Elon 74, Clemson 69

CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) - Colin Wyatt and Montell Watson had 15 points each as Elon got its first victory over a Division I opponent this season in a 74-69 win over Clemson on Friday night.

 

The Phoenix (3-9) had only beaten NCAA Division III Guilford and Southeastern College of Lakeland, Fla., a member of the National Christian College Athletic Association.

 

But Elon of the Southern Conference finished with five players in double figures at Littlejohn Coliseum to end a four-game losing streak.

 

The Tigers (11-2) had started 11-0 and won the San Juan Shootout last week. But their fast start ended Wednesday night with a 72-69 loss to Georgia.

 

Elon was supposed to be Clemson's final tuneup before it opened the Atlantic Coast Conference season against Florida State next Wednesday. Instead, the Phoenix showed Clemson's got more work ahead.

 

Elon trailed 36-35 at the half, but built a five-point lead to start the second period.

 

Clemson tied things at 49-all with 11:43 left and eventually led 52-51. But the Phoenix grabbed the lead for good on Brian Waters' 3-pointer at the 9:51 mark.

 

After that, Elon gradually pulled away as Clemson struggled from the floor. The Phoenix went on a 15-5 run the next six minutes to lead 69-57 with 3:07 to go.

 

The Tigers were only 1 of 13 from the field during that stretch.

 

Sam Perry had five straight points and Vernon Hamilton two foul shots as Clemson cut the lead to 69-64 with 1:17 left. But a field goal by Waters and two free throws by Watson sealed the upset for the Phoenix.

 

Elon made 26 of 50 field goals (52 percent) and was 7 of 14 from behind the arc.

 

The Phoenix showed their mettle early on, using a 13-2 first-half run to lead 19-10.

Hamilton led Clemson with 13 points, while Akin Akingbala had 12 and eight rebounds.

Chattanooga 68, Howard 63

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) - Keddric Mays led a balanced scoring attack as Chattanooga beat Howard 68-63 Friday night for the championship of the Dr Pepper Classic.

 

Ricky Hood made 3-of-4 free throws in the last 31 seconds to preserve the victory after Howard closed to 65-61.

 

Chattanooga (8-6) shot 54.5 percent for the game, including 61.9 percent in the second half when the Mocs led after the early minutes.

 

Will Gant led Howard (2-7) with 17 points, Jason Trotter had 13, Jeron Smith 11 and Darryl Hudson 10.

 

Charles Anderson scored 14 for Chattanooga and Alphonso Pugh added 10.

 

Chattanooga led 30-26 at the half, but the Bison scored 12 of the first 19 points after the break to take a short-lived lead. Howard's last lead was 38-37 on a Smith layup with 16:09 left.

 

The Bison shot 36.7 percent from the field, but just 27.8 percent in the first half.

Notre Dame 74, Wofford 71

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) - Torin Francis hit two free throws with 12.6 seconds remaining as Notre Dame avoided a near upset to win 74-71 over Wofford Friday night.

 

Wofford trailed by only one point, 72-71, with 47 seconds to play when Notre Dame decided to drain the clock. Chris Quinn's layup did not fall but Francis grabbed the rebound and was immediately fouled.

 

Howard Wilkerson's 3-point attempt for Wofford (4-8) at the buzzer bounced off the rim to give Notre Dame the victory.

 

Wilkerson led all scorers with 27 points, while Shane Nichols added 19 and Tyler Berg 10 for Wofford. Notre Dame (9-2) was led by Russell Carter's career-high 16 points. Francis and Kyle McAlarney scored 12 each and Quinn had 10.

 

The victory was the seventh straight for the Irish as they completed their non-conference schedule. The Irish open Big East play Wednesday at Pittsburgh.

 

After a slow start, the Irish hit five straight 3-pointers while Wofford countered with inside layups. Notre Dame later used a 10-3 run to gain a 42-32 half time lead.

