CHATTANOOGA TOPS PRAIRIE VIEW IN LAS VEGAS INVITATIONAL, 79-66
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA--Kevin Bridgewaters scored a career high 21 points, 16 in the second half, to lead Chattanooga to a 79-66 win over Prairie View in the final round of the Las Vegas International.
The Mocs held the slimmest of leads 29-28 at the halftime intermission. With 16:16 remaining the Chattanooga lead was three. Bridgewaters scored half of the Mocs’ next 22 points over the next 10 minutes to expand the lead to 61-54. The Panthers closed to 68-63 with 4:51 remaining, but would be held scoreless until 15 seconds remained and the game was no longer in doubt. The resulting 11-0 run would salt the game away for the Mocs (3-3).
Casey Long and Nicchaeus Doaks were the only other Mocs in double figures with 12 and 10, respectively. Doaks added 12 rebounds to record the first UTC double-double of the season and the second of his career.
Chattanooga was 28-of-36 from the free throw line and held the rebounding edge 42-35.
The Mocs will return to Chattanooga to face Berea on November 30.
EAGLES DOMINATE EARLY, COAST TO 70-41 VICTORY
STATESBORO, GA. --- Georgia Southern dominated the first half, jumped out to an 18-2 lead, and coasted the rest of the way to earn a 70-41 victory over Winston-Salem State Saturday night at Hanner Fieldhouse.
Georgia Southern improves to 2-2 on the season and takes a day off before traveling to Mercer Monday night for a 7 p.m. tip-off. Winston-Salem State falls to 1-7.
Both teams struggled out of the gate, combining for seven turnovers and just eight points in the first 4:24. But the Eagles turned it on after the first media timeout, scoring 12 straight points. In the game-opening run, the Eagles had six different players score, including seven from senior Donte Gennie (Tallahassee, Fla.).
Georgia Southern held Winston-Salem State without a field goal for a nine-minute stretch as the Rams missed nine consecutive shots and committed five turnovers. Curtis Hines finally stopped the run with a trey at the 9:28 mark to make the score 18-5.
Up 24-9 with 4:33 remaining in the half, Georgia Southern scored eight straight points, capped off with two free throws from sophomore Anthony Marshall (Lake Worth, Fla.). Junior Ryan Hynes (Paso Robles, Calif.) converted an old-fashioned three-point play with just under four minutes left, and then converted a WSSU turnover into a lay-up.
Gennie gave the Eagles a 34-11 advantage with two seconds left, but Roy Peake fed Jamal Durham with an 80-foot pass to beat the buzzer for a 34-13 halftime score.
GSU shot 48.1 percent (13-27) from the floor in the first half and held WSSU to 5-of-25 shooting (20.0%).
Gennie led all scorers with nine points at the break.
The second half was more of the same as the Eagles put up the first five points on the board, courtesy of a 3 from junior Dwayne Foreman (Apopka, Fla.) and a lay-up by senior Jimmy Tobias (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.).
A Tobias jumper put GSU up 30, 54-24, with 11:38 remaining and led by no fewer than 22 the rest of the way.
Gennie finished with a game-high 13 points on 4-of-8 shooting, including 2-of-4 from 3-point land, and Tobias added 11. Junior Louis Graham (West Palm Beach, Fla.) grabbed nine boards and blocked two shots. Foreman dished out a game-best six assists.
Peake led the Rams with nine points and four assists.
The Eagles extended their streak of 26 straight home-opening wins and 19 straight non-conference home victories. The last time GSU lost a home-opener was Nov. 29, 1980, an 88-87 overtime decision to Austin Peay. The 70 points scored by Georgia Southern was the fewest in a home-opener since totaling 68 against Brewton-Parker in 1994.
WAKE FOREST HOLDS OFF APPALACHIAN STATE 88-78
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - D.J. Thompson scored 25 points, including 11 of the Mountaineers last 15, but it wasn't enough to hand Wake Forest its first loss of the season as the Demon Deacons prevailed 88-78 Saturday afternoon.
