Story courtesy of Davidson sports information
Davidson 108, Clark (Mass.) 57
DAVIDSON, N.C.. ? Senior Ian Johnson led five Wildcats in double figures with 17 points and Davidson knocked down a season-high 15 three-pointers to defeat visiting Clark (Mass.), 108-57. This was the fourth time this season Davidson put triple digits on the board while improving to 7-3 and stretching its home court winning streak to 14 games. The Division III Cougars of Clark lost their second straight to drop to 4-4.
The last time the Wildcats scored at 100 or more points four times in one season was when Terry Holland was the head coach in the 1972-73 season.
Johnson needed just 16 minutes on the court to collect his 17 points on 8-of-11 shooting. Seniors Brendan Winters and Jason Morton each tallied 14 points, senior Eric Blancett scored 11 in his 11 minutes on the floor and sophomore Jason Richards pitched in 10 to go along with six boards and six assists in just 18 minutes of action.
After Clark opened the scoring with a nice backdoor play to center Tim Dutille, Wildcat senior point guard Kenny Grant responded with a three-pointer to put Davidson in the lead for good. D.J. Brinn drained what turned out to be the Cougars’ lone trifecta of the evening to get Clark within two at 9-7 before the Wildcats went on a 14-2 run. Clark was a dismal 1-of-18 (.056) from three-point range.
The Cougars scored six straight points of their own to get back within eight, 23-15, but sophomore Boris Meno laid in a shot after hauling in one of his game-high 13 rebounds to push the lead back to double digits for good.
By the half, Davidson boasted a 22-point lead, 53-31, with Johnson and Morton already in double figures with 13 and 11 points, respectively. The Cougars hung tough on the boards despite a considerable size disadvantage with just one less rebound, 20-19, and both teams had 10 offensive rebounds. But 13 Clark turnovers and 50 percent shooting by the Wildcats were too much for the Cougars to overcome.
Davidson scored the first 10 points of the second half in just 2:27 with Grant and senior Matt McKillop each hitting a trey. A Richards layup with 8:25 to play stretched the lead into the forties, and a high-arcing three-pointer in the waning seconds by junior walk-on Lamar Hull gave the Wildcats their final and largest lead of 51 points, 108-57.
Fourteen of the 15 Wildcats scored in the game, including Hull’s first career points. Eight of those players nailed three-pointers as the team hit 15-of-32 (.469) overall. Davidson also shot 51.4 percent (38-of-74) for the game, but a season-low 68.0 percent (17-of-25) from the free throw line. The Wildcats entered the game third in the nation with a free throw percentage of 80.9.
Dutille was the lone Cougar in double figures with 18 points on 7-of-14 from the floor and a perfect 4-for-4 from the line. Godfrey Duncan had seven of Clark’s 38 rebounds to lead the team. Leading scorer Cory Szklarz suffered through a 2-for-13 performance from the floor, including 0-for-7 from downtown. The Cougars collectively shot just 31.1 percent (19-for-61) in the game.
Davidson gets a week off for Christmas before lacing up the sneakers again on Dec. 29 in a road game at Illinois-Chicago (6-5) at 7 p.m. (CST). Clark doesn’t play again until Dec. 30 at home against Williams at 7 p.m.
Buffalo 68, Elon 67
AMHERST, N.Y. (AP) - Calvin Cage's 3-pointer with 29 seconds left helped lift Buffalo over Elon 68-67 Wednesday night.
Yassin Idbihi led the Bulls (9-1) with 21 points and 12 rebounds. Cage finished with 19 points and Roderick Middleton added 13.
Middleton followed Cage's basket with a pair of free throws to make it 68-65. Elon's Montell Watson made what would have been the game-tying 3-pointer as time expired, but referees ruled Watson's foot was on the arc and the Phoenix (2-9) came up a point short.
Buffalo led 32-25 at the half, but Elon opened the second half on a 9-0 run and used another 10-point run to build a six-point lead with just under four minutes remaining.
Cage connected on consecutive 3-pointers that tied the game at 63-63 with 1:23 left.
The Bulls, who extended their winning streak to seven games, are unbeaten at home and off to their best start since the 1962-63 season.
Watson finished with 14 points. Colin Wyatt scored 13 points for Elon, while Chris Chalko had 11 points.
