifectas. Winters struggled under intense defensive scrutiny by UMass, hitting just 3-of-11 shots for nine points, breaking a string of 27 consecutive games in double figures.

The Minutemen were more accurate from the field (24-of-52, .462) and beat Davidson on the boards (38-31), yet came up short in the end. Along with Maxwell’s 13 points, Lasme was just one block away from a triple-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds to go along with his nine blocks. Brandon Thomas chipped in 12 points as well.

Davidson plays its second of three consecutive games against Atlantic 10 schools when St. Joseph’s comes to town on Saturday, Nov. 26. Tip is slated for 2 p.m. Massachusetts next takes on UAB in the MassMutual Center in Springfield, Mass., on Friday, Nov. 25 at 1 p.m. in the Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off Classic.

Story courtesy of Georgia Southern sports information

Georgia Southern 98, Mercer 79

STATESBORO, Ga. ? Louis Graham scored a career high 22 points to lead Georgia Southern to a 98-79 win over Mercer Tuesday night in the Eagles home opener.

Mercer (0-1) opened the game on a 5-0 run, sparked by a Jacob Skogen three pointer. Georgia Southern’s Donte Gennie scored six unanswered points to give the Eagles (2-2) their first lead of the game, 6-5 with 16:43 to play in the half.  Elton Nesbitt’s first three-pointer of the night sparked a 21-8 Georgia Southern run over the next six minutes, giving the Eagles a 29-19 lead with 7:21 to play. A jumper by Jacob Skogen cut the Eagle lead to five points, 31-26, with 5:27 remaining in the half, but another run by Georgia Southern gave the Eagles the 43-35 lead at the break. 

Mercer’s Jacob Skogen led all scorers with 22 at the break.  Graham led the Eagles with 10 points, while Dwayne Foreman had a team high five rebounds and seven assists.  The Eagles shot 48.6 percent (18-of-37) from the field, while Mercer shot 48.0 percent (12-of-25).

A quick three pointer by Nesbitt increased the Eagle lead to 11 ten seconds into the second half.  After a jumper by Mercer’s Ross Alacqua, Jimmy Tobias scored on back to back baskets, putting Georgia Southern up 50-38 with 18:16 to play. Mercer put together a 7-0 spurt midway through the second half, pulling to within 12 with 13 minutes to play.  The Eagles extended their lead to 20, 74-54, after a 14-6 run, including two dunks from Will Dunn.  A three pointer by Courtnei Houston gave the Eagles their largest lead of the game, 22, with 7:01 remaining in the game.  Mercer cut the margin to 17 with less than a minute to play, but could not get any closer.

Mercer’s Skogen led all scorers with 32 points. Four Eagles scored in double figures, with Graham leading the team with 22.  Elton Nesbitt had 17 points, including four three pointers.  Donte Gennie added 14 points and five assists, while Jimmy Tobias tied his season high with 10 points. Foreman had a career best 11 assists and tied his career high in rebounds with six in his first career start.

Georgia Southern continues its three game home stand Saturday night, Nov. 26, hosting Augusta State.  Tip-off from Hanner Fieldhouse is set for 7:30 p.m.

Story courtesy of Western Carolina sports information

Western Carolina 110, Atlanta Christian 51

Cullowhee, N.C. ? Western Carolina sophomores Antonio Russell and Eric Wilson each had career highs to lead the Catamounts to 110-51 victory over Atlanta Christian Tuesday night at the Ramsey Activity Center. Russell, who has led the Cats in five of their six games this season, scored a career-high 22 points, while Wilson, whose previous career highs were seven points and eight rebounds, posted his first career double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds.

The Catamounts (2-4) additionally improve to 101-3 all-time when scoring 100 points in a game.

Western scored the first nine points of the game, including five points by Wilson, and would lead by as many as 11 early. Atlanta Christian would battle back on the strength on 3-pointers by Will De la Cruz, Jermaine Barnes and an old-fashion 3-point play by Glen Lamb to cut the Chargers’ deficit to six with 11:33 left in the first period. However, the Catamounts responded with a 13-3 run to boost their advantage to 17 (30-13) and never looked back. A Jared Outing 3-pointer with 45 seconds gave Western its largest lead of the half (21 points) but the Chargers’ Jordan Poole made a layup with 21 seconds left to provide the halftime score of 41-22.

Charles Bouie, who came off the bench to provide a spark with a career-high 11 points on the night, sparked an early second-half run which pushed Western’s lead to 30 points. Western then out-scored Atlanta Christian 29-7 midway through the final 20 minutes to take a 94-42 lead with 6:27 remaining in the contest. The Catamount broke the century mark for the first time this season and the 104th time in school history when Jared Outing made a jumper with 2:58 left. An old-fashion 3-point play by Wilson with 1:42 left gave the Cats their largest lead of the night (63 points) with 1:42 remaining.

Freshman Stan Johnson, getting his first career start, also had his first game in double digits scoring with 10 points, making 6-of-7 at the free throw line. Negus McKenna, getting his first start of the season, scored seven points and grabbed six rebounds. Junior Kyle Greathouse contributed 14 points, making 4-of-6 from the field, with six assists. Greathouse additionally sank 2-of-4 from 3-point range to move into a tie for eighth on the WCU all-time list with 99, equaling the career  total of Joe Stafford. David Berghoefer and Corey Muirhead also provided a lift off the bench. Berghoefer scored 12 points and grabbed eight rebounds, while Muirhead had nine rebounds and three steals.

For the Chargers, Barnes led the way with 19 points and six rebounds. Atlanta Christian only shot 29.1 percent from the floor, leading to the Catamounts out-rebounding ACC 50-26.

Western Carolina will return to action this Saturday (Nov. 26) at High Point with tipoff set for 7:00 pm. The Catamounts will return home on Nov. 28 to host Toccoa Falls at 7:00 pm. At halftime of the game, Western will have a ceremony to honor Catamount Ronnie Carr making the first 3-pointer in NCAA history, which occurred 25 years ago on Nov. 29, 1980.

Story courtesy of Chattanooga sports information

Belmont 93, Chattanooga 79

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. ? Belmont University connected on 17 three-point field goals and shot 68 percent from long-distance to outgun the Chattanooga Mocs 93-79 at McKenzie Arena on Tuesday night.

Chattanooga battled the Bruins even in the first half despite allowing nine 3-pointers in the frame.  The Bruins slowly pulled away midway through the second frame.  After a Ricky Hood three cut the Belmont lead to a single point, the Bruins went on a 19-5 run over the next six minutes to put the Mocs away.

 Belmont made 34 field goals in the game, half of which came from behind the arc.  Redshirt freshman Andy Wicke was 6-of-7 from downtown to lead the Bruins with 18 points.  Justin Hare also added 18 for Belmont on 6-of-13 shooting. 

The Mocs got a big night from senior Charles Anderson. Anderson was 7-of-14 and chipped in 16 points and grabbed three rebounds.  Alphonso Pugh also had 16 and snared seven rebounds for Chattanooga.  Redshirt freshman Jaycen Herring had 15 in his second career start. 

Chattanooga will travel to Minneapolis to take on the University of Minnesota on Saturday afternoon. Game time is 3 p.m. CST.  The game will be televised on Fox Sports Net-North and in the Southeast on CSS.

Vanderbilt 85, UNC Greensboro 53