Story courtesy of UNC Greensboro sports information
UNC Greensboro 65, The Citadel 46
GREENSBORO, NC ? Junior guard Ricky Hickman recorded his 18th straight double-digit scoring game with 16 points and went over 900 points for his career as UNC Greensboro pulled away late for a 65-46 win over The Citadel on Monday night at Fleming Gym in men’s basketball action.
UNCG turned up the defense, limiting The Citadel to just two field goals over a 16 minute span midway through the contest and closing it out with an 18-5 run over the final 8:41. For the game, the Bulldogs shot just 29.2 percent from the field. It was the fourth time this season that UNCG has held the opposition under 50 points, a first in 38 seasons of basketball at the university.
Sophomore Kyle Hines added 17 points as the Spartans (10-10, 3-3 SoCon) won their second straight and got to back .500 in the league. Kevin Oleksiak chipped in with 14 points and sophomore point guard Dwayne Johnson had eight points and seven assists with no turnovers.
“Dwayne is playing about as well as he has here, I think,” said UNCG coach Mike Dement. “He hit a three early and made a nice feed to Kyle and did just an overall good job tonight.
“We rebounded well and did a pretty good job on the defensive end,” said Dement. “We still need more contribution from our bench because a couple of our guys are playing a lot of minutes. We had a couple of guys out to get some rest and struggled on the offensive end of the floor.”
The Spartans came out hot, connecting on 8 of their first 11 shots from the floor as they gradually opened up a lead. Hines turned a nifty baseline move into a thunderous dunk to give the Spartans a 24-17 lead with 7:42 to play in the first half.
Over the final 10:33 of the first half, the Bulldogs made just 1 of 10 and committed six turnovers as UNCG took a 31-20 lead to the locker room.
It was another defensive stand that gave the Spartans some breathing room. The Bulldogs pulled to within six, 47-41, when Dante Terry knocked down a three-pointer from the left side of the key with 8:41 to play. Terry finished with 17 points to lead the Bulldogs (6-13, 0-7 SoCon).
But UNCG scored 18 of the game’s final 23 points to pull away, with Hines and Oleksiak teaming up to score 15 of the 18. The Bulldogs, which lost their 10th straight, made just one field goal in nine attempts after Terry’s three-pointer.
UNCG, which has 10 wins in a season for the sixth time in the last seven years and 20th time in the last 27 seasons, hits the road for a pair of games beginning Saturday. The Spartans visit Georgia Southern for a 7:30 pm contest.
Story courtesy of Western Carolina sports information
College of Charleston 67, Western Carolina 59
Cullowhee, N.C. ? Dontaye Draper, who hit a key 3-pointer with 49 seconds left, scored a game-high 21 points to lead the College of Charleston to a 67-59 victory Monday night at the Ramsey Activity Center. The Cougars improve to 11-7 overall and 4-3 in the Southern Conference, while the Catamounts fall to 9-12, 3-3.
Including five free throws inside the final minute, the College of Charleston helped secure its victory by making 20-of-31 at the free throw line, compared to just 7-of-8 by Western Carolina.
With the College of Charleston clinging to a two point lead (59-57) and the shot clock running out, Draper drained his 3-pointer to put the Cougars up five (62-57) with 49 ticks on the clock. After a WCU turnover and two free throws by the CofC’s Drew Hall, Draper would grab a defensive rebound and make two free throws with 21 seconds left make the score 66-57 and to put the game out of reach. A layup by Western’s Trey Hopkins and a final free throw by Draper provided the final 67-59 margin.
Down 10 (59-49) at the five-minute mark of the second half, Western Carolina went on an 8-0 run to cut its deficit to two before Draper’s crucial trey. Antonio Russell had four points and an assist during the run, while David Berghoefer and Hopkins each added a bucket as well.
Berghoefer, who led the Catamounts with 17 points, scored Western’s first eight points of the game. However, the Cougars led from the outset before back-to-back 3-pointers by Eric Wilson gave Western a one-point lead (14-13). The lead bounced back and forth over the next seven minutes. With 3:35 left before the break, David Lawrence made a 3-pointer giving the Cougars and advantage they would not surrender the rest of the contest. Lawrence’s trey was actually in the midst of a 14-0 Charleston run to close the first half as CofC took a 33-24 lead at intermission.