 

Wofford tightened the game up in the second half as Wilkerson layup with 11:32 remaining tied the score at 52. A 3-pointer by Quinn began an 8-2 run for Notre Dame but Wofford again came back and Wilkerson converted a 3-point play with 7:20 to cut Notre Dame's lead to 65-63.

Niagara 79, Appalachian State 70

PITTSBURGH (AP) - Charron Fisher had a career-high 27 points and nine rebounds to lead Niagara to a 79-70 win over Appalachian State in the semifinals of the Duquesne Holiday Tournament on Friday.

 

Clif Brown had 17 points and nine rebounds and Lorenzo Miles 12 points as the Purple Eagles (3-6) broke a six-game losing streak.

 

D.J. Thompson had 20 points and Demetrius Scott 11 for the Mountaineers (4-7), who have lost five of their last six and seven of their last nine.

 

Appalachian State had an 11-2 run midway through the first half, but the Niagara answered by scoring 10 consecutive points late in the half and led by nine at halftime.

 

Niagara, which shot 48 percent from the field to the Mountaineers' 38 percent, took over in the early stages of the second half, going on a 25-12 run.

 

Down by as many as 17, Appalachian State could not get the deficit any closer than nine in the second half.

 

Niagara advances to meet Troy, a 78-72 winner against Duquesne in Friday's other semifinal.

The championship game is set for 2:30 p.m., Saturday, while the Duquesne-Appalachian State consolation game is at noon at the Palumbo Center.

Furman 75, South Carolina State 64

GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) -- Furman got a game-high 23 points from junior guard

Eric Webb and scored the final 11 points to beat South Carolina State 75-64 in the championship game of the Jack In The Box Holiday Classic Friday.

 

Tony Carter added 15 for the Paladins (6-5), who shot 23-of-48 from the field in the game. Webb was 5-of-8 and Carter 3-of-4 on 3-point attempts.

 

The Bulldogs were 6-of-15 from behind the 3-point line.

 

Junior forward Brian Mason scored 17 to lead South Carolina State (3-7), which trailed the Paladins by 3 at halftime. Furman held a 32-29 halftime lead after leading by as many ten.

 

George Brozos opened the Paladins' game-ending run at 2:57 with a 3-point basket. Webb added a layup, Carter two free throws and Robby Bostain a put-back basket and two free throws to complete the run.

 

Webb, who scored 15 in an opening round win over Kennesaw State, was named the tournament's MVP.

Story courtesy of College of Charleston sports information

College of Charleston 72, Rider 67

Charleston, S.C. ? Dontaye Draper scored 30 points and David Lawrence added 14 points and 18 rebounds as the College of Charleston held off Rider, 72-67, in the championship game of the College of Charleston Holiday Classic at the John Kresse Arena Friday night.

 

The Cougars improved to 7-4 overall with their third straight win.  Rider fell to 4-5.

 

Draper’s 30-point effort was his second in the past three games.  The Baltimore native had a career-high 33 points in an 81-77 win at UNC Wilmington on Tuesday.

 

Draper scored 16 points and Lawrence had 10 as the Cougars grabbed a 42-35 lead at intermission.

 

Paul Johnson, who finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds, hit a 3-pointer with 8:51 left to give Rider a 58-57 lead. 

 

Rider held a 65-63 advantage when Draper gave the Cougars the lead for good with a 3-pointer off an assist from Josh Jackson with 4:26 left in the game.

 

After Jason Thompson hit a 17-foot jumper to narrow the margin to 68-67 with 2:53 left, Draper hit another 3-pointer with 2:22 left that extended CofC’s lead to four points.

 

Lawrence’s 18 rebounds were the most by a CofC player since Jody Lumpkin had 18 against Davidson in the Southern Conference Tournament on March 2, 2001.

 

Drew Hall had a game-high 10 assists for the Cougars, while teammate Philip McCandies added 10 points and seven rebounds off the bench.

 

Thompson led the Broncs with 20 points and 11 rebounds.  Edwin Muniz added 15 points and seven boards for Rider.

 

The Cougars play host to Towson in a 7:00 start on Monday, Jan. 2nd at Kresse Arena.