Kyle Visser had 17 points and 10 to lead WFU with Ishmael Smith adding 14 points and eight assists
Eduardo Bermudez had 16 points and Demetrius Scott 13 for Appalachian State, which rallied from an 18-point deficit in the first half and made it a game early in the second.
Skeen scored 12 points in the first half, with his layup with 7:24 left in the half putting the Demon Deacons up 28-10. But the Mountaineers fought back, outscoring Wake Forest 13-6 in the final 3:46 and trailed 44-35 at the break.
Bermudez scored 10 points in the opening 6 minutes of the second half, including a 3-pointer with 14:08 left that pulled Appalachian State to 57-52. But Hale's jumper and a three-point play by Shamaine Dukes pushed the Demon Deacons' lead back into double digits.
The Mountaineers managed to pull within six points late in the half, cutting Wake Forest's lead to 84-78 on Thompson's 3-pointer with 45 seconds left. But the Demon Deacons closed out the game by hitting 4-of-6 from the line.
Bermudez made his first start for the Apps' this season after scoring a career-high 21 points on Monday while Davis Bowne made his first career start and pieced together an excellent game, finishing with eight points and matching a game high with 10 boards.
ASU will return to action on Monday when it hosts Campbell at 7 p.m. in the Holmes Center
VANDERBILT DOWNS ELON, 81-70
NASHVILLE, TENN.- Ross Neltner posted a career-high 18 points while Dan Cage and Shan Foster each added 17 as Vanderbilt (1-2) took an 81-70 victory over visiting Elon (1-3) at Memorial Gymnasium on Saturday night.
JeJuan Brown registered 10 points for the Commodores while Derrick Byars lead the squad with eight rebounds and seven assists. The Commodores shot 50 percent from the field and 41.7 percent from behind the arc, including a 6-for-12 performance in the first half.
LeVonn Jordan scored 26 points, which included 22 in the second half for the second straight game. Jordan also led the team with eight rebounds. Brett James added 14 points for the Phoenix while Ola Atoyebi posted 12 points. Brian Waters led the squad with six rebounds. Elon finished the game shooting 43.4 percent from the floor, 31.8 percent from three-point range and 100 percent (11-for-11) from the line.
Vanderbilt jumped out to a 6-0 lead behind two quick three-pointers from Cage, and cruised to a 41-21 halftime lead. The Commodores shot 51.6 percent from the field in the first half while Elon posted just a 28.6 shooting percentage and 16.7 percent from long range.
The Commodores stretched the lead to 24 early in the second half after Foster was fouled on a dunk and hit two free throws.
The Phoenix kept the lead in the teens throughout most of the rest of the evening, swinging between a 17 and 13-point defecit. But Elon would get no closer than the 11-point final margin, finishing the game on an 11-5 run in the final four minutes.
Elon returns to action on Tuesday night in a 7 p.m. home contest with Virginia Commonwealth. Vanderbilt will host Furman on Tuesday night in an 8 p.m. game.
THE CITADEL CLAIMS ANOTHER HOME WIN AGAINST ASBURY, 81-60
CHARLESTON, S.C. – Junior forward Demetrius Nelson recorded a career-high 23 points to lead the Bulldogs to an 81-60 win over Asbury on Friday, Nov. 24 at McAlister Field House. Before a crowd of 1,053, The Citadel Basketball broke their five-game losing streak by recording their second consecutive win at home.
“Well, we did shoot a little better today,” Conroy said about his team that hit 30-of-62 baskets for 48.4 percent. “However, I was more pleased with our shot selection in the second half.”
The Bulldogs, who came out a little sluggish in the first half after a five-game road trip that ended on Wednesday, only held a six-point lead over the Eagles at the half, but returned in the second to shoot 56.7 percent from the field. Senior guard Donny McLendon, who ended the game with 22 points, hit four three-pointers in the second half, totaling six for the game, while sophomore guard Vytautas Valiulis hit three from long range in the first period, both contributing to The Citadel’s 11-of-28 attempts for 39.3 percent, a season high.
