UNC GREENSBORO 68, GEORGIA SOUTHERN 47
STATESBORO, GA. ? Georgia Southern went 14:37 without a field goal in the second half and UNCG went on a 32-4 run in the span on its way to a 68-47 win Saturday in men's basketball action at Hanner FIeldhouse.
As the Spartans switched to their 2-3 match-up zone, the Eagles (6-6, 0-2 SoCon) missed 17 consecutive shots from the floor and were just two of six at the line in the drought. The win was UNCG’s fourth win in a row and sixth in the Spartans’ last eight games after an 0-4 start.
All-American candidate Kyle Hines tied a school-record with his 27th career double-double, leading the way with 20 points and 13 rebounds. It was Hines 33rd consecutive game scoring in double digits, extending his school record. In the course of the streak, it was the 16th time that Hines has scored 20 or more points.
UNCG freshman Mikko Koivisto scored 13 of his 16 points in the second half, tying his season high for points, to spark UNCG’s comeback. Senior guard Ricky Hickman added 18 points.
Georgia Southern was led by Donte Gennie’s 17 points, 13 of those coming in the first half.
“This is a good win for us, as it is whenever you win on the road in the conference,” said UNCG coach Mike Dement. “They missed shots and it just snowballed on them. It has happened to us a couple of times this year. You miss a few, then another and another - and you can see the look on their faces. We’ve been there. Those are shots that will fall for those guys ? Foreman and Gennie in particular.”
The 21-point loss was Georgia Southern’s worst at home since January 31, 1998. It was the Eagles’ worst home loss under coach Jeff Price.
In the first 14 minutes of the contest, neither team was able to breakaway as the margin never got to more than five. Using the three-point line, Georgia Southern opened things up in the latter part of the first half by knocking down six of its first nine from behind the line.
The Eagles had opened up a five-point lead, 17-12, but a conventional three-point play by Hines tied the scored, 17-17, with 8:26 to play in the half to cap a 5-0 mini-run. But the Eagles answered with an 11-3 spurt of their own, capped off by Dwayne Foreman’s three-pointer from the right wing, to open up a 28-20 lead with 5:35 left in the half.
UNCG, which made just 3-of-8 from the foul line in the first half, nibbled at the lead a couple of times before the intermission, but went to the locker room trailing by six, 35-29.
UNCG (6-6, 3-1) slowly pecked away in the second half, then shifted into high gear. The Spartans used a monsterous 31-4 run to regain the lead and pull away. The Spartans held Georgia Southern to just one field goal in a span of nearly 16 minutes and more than 14 minutes without a bucket. Koivisto’s three-pointer with 12:07 to play gave UNCG its first lead since the opening minutes of the game, 44-43. Koivisto sparked the run as he accounted for eight of UNCG’s first 12 points in the run.
The Spartans continued to pull away from there as Georgia Southern couldn’t make a shot from the floor, and struggled from the free throw line as well. By the time the Eagles’ Louis Graham knocked down a three-pointer at the 1:49 mark, the Spartans’ lead had already hit 20.
Georgia Southern shot just 4-for-25 from the floor in the pivotal second half.
UNCG returns to action on Tuesday when it visits North Carolina State for a 7 pm game that will be televised by ESPNU.
COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON 71, FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON 67
CHARLESTON, S.C. ? Josh Jackson scored 19 points while teammate Philip McCandies added 10 points and 11 rebounds as the College of Charleston edged Fairleigh Dickinson, 71-67, in the championship game of the College of Charleston Holiday Classic before 2,448 at John Kresse Arena on Saturday.
The Cougars improved to 9-6 with their sixth consecutive win. FDU is 6-6.
Charleston sprinted out to a 33-17 lead with 5:22 left in the half on a jumper by tournament MVP David Lawrence. FDU closed the half on a 12-4 run to cut the margin to 37-29 at intermission.
The Cougars rallied from a four-point deficit with 11:41 left to grab the lead for