#11 Louisville 78, College of Charleston 63
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) -- Brandon Jenkins and Terrence Williams made sure Taquan Dean's slump wouldn't stop Louisville's domination of the Billy Minardi Classic.
Jenkins scored 13 points on his way to earning MVP honors and Williams led the 11th-ranked Cardinals with 16 points and eight rebounds in a 78-63 victory over the College of Charleston to win the tournament they host for the fourth time in as many years.
Though Dean continued to struggle, going 2-of-11 from the field, the Cardinals (8-1) won their 11th straight game at Freedom Hall behind the steady Jenkins and the high-flying Williams.
After the Cougars (4-4) pulled within 46-42 with 11:20 to play, Jenkins, Williams and Andre McGee combined for 16 points in a frantic 21-5 run that Williams capped with a steal and breakaway dunk.
"I just want to do whatever Coach wants me to, play nine minutes or play 20 minutes," Williams said. "I'm happy with the way I played. It's the best overall game for this team. I think we played better defense tonight."
Dontaye Draper led Charleston with 16 points and Josh Jackson added 13. The Cougars outrebounded Louisville 37-33 but allowed the Cardinals to shoot 54 percent in the second half.
"They had some guys really step up for them," Charleston coach Tom Herrion said. "They shot the ball extremely well. Inevitably, I thought the 3-point shot beat us tonight."
Williams led the way, going 4-of-6 from 3-point range while mixing in a handful of acrobatic drives to the basket.
"My teammates were giving me the ball and I was open, it was just like I do in practice," Williams said. "Coach (Rick) Pitino tells us to shoot, his exact words are 'Just bust it."'
The points were nice, but Pitino said he's more pleased with his team's defense. The Cardinals were exposed in a loss at Kentucky last Saturday and played poorly in the second half of a win over Middle Tennessee State on Tuesday.
"I think we could be a good offensive team, but we just have to be a good defensive team, that's how you win on the road," Pitino said. "It's going to take some time. We're a work in progress, but I think we're making headway in that area."
For the better part of two seasons Jenkins has considered himself the tone-setter on defense. Now it seems his offense is catching up. One night after posting a career-high 20 points, he followed it with 33 efficient minutes, going 6-of-10 from the field and handing out four assists.
"It comes with practice," Jenkins said. "I just take the ball to the middle of the floor. Coach says to take it to the E in the Big East sign (in the lane) or I can make the extra pass. Coach says, 'Think score first and the pass will come."'
The Cardinals began the game with the kind of sustained defensive intensity Pitino has been pleading for the last two weeks. Louisville contested shots, rebounded and ran the floor while building a 26-11 lead.
When the Louisville slowed down to catch its breath, Charleston caught up. Renardo Dickerson hit a jumper to end an 8-minute field goal drought and start a 12-3 run by the Cougars, who drew within 29-23 with 2:49 to go in the half.
Dean, just 8-of-27 from the field over his last two games, tried to put the Cardinals back in control before halftime, but nothing worked. During one possession late in the half he airballed a 3-pointer and had another shot blocked.
His night didn't get any better in the second half. Dean collided with center David Padgett while going for a rebound and was on the floor for a minute before slowly pulling himself up. He stayed in the game, but labored the rest of the way.
"He was a little banged up tonight and I think he's just pressing a little bit because he's banged up," Pitino said. "He'll be fine. He's just got to use his offense to get up his shots."
Story courtesy of UNC Greensboro sports information
William & Mary 83, UNC Greensboro 73
WILLIAMSBURG, VA -- William & Mary opened up the second half by scoring the first 10 points to break open a close game and then held on late for a 83-73 victory over UNC Greensboro in men’s basketball action at Kaplan Arena Wednesday night.
The Tribe (5-4) knocked down 5 of their first 7 shots from the field in the second half to break the game wide-open. After leading by just five at the break, the Tribe raced out to an 18-point advantage in the first four minutes of the second half.
Using three-quarter court pressure, the Spartans got a couple of quick baskets. UNCG got to within nine with 1:39 to play when Matt Akinosho converted a conventional three-point play but that would be as close as they would come.
Kevin Oleksiak led the way for the Spartans with a game-high 21 points. It was the third 20-point game of the season for the sophomore from Abington, PA.
Ricky Hickman added 18 points for UNCG. It was his 19th double-digit scoring game in the last 20, including all nine he has played in this season. Kyle Hines also added 15 points.