“I have an excellent staff and they have worked hard since the first day on all the fundamentals of basketball. It has not always shown up in our shooting but some like Donny and Vytautas have come a long way and I feel like others are on the verge,” Conroy added.
Leading Asbury off the bench was Michael Spann with 15 points, two assists and one steal, while starting guard Derek Bland contributed 14 points.
Forward Brandon Fentress totaled 10 points and led the Eagles with eight boards.
The Citadel was outrebounded by Asbury 30-24, but recorded 11 steals and forced 21 turnovers that resulted in 23 Bulldog points. Three players led The Citadel with six boards, including senior forward J’Mel Everhart, Nelson and senior guard Kevin Hammack, who also recorded 11 points, four assists and five steals.
The Bulldogs improved to 2-5 overall and will play their second of a four-game home stretch against the University of South Carolina on Monday, Nov. 27 at 7:05 p.m.
NORTH DAKOTA STATE EDGES FURMAN, 60-58
FARGO, N.D. -- North Dakota State’s Mike Nelson converted three free throws and Ben Woodside added another in the final 2:15 to lift the Bison to a 60-58 come-from-behind victory over Furman in men’s basketball action Wednesday evening at the Bison Sports Arena.
Trailing by two points with 2:13 remaining, Nelson drew a foul from Furman’s Gerad Punch and buried both free throw to tie the game for the third time since the five minute mark. Following an offensive rebound, Woodside was fouled by Eric Webb. The sophomore sunk the back end of the two-shot fouled to put the Bison ahead 59-58 with 1:27 left.
After Furman failed to score on its next two possessions, Nelson netted the front end of a two-shot opportunity with eight seconds remaining to stretch the lead to two. Furman grabbed Nelson’s miss on the second free throw. Jadee Jones penetrated down the right side, missed a shot and saw his tip-in attempt go wide as time expired. The Paladins, who led by as many as 11 points in the second half, failed to score in the 2:23.
Senior Andre Smith led the Bison with 24 points, 15 in the second half, and 11 rebounds. Brett Winkleman added 13 and Nelson chipped in 12 as North Dakota State out shot Furman from the field 46% (23-50) to 33.9% (21-62).
“I hope we learn from this experience,” said Furman coach Jeff Jackson. “ We need to become a more consistent and mentally tougher team. We had a few good looks there at the end of the game. Sometimes they go down and sometimes they don’t.”
Moussa Diagne guided Furman with a career-high 27 points. The senior from Senegal was 10-for-15 from the field, including 2-for-3 beyond the arc.
He connected on all five of his free throw attempts in 28 minutes of action.
Webb also reached double figures with 11 points, but shot just 1-for-6 from three-point range. Leading scorer Robby Bostain totaled just nine points on 2-for-13 shooting from the field.
Furman was out-rebounded 42-34 and scored only six second chance points despite grabbing 16 offensive rebounds.
The Paladins jumped out to a 33-24 halftime lead despite shooting 36.4% from the field and making 2-of-10 three-point attempts. Stanley Jones made a short jumper to start the half and give the Paladins a 35-24 lead, but NDSU went on a 13-2 run to tie the game at 37-37 with 13:39 left. The Bison (2-2) shot 53.8% (14-26) in the final 20 minutes while limiting Furman to 31% (9-29).
Furman, now 3-2 on the season, returns to action next Tuesday when it visits Vanderbilt in Memorial Gym at 8:00 p.m. ET.
JAMES MADISON 78, WOFFORD 74
HARRISONBURG, VA – Juwann James scored 20 points and grabbed a game-high eight rebounds as James Madison snapped Wofford’s four-game winning streak with a
78-74 win at the Convocation Center on the JMU campus.
The game featured 19 lead changes, 18 in a tightly played first half. Wofford (4-2) forged a 39-38 lead at the intermission behind 11 points from Shane Nichols. James had 14 points for the Dukes in the first half.