Despite the College of Charleston leading the Southern Conference in rebounds, Western out-rebounded the Cougars 31-29. However, Western committed 17 turnovers, compared to just seven by the Charleston.
In addition to Draper, the College of Charleston was led by Renardo Dickerson, who contributed 10 points off the bench. Drew Hall paced the Cougars on the boards with seven. Berghoefer was the only Catamount in double figures, while he and Jared Outing each pulled down seven rebounds.
Western Carolina will return to action on Saturday (Jan. 28) at Wofford. Tipoff in Spartanburg, S.C., is set for 7 pm. The College of Charleston will return home to host Chattanooga on Saturday. Game time is set for 2 pm and the game will be telecast on Fox Sports Net South TV.
Chattanooga 65, Davidson 59
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) - Jerice Crouch had a career-high 23 points to lead Chattanooga to a 65-59 win over Davidson on Monday night.
The Mocs (12-9, 3-3 Southern Conference) built a 12-point lead with 6:17 remaining in the game. Davidson (11-8, 5-2) answered with a 7-1 run to cut the margin to six at 53-47 with 2:58 left.
Matt McKillop's 3-pointer with 9 seconds left got the Wildcats within two, but Crouch, who shot 13-of-18 from the line, made four straight free throws in the final 4 seconds to seal the win for the Mocs.
Keddric Mays and Steve Cherry each had 10 points for Chattanooga. Ricky Hood grabbed nine rebounds.
Brendan Winters was the only Wildcat in double digits with 24 points, while McKillop had 9. Winters and Thomas Sander both had eight rebounds, and Boris Meno grabbed nine.
Davidson struggled with fouls, committing 29 to the Mocs' 15, with Meno, Ian Johnson and Kenny Grant fouling out. Chattanooga made 25-of-39 from the free throw line, while Davidson hit 6-of-9.
The Monday game was the first for the Mocs without Alphonso Pugh, who will miss the rest of the season with a knee injury he suffered during Saturday's 77-67 win over Austin Peay.
Story courtesy of Appalachian State sports information
Appalachian State 90, Georgia Southern 84 (OT)
BOONE, N.C. -- D.J. Thompson scored 11 of his career-high 33 points in overtime to lead Appalachian State University men’s basketball to a 90-84 come-from-behind victory over Georgia Southern on Monday night at the Holmes Center.
Thompson accounted for all but four of Appalachian’s 15 points in the extra period to key ASU’s first overtime victory since topping Gardner-Webb, 99-98, in 2003. The junior from Raleigh, N.C. bested his previous career-high of 32 set in the Mountaineers’ last meeting with the Eagles, a 92-88 loss in Statesboro, Ga. last season. His 33 points came on 11-of-21 shooting from the field, including 4-of-7 from three-point range, and 7-of-11 shooting from the foul line.
Appalachian (8-11, 2-4 Southern Conference) trailed by as many as 12 points in the second half. However, a 17-5 Mountaineer run, spurred by eight of Jeremy Clayton’s 16 points, knotted the contest at 59-59 with under 10 minutes left in to play in regulation. Clayton matched a career high on the evening.
From there, the lead changed hands seven times before GSU’s Elton Nesbitt drained a three-pointer with 52 seconds left on the clock to tie the game at 75-75. The two teams traded turnovers over the final minute to send the contest, which featured 17 lead changes, into overtime. Freshman Eduardo Bermudez (Bayamon, Puerto Rico) guaranteed overtime with 13 seconds left as he forced a held ball against Elton Nesbitt on the near wing. Fortunately for the Apps, the possession arrow was pointing their way, prematurely thwarting a game-winning attempt from GSU.
After the teams swapped baskets to begin overtime, Thompson scored the Apps’ next 10 points, capped by a pair of three-pointers that gave the Mountaineers an 87-82 advantage with under two minutes remaining. Georgia Southern (12-7, 3-3 SoCon) cut the ASU lead to three on a Louis Graham layup with 37 seconds to go, but wouldn’t get any closer as Thompson made 1-of-2 free throws and Eduardo Bermudez sank a pair from the charity stripe down the stretch to seal the win.
Doug McLaughlin-Williams, Demetrius Scott and Bermudez each added 11 points to join Thompson and Clayton in double-figures for the Apps. Clayton added a game-high 10 rebounds for his third double-double in seven games as all five starters scored in double figures.
