Story courtesy of College of Charleston sports information
College of Charleston 67, Chattanooga 53
Charleston, S.C. -- Dontaye Draper had 18 points and a career-high eight assists and Drew Hall added a career-high tying 16 points as the College of Charleston cruised to an 67-53 win over Chattanooga in Southern Conference action before 3,718 at John Kresse Arena on Saturday,
Charleston, which improved to 12-7 overall and 5-3 in league play, held the Mocs to just 29.2 percent (7-24) shooting after halftime and used a 12-3 run to start the second half to take a 46-34 lead with 16:26 remaining.
The Cougars eventually enjoyed a 22-point cushion on three occasions. The Mocs, who trailed 34-31 at intermission, fell to 12-10 and 3-4.
Hall hit 6-of-8 from the floor, including a career-best four 3-pointers in five attempts. Freshman Jermaine Johnson had his fourth double-double of the season with 11 points and 10 rebounds, while teammate Josh Jackson added 10 points and seven boards.
The Mocs got a game-high 15 points from Charles Anderson and a team-high seven rebounds from Steve Cherry and Ricky Hood. Keddric Mays led UTC with four assists and just one turnover in 28 minutes of work.
Charleston shot 46.3 percent from the floor hitting on 25-of-54 attempts. Chattanooga shot 40.0 percent (20-50). The Mocs outrebounded the Cougars 39-34 overall and 12-10 on the offensive glass.
Both teams play league games on Monday. The Cougars play host to Appalachian State at 7:00, while the Mocs play at The Citadel at 7:15.
Furman 73, North Dakota State 61
GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) - Junior forward Robbie Bostain scored a career-high 29 points and hit a pair of 3-pointers during a key second-half rally to lead Furman past North Dakota State 73-61 Saturday afternoon.
Bostain sank 8-of-10 field goal attempts including 4-of-5 from 3-point range and made all nine free throws. Two 3-pointers came during a 13-6 run that broke a 46-46 tie and put the Paladins (12-7) ahead to stay.
Moussa Diagne added 14 for Furman, which won for the eighth time in its last ten games.
Andre Smith and Mike Nelson scored 14 a piece for the Bison (12-10), who forced a 46-46 tie on Lucas Moormann's 15-foot shot with 8:29 remaining. Eric Webb opened Furman's winning run with a 3-point basket at 8:13, and Bostain ended it on a 3-pointer for a 59-52 lead with 5:45 left.
Smith had a game-high eight rebounds as the Bison out-rebounded the Paladins 36-25, but Furman shot 51 percent from the field compared to 42 percent for North Dakota State.
Appalachian State 66, The Citadel 65
CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) - D.J. Thompson's layup with two seconds left lifted Appalachian State to a 66-65 victory over The Citadel on Saturday.
The Mountaineers (9-11, 3-4 Southern Conference) were tied at 61 with 2:51 remaining. The teams traded leads before the Bulldogs' J'mel Everhart made two free throws with eight seconds left to put The Citadel up 65-64.
But Thompson, who scored 15 of the Mountaineers' final 19 points, drove to the basket and made a twisting layup to get the win. He finished with 21 points.
Dante Terry scored 17 points to lead the Bulldogs (6-14, 0-8), who have lost 13 consecutive games to Appalachian State.
The Mountaineers didn't get their first lead until Thompson hit back-to-back 3s with 9:10 left to go ahead 53-47. From there, the lead changed five times as both teams had turnovers and missed free throws.
Story courtesy of Wofford sports information
Wofford 76, Western Carolina 57
SPARTANBURG, SC ? Shane Nichols scored a career-high 28 points to lead Wofford College to a 76-57 win over Western Carolina Saturday night at the Benjamin Johnson Arena.
Nichols made five 3-point field goals and a career-best nine free throws as he scored the most points by a Terrier since Howard Wilkerson scored 28 against Georgia on Dec. 19, 2004.
Wofford (7-13, 2-5) scored the first nine points of the game and never trailed, though Western Carolina (9-13, 3-4) made the game interesting in the second half.
The Terriers held a 37-22 halftime lead as Nichols scored 15 points in the first half. Wofford extended the lead to as much as 22 points on three occasions in the second half, the last at 57-35 with 9:05 to play.
The Catamounts went on a 20-3 run over the next four and one-half minutes to close to within five at 60-55 with 4:27 to play. WCU nailed four 3-point field goals and David Berghoefer tallied six points during the run.
