Western Carolina 82, The Citadel 63
CULLOWHEE, N.C. --- After a 1-for-14 shooting performance two night ago in a loss at Dayton, Western Carolina junior guard Antonio Russell scored 21 points, making 9-of-12 shots from the field and 3-of-4 from 3-point range, and dished out a career-high seven assists to lead the Catamounts (5-4, 2-0 Southern Conference) to an 82-63 victory over The Citadel (2-8, 0-2 SoCon) Monday night at the Ramsey Activity Center.
Overall, Western, who shot 59.6 percent from the field and 57.1 percent from 3-point range, had four players in double figures as the Catamounts were coming off a four-game road swing and ended a three-game losing streak. In addition to Russell, freshman Nick Aldridge scored 19 points, making 7-of-8 field goal attempts, and pulled down seven rebounds, while Negus McKenna contributed 14 points off the bench and junior Arnold Gore added 13 points.
The Catamounts additionally dominated the boards, holding a 34-21 advantage, while handing out 23 assists on its 31 made baskets with six players having at least two helpers.
“I think Antonio (Russell) played very unselfishly and making great decisions,” said WCU head coach Larry Hunter. “He is playing his best basketball since I’ve been here. Also, Negus (McKenna) provided a spark offensively, while Brigham (Waginger) brought energy, especially on the defensive end.”
The Citadel was led by 22 points from Kevin Hammack and 15 from Donny McLendon.
Western Carolina scored the first four points of the game, but The Citadel answered with a 13-3 run to take a six point lead. Midway through the first half, the Catamounts caught fire from 3-point range, making four straight from beyond the arc, including two from McKenna, during a 14-3 WCU run giving the Cats a lead it would not relinquish the remainder of the contest.
The Citadel was able to keep the contest close over the next several minutes, but 3-pointers by McKenna, Russell and Aldridge pushed Western’s lead to 11 (33-22) at the 5:07 mark. Demetrius Nelson answered with a layup to cut the Bulldog deficit back to single digits, but Western closed the first half with a 7-0 run, including a layup by Russell with six seconds left, to lead 40-24 at the break.
The Citadel came out in the second half and tried to control the tempo by working the shot clock, keeping a manageable deficit. Holding a 12-point cushion (60-48) with 11:25 left in the contest, Western started to gain separation, starting with a Waginger 3-pointer. Over the next three minutes, the Cats pushed their advantage to 22 and were able to cruise the rest of the way. Western’s largest lead of 25 points, came at the 4:32 mark on a Russell layup.
McKenna, who missed a season high by just two points, was 5-of-6 from the field, including 4-of-5 from 3-point range. For the Bulldogs, Bryan Streeter contributed nine points, making all four field goal attempts, and had a team-high five rebounds.
Western Carolina will return to action this Thursday (Dec. 18), hosting the College of Charleston at 7:00 pm. The Citadel stays on the road to face West Virginia on Dec. 20 at 7:00 pm.
DAVIDSON 92, CHATTANOOGA 80
CHATTANOOGA, TENN. ? The backcourt trio of Stephen Curry, Max Paulhus Gosselin and Jason Richards combined for 71 points to lead the Davidson Wildcats to their fifth straight victory in a 92-80 triumph at SoCon foe Chattanooga Monday evening at The McKenzie Arena. The victory for Davidson was just their third against the Mocs on their home court in 18 tries as the Wildcats remained unbeaten in league play at 3-0 and improved to 9-3 overall. Chattanooga fell to 5-6 and 0-2 in conference play.
The freshman Curry led all players with 30 points by draining 11-of-21 from the floor, including 6-of-13 from long range. The shooting guard also grabbed 11 rebounds for his first career double-double.
Richards contributed 19 points, one shy of his career high, with 17 points and all three of his trifectas coming in the final 10 minutes. Entering the game second in the nation with 8.3 assists per game, the point guard dished out nine more, plus hauled in eight rebounds to nearly register a triple-double.
The surprising scoring outburst came from Paulhus Gosselin, who poured in a career-high 22 points, including 4-of-5 from behind the arc. The offensive output was a surprise because the sophomore was averaging just 5.1 points a game and had hit just three three-pointers all season.
Chattanooga held a two-point advantage at the break, 42-40, and doubled that following a Marcus Watts layup a couple minutes into the second half. But Curry drilled a three, and junior Thomas Sander dropped a trey in to tie the score at 50. Another three-pointer by Curry on the next possession gave Davidson an advantage it never relinquished.
The lead, however, remained between one and five points until Richards took over the majority of the scoring. His three-pointer with 9:33 to play, followed by a Curry trey, put the Wildcats up seven, 67-60. Then with 6:42 on the clock, Richards’ three-point play boosted the lead to 11 at 75-64. Twice Keddric Mays dropped in three-pointers for the Mocs, only to have Richards answer with a long ball each time, maintaining the 11-point bulge.
Chattanooga had one last gasp, cutting the deficit to three at 83-80 with 2:55 to play after a driving layup by Kevin Bridgewaters. Richards had the answer again, however, dropping in five of six from the charity stripe over the next minute of play, while the Mocs could not score another point.
The hot shooting of Paulhus Gosselin helped the Wildcats jump out to an early lead which reached as many as 10 in the opening stanza. Of Davidson’s first 25 points, 16 came from Paulhus Gosselin as he nailed his first four shots from downtown.
The Mocs battled back, taking one-point leads on three occasions before Mays canned a three-pointer with 10 seconds left in the half for the 42-40 UTC lead at the intermission.
Three-point shooting dominated the game as Davidson hit 14-of-32 (.438) from beyond the arc and Chattanooga was even more accurate at 13-of-28 (.464). Inside the arc was another story as the Wildcats held the Mocs under 40 percent overall (27-of-68, .397) for the game while shooting 46.4 percent (32-of-69) themselves. Davidson topped 50 percent in the second half, hitting 8-of-14 threes (.471) and 18-of-34 overall (.529).
The Wildcats next play at the Arizona State Hoops Classic on Thursday, Dec. 21 at 9 p.m. (MST) against the Ohio Bobcats. The following day they will play either host Arizona State or North Carolina A&T. Chattanooga returns to the hardwood Thursday as well when King College comes to The McKenzie Arena. Tip is slated for 7:30 p.m.
COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON 70, COASTAL CAROLINA 49
CONWAY, S.C. --- David Lawrence scored 17 points while Marcus Hammond added 11 as the College of Charleston cruised to a 70-49 win over Coastal Carolina before 2,637 at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center on Monday. David Lawrence scored 17 points while Marcus Hammond added 11 as the College of Charleston cruised to a 70-49 win over Coastal Carolina before 2,637 at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center on Monday.
Charleston improved to 5-6 with the win. The Chanticleers fell to 4-5. Charleston plays at Western Carolina at 7:00 on Thursday.
The Cougars, who outrebounded Coastal 45-22, got a game-high 13 rebounds from Jermaine Johnson and eight from Josh Jackson off the bench.
The Cougars shot a season-high 50.0 percent from the floor connecting on 27-of-54 attempts. Coastal Carolina shot just 32.7 percent (17-52) from floor including just 3-of-16 from behind the arc.
Coastal Carolina got a team-high 14 points from Moses Sonko. Dontaye Draper had a game-high seven assists for the Cougars.