Nesbitt led the Eagles with 21 points before fouling out with less than a minute to play. Louis Graham scored 18 points with nine rebounds in the Eagles' third-straight loss.
The Mountaineers blocked a season-high nine shots in the victory with Clayton's three leading the way as he moves into seventh all-time at ASU with 72 career swats.
Appalachian continued to struggle with turnovers, committing 19 miscues that the Eagles turned into 24 points.
However, the Mountaineers buckled down in the clutch, turning the ball over just four times in the final 10 minutes with no miscues in the overtime period.
The Mountaineers shot a blistering 51 percent from the floor, their first performance over 50 percent against Division I competition since hitting 53 percent at East Tennessee State on February 9 of last year.
The Apps shot 58 percent in the opening half, but found themselves trailing 45-39 at halftime thanks in part to nine turnovers that GSU turned into 13 points.
Appalachian built up an eight point, 21-13, lead with 11:37 left in the opening half, but couldn't hold on to it as the Eagles scored eight unanswered points to tie the game and eventually build up their six-point halftime lead.
With the win, ASU improves to 7-2 under Houston Fancher in overtime contests. Thompson also recorded his 303 career assist with seven on the evening. The junior is now in seventh place in the category on ASU's all-time list with 303 career helpers.
Appalachian will look to build off its big win with a weekend visit to Charleston S.C. to face the Citadel and College of Charleston. Appalachian will face the Bulldogs on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. in McAlister Fieldhouse. The Apps will stay in Charleston then to take on the Cougars Monday evening at 7 p.m.
Elon 81, Furman 77 (OT)
ELON, N.C. Montell Watson poured in 19 points as Elon rallied past Furman in overtime for an 81-77 Southern Conference men?s basketball triumph Monday night at Alumni Gym, giving the Phoenix an eighth consecutive victory.
The Paladins (11-7 overall, 5-2 Southern Conference) exploded to an early 17-5 advantage on a jumper by Robby Bostain with 13:53 left in the opening period. The Phoenix (10-9, 6-0) responded with a 19-9 run to draw within 26-24 on a putback by James Brett with 4:22 to play before the intermission.
After settling for a 29-26 halftime edge, Furman opened the second stanza with a 6-2 spurt to fatten its lead to 35-28 on three-point field goal by Eric Webb with 18:33 remaining in regulation. Elon later fashioned an 18-4 run to trade a 37-30 deficit in for a 48-41 advantage on a dunk by Simon Harris with 11:06 to play.
The Paladins stormed back, forging a 19-5 run to pull back ahead 60-53 on a three-pointer by George Brozos with 5:54 left. Elon answered the Furman surge with a 7-0 spurt to close out regulation, beginning with a pair of LeVonn Jordan free throws with 3:39 to go.
Jordan then knocked down the putback of a missed fastbreak lay-up by Watson, pulling the Phoenix within 60-57 with 3:05 remaining. Watson soaked a bomb from three feet beyond the three-point line to even the score at 60-60 with 33 seconds left in regulation, ultimately forcing the extra period.
Bostain put Furman up 62-60 on a jumper with 4:38 to go in overtime. Elon responded with a 14-1 surge to build a 74-63 cushion on a pair of charity shots by Chris Chalko with 51 seconds to play.
The Paladins replied with a 12-4 spurt to inch within 78-75 on a three-pointer by Brozos with 16 seconds left. After a pair of free throws by Elon?s Brian Waters, Bostain drained another trey to bring Furman within 80-77 with seven ticks to go. With four seconds remaining, Watson canned the second of two free throw attempts to clinch the Phoenix victory.
Chalko chipped in 15 points while Jordan added 13 points and eight rebounds. Elon?s Colin Wyatt pulled down a season-high nine rebounds and recorded a career-high four steals.
Moussa Diagne (19 points, four blocked shots), Bostain (15 points), Webb (14 points, four assists) and Brozos (11 points) all scored in double figures for the Paladins.
The Phoenix won the battle of the boards by a 38-32 margin. In overtime, Elon sank four of its five field goal attempts and 12 of its 16 shots from the charity stripe. The Phoenix outscored the Paladins 34-26 in the paint and 22-10 off turnovers.
Elon visits Davidson for a 7 p.m. Southern Conference showdown Friday. Furman hosts North Dakota State in a non-league contest at 1 p.m. Saturday.