Wofford then closed the game on a 16-2 run. After WCU had closed to five, Tyler Berg scored on a layup before Howard Wilkerson also scored inside to push Wofford’s lead to nine points. Nichols then hit back to back three-pointers and the Terriers held a 70-55 lead with 2:06 remaining. Berghoefer scoredon a layup with 1:48 to play to cut the Terrier lead to 70-57 before Wofford scored the final six points of the game.
Wilkerson and Adam Sheehan each finished with 11 points for Wofford. Berg scored nine points and grabbed a team-high 12 rebounds.
Berghoefer finished with a double-double for Western Carolina with 17 points and 12 rebounds. Negus McKenna added 12 points and Antonio Russell scored 10 for WCU.
Wofford will host UNC Greensboro Monday night at 7 pm at the Benjamin Johnson Arena. Western Carolina will be at home with Furman Monday night at 7 pm.
Story courtesy of Georgia Southern sports information
Georgia Southern 86, UNC Greensboro 78
STATESBORO, Ga. ? Elton Nesbitt scored a season high 36 points to lead Georgia Southern to an 86-78 win over UNC Greensboro Saturday night in Hanner Fieldhouse. The win snaps a three game losing skid for the Eagles, as they improve to 13-7 on the year, 4-3 in SoCon play. UNC Greensboro falls to 10-11, 3-4 in SoCon action.
Georgia Southern opened up an early 12-4 lead on two quick three pointers by Nesbitt. UNC Greensboro cut the Eagle lead to four at 12-8 on back to back jumpers by Kyle Hines with 12:08 to play. Georgia Southern went on a 7-0 run, giving the Eagles their largest lead of the half at 23-13 with 7:35 remaining on the clock on a pair of Jimmy Tobias free throws. A three pointer by UNCG’s Kevin Oleksiak cut Georgia Southern’s lead to four at 32-26 with 3:57 to play in the half. The Spartans outscored the Eagles 7-2 over the next two minutes, cutting the Eagle lead to one, 34-33, with 1:10 remaining. A three point play by Ricky Hickman gave the Spartans their first lead of the game, 36-34, with one minute until the break. UNCG took a four point lead into the break after another Hickman three point play with two seconds on the clock.
Nesbitt led all scorers at the break with 15 while Tobias added 13. Hickman and Hines each had 11 for the Spartans. The Eagles shot 37.5 percent in the opening half while UNCG shot 53.3 percent. Georgia Southern hit four three pointers in the first half and shot 77.8 percent from the charity stripe.
After a three pointer by Oleksiak to start the half, Georgia Southern responded, swiping two passes and Nesbitt scoring four points off the UNCG mishaps, making it a one point game, 42-41 with 17:31 remaining in the game. Sean Olivier’s jumper at the 17:10 mark put the Eagles back on top at 43-42. A three point play by Louis Graham extended the Eagle lead to three at 46-43. Back to back baskets by Nesbitt put the Eagles up nine at 59-50 with 11:34 on the clock. A Donte Gennie jumper at the 11:10 mark gave the Eagles an 11 point lead, their largest lead of the second half. UNCG went on a 8-1 run over the next two minutes put the Spartans within four at 62-58 with 8:18 remaining in the game. Georgia Southern answered, scoring eight straight and increasing its lead to 10, 72-62 with 3:32 to play. The two teams traded free throws over the final two minutes as Georgia Southern held on for the 86-78 win.
Nesbitt led all scorers with 36, including 11-of-12 from the charity stripe. With his 36 points tonight, he became just the 7th Eagle to reach the 1,500 scoring mark in his career. Graham pulled down a career-high 16 rebounds en route to his second double-double of the season as he added 13 points. He also moved into third all-time in GSU history in blocks, with four on the night. Tobias finished with a career high 17 points.
Hickman led the Spartans with 26 points, marking the 19th straight game he has scored double figures and the 16th straight with a three-pointer. Hines tallied a double-double, scoring 22 points and pulling down 13 rebounds. Oleksiak added 10 points.
The Eagles will return to Hanner Fieldhouse on Monday, Jan. 30 as they host Elon. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.
The game will be broadcast on 106.5 FM and 107.3 FM in Statesboro, with the pre-game show with Georgia Southern play-by-play announcer Ricky Ray and color analyst Frank Kerns beginning at 7:15 p.m.