JMU’s Colbey Santos hit a fastbreak layup just 30 seconds into the second half to pull the Dukes in front 40-39 and they were able to hold the lead for the remainder of the game. James Madison (2-2) built as much as 14 point lead at 64-50 following a pair of James free throws with 9:55 to play in the game.
Wofford put on a furious rally in the closing minutes and was able to close the margin to two points but could never regain the lead.
The Terriers trailed by 11 at 73-62 with 3:41 remaining. Tyler Whatley, who scored a career-best 12 points, hit a short jumper with 3:31 left to cut the lead to nine. Matt O’Connor drained a three-pointer with 3:19 left to pull the Terriers within six. A pair of free throws by Shane Nichols with 2:35 remaining got the Terriers within four at 73-69.
Eric Marshall scored on a hard-driving layup with 1:24 to play and the Terriers were down by two at 73-71.
JMU’s Joe Posey hit a pair of free throws with 28 seconds left to give the Dukes a 76-71 lead. Nichols missed a three with 11.4 seconds left and Posey was fouled and hit two more free throws for a 77-71 lead.
Nichols drained a three with just five seconds left to bring Wofford within three points at 77-74. Pierre Curtis hit one of two free throws with 4.8 seconds remaining to account for the final score, 78-74.
James led all scorers with 20 points and eight boards. Nichols finished with 18 points for Wofford while Whatley added 12 and Marshall finished with 11.
Wofford committed 18 turnovers in the game.
The Terriers will open Southern Conference play Monday night when they travel to UNC Greensboro.
DUKE 75, DAVIDSON 47
DURHAM, N.C. --- Sophomore Josh McRoberts led four players in double figures with 14 points and grabbed nine rebounds to pace the No. 9 Duke Blue Devils to a 75-47 victory over Davidson at Cameron Indoor Stadium Saturday evening.
With the win Duke improves to 5-1 on the season, while the Wildcats fall to 4-3.
McRoberts was joined by freshmen Jon Scheyer, Brian Zoubek and Gerald Henderson for Duke in double digits, as the trio contributed 14, 12 and 10 points, respectively.
Jason Richards was the lone Davidson player to reach the 10-point mark as the junior point guard scored 17 to go along with five assists. The native of Barrington, Ill., knocked down 8-of-17 from the floor in 40 minutes of action for the Wildcats.
Duke shot 52.5 percent (24-46) overall and drilled 5-of-9 from deep to finish at 55.6 percent, compared to 28.6 percent (18-63) and 15.8 percent (3-19) from three-point range for the Wildcats.
The Blue Devils took advantage of Davidson foul trouble in the opening half with a couple of lengthy runs to grab a 32-18 lead at the break. Four of the Wildcats¹ five starters committed two fouls each in the first 20 minutes of action.
Duke didn't shoot well from the charity stripe on the evening, but hit 12 more free throws than the Wildcats attempted. The Blue Devils were 22-of-34 on freebies, while Davidson missed just two of its 10 attempts.
After a pair of free throws by Davidson's William Archambault cut the deficit to just three (11-8), Duke went on an 11-2 streak to stretch the game to 22-10 with 6:24 left in the half. Following an Archambault three-point play, the Blue Devils closed out the remaining 4:42 of the period with a 10-3 run to grab their largest margin of the first.
A Thomas Sander bucket with 17:33 left made it a 37-25 contest, but the Wildcats were unable to inch closer as Duke extended its lead to as many as 30 on two separate occasions.
The Blue Devils held a 41-34 edge in rebounding, though the 'Cats grabbed 16 offensive rebounds to Duke's 12. Davidson's Andrew Lovedale led all-players with 10 rebounds and scored a career-high nine points off of the bench.
Davidson will begin its Southern Conference slate in a 7 p.m. home contest with the Elon Phoenix on Friday, Dec. 1. Duke returns to action in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge entertaining Indiana at 9 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 28.