William & Mary had four players in double figures, led by Calvin Baker and Nathan Mann with 19 points apiece. Corey Cofield, who UNCG held scoreless last year in its win in Greensboro, added 14 points on a 6-for-6 shooting night from the floor.
“We’ve gotten away from some of the things we were doing defensively that were bringing us success earlier this season,” said UNCG coach Mike Dement. “I liked the way William & Mary moved the ball and waited until the defense broke down. They shot the ball well tonight.”
Early on, Hines and Hickman were UNCG’s offense. In the first 10 minutes of the game, the duo combined to shoot 6-for-7 from the floor, accounting for 15 of UNCG’s first 18 points. The remainder of the team was just 1-for-10. Still, the Tribe led by just five, 23-18, midway through the first half.
Oleksiak, who has now scored in double figures in 10 of 12 this season, started to heat up, though. He knocked down a couple of three-pointers to get keep the Spartans within reach. However, the Tribe shot nearly 50 percent for the first half and took a 40-35 halftime lead to the locker room. For the game, William & Mary shot 54 percent from the field, including 9-for-18 from three-point range.
The Tribe knocked down a pair of three-pointers to open the second half with a 10-0 run, however, to open the lead up to double digits for the first time, 50-35.
The Spartans slowly climbed back in it as the Tribe cooled off a little. Everson Simmons’ three-pointer from the left corner got the margin back to 11, 55-44.
William & Mary started to open the margin back up again before UNCG got it back to 11 again with 2:37 to play.
UNCG (7-5) returns to action on New Year’s Eve afternoon when they play host to No. 1-ranked Duke at the Greensboro Coliseum. The game is slated for 1 pm and will be televised by Jefferson Pilot Sports.
Story courtesy of Chattanooga sports information
Chattanooga 85, Mount St. Mary’s 74 (OT)
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - Alphonso Pugh scored nine of his 22 points in overtime to lead Chattanooga to an 85074 comeback win over Mount St. May’s in the consolation championship of the San Juan Shootout.
The Mocs trailed by as many as 14 points in the second half, but back-to-back layups by Casey Long capped a 17-4 run which trimmed the margin to a single point with 7:32 to play. The Mountaineers pushed the lead back to seven with 5:06 remaining on a Landy Thompson jumper. UTC scored the next two baskets on a Pugh layup and a jumper by Jerice Crouch to pull within three. After two Kiel Butler free throws, the Mountaineers led 66-61 with 1:39 remaining.
Down by five and running out of time, Steve Cherry was fouled going to the basket. Cherry made the first free throw and missed the second, but put back his own miss to cut the lead to two points. After a Mountaineer missed 3-pointer, Cherry scored down low again, this time with 37 seconds remaining, to knot the game at 66 apiece. Casey Long stole a pass with 5.5 seconds left, but his attempt at the buzzer was partially blocked.
The Mocs won the tip in overtime and the Alphonso Pugh show began. Steve Cherry missed the second of two free throws and Pugh put back the rebound to give the Mocs a three point cushion. Pugh then stole the ball at mid-court and finished with a layup after a give-and-go with Steve Cherry to push the lead to five. Pugh also had three of his career-high 16 rebounds in the extra frame.
The Mocs were 7-of-8 from the field in overtime and 58.1 percent for the game, while holding Mount St. Mary’s to 2-of-10 shooting in overtime and 37.9 percent overall.
Chattanooga struggled from the free throw line, converting on only 11 of 26 attempts.
Steve Cherry tied a career-high with 14 points. His five rebounds also tied a career-high. Cherry Started in the place of the injured Rickey Hood. Hood was held out of action after spraining his ankle at the end of yesterday’s game with PR-Mayaguez. Jerice Crouch’s 14 points were also a career high. Casey Long added 12 points and had three steals for UTC.
Landy Thompson led the Mountaineers with 25 points, but was held scoreless the last 5:06 of regulation and all of the overtime.
Pugh averaged 15 points and 8.6 rebounds for the tournament and was named to the All-Tournament team. He has also been making moves in the record book. His 22 points moved him past Keith Nelson into 12th place on the career scoring list. He is now 17 points shy of Johnny Taylor for 11th place. Pugh’s 16 rebounds give him a career total of 477. That is good for 9th all-time, passing Stanley Lawrence.
The Mocs will return to Chattanooga tomorrow and will be off until December 29 when UTC will host Maine in the first round of the Dr Pepper Classic.