FURMAN 70, VANDERBILT 62
NASHVILLE, TENN. --- Eric Webb and Gerad Punch each scored 13 points to lead four Paladins in double figures as Furman toppled Vanderbilt 70-62 Tuesday evening at Memorial Gym in Nashville, Tenn.
Trailing 46-40 in the second half, Furman outscored Vanderbilt 30-16 over the final 12 minutes to grab its first victory over an Southeastern Conference opponent since downing South Carolina during the 1979-80 season. It was Vanderbilt's first loss to a Southern Conference school since 1968.
"Our seniors really carried us," said Furman coach Jeff Jackson. "They provided a lot of toughness and we were able to catch Vanderbilt on an off shooting night."
Alex Opacic capped a 9-2 spurt to start the second half run by draining a three-pointer from the right wing to give Furman a 49-48 lead with 9:43 left. With the Paladins leading 58-57 after the final media timeout, Eric Webb buried a trey to up the Furman lead to four. After two Commodores free throws, Diagne answered with a jumper. Furman then hit 5-of-7 free throws over the final 2:23 to build a nine point lead on its way to victory.
Bostain and Stanley Jones joined Webb and Punch in double figures with 11. The Paladins shot a season-high 50% (27-54) from the floor while limiting Vanderbilt to 41.3% (26-63). The Paladins held a 35-30 edge on the boards led by Diagne's game-high 12 rebounds.
Furman raced out to a 22-11 lead in the first half, but the Commodores put together a 21-6 spurt to grab a 32-28 halftime lead.
Forward Ross Neltner led Vanderbilt with 12 points. Dan Cage added 11 and JeJuan Brown chipped in 10 on 4-of-5 shooting.
Furman, 4-2, returns home Saturday to host Big South Conference foe UNC Asheville at Timmons Arena. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m.
KENTUCKY 77, COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON 61
LEXINGTON, KY. --- Senior Dontaye Draper’s 15 points and freshman Tony White, Jr.’s career-high 12 points were not enough, as the College of Charleston drops its game against Kentucky, 77-61, before 22,477 spectators at Rupp Arena on Tuesday evening.
The loss ends Charleston’s two-game winning streak and the Cougars’ record now stands at 3-3. The win improves Kentucky’s record to 4-2.
Randolph Morris led the Wildcats in scoring and rebounds by netting 17 points and gaining eight rebounds. Joe Crawford and Perry Stevenson also scored in double figures for Kentucky with 15 points and 14 points each. Overall, Kentucky shot over 47% from the field and outrebounded CofC, 49-41.
Senior Philip McCandies had his third double-figure rebounding game of the season by notching 11 rebounds and junior Konimba Diarra grabbed a career-high six rebounds. Charleston was able to recover from a sluggish first half by converting 16 field-goals, including five three-pointers, and nine free throws in the second half.
Overall, CofC shot over 31% from the field, made six three-pointers and converted nine free throws.
The Cougars will return to action on Nov. 30, when they face Charleston Southern at the North Charleston Coliseum. Tip-off will be at 7:30 p.m.
VCU 91, ELON 49
ELON, N.C. Virginia Commonwealth never trailed, sprinting to a 91-49 non-conference men?s basketball victory over Elon Tuesday night at Alumni Gym. All 11 Rams scored, including five in double figures.
VCU (4-2) exploded to a 22-0 lead on a lay-up by Sam Faulk with 11:56 remaining in the first half. Ola Atoyebi hit a jumper to put the Phoenix (1-4) on the scoreboard with 11:24 to play in the period.
A jumper by Brian Waters and an old school three-point play by Adam Constantine cut the deficit to 22-7 with 9:33 left before the break. The Rams responded to Elon?s 7-0 run with a 23-9 run of their own, stretching their lead to 45-16 on a dunk by Calvin Roland with 48 seconds to go in the opening stanza.
VCU scored 22 of the second period?s first 32 points, turning its 45-19 halftime advantage into a 67-27 cushion on a lay-up by Jamal Shuler with 14:12 to play in the contest. The Rams never looked back, leading by 31 to 42 points throughout the remainder of the evening.
Firing 56.5 percent (35 of 62) from the floor, including 53.8 percent (7 of 13) from three-point land, the Rams claimed commanding advantages in points in the paint (52-14), points off turnovers (26-9), second chance points (15-7) and bench points (37-16). VCU connected on 77.8 percent (14 of 18) of its attempts from the free throw line.
The Rams also fashioned an edge in both assists (17-8) and steals (10-5). VCU won the battle of the boards by a 39-28 margin and committed just nine turnovers to 20 miscues by the Phoenix.
Elon shot 33.3 percent (16 of 48) from the field overall, 26.3 percent (5 of 19) beyond the arc and 60.0 percent (12 of 20) behind the charity stripe.
Eric Maynor (15 points, six rebounds, seven assists), B.A. Walker (14 points, two blocked shots), T.J. Gwynn (13 points, five assists, three steals), Jesse Pellot-Rosa (11 points), Michael Anderson (10 points) and Roland (eight pints, six rebounds) all turned in solid performances for the Rams. Elon?s Devan Carter (19 points, four assists) led all scorers.
The Phoenix will enter Southern Conference play with a visit to Davidson at 7 p.m. Friday. VCU hosts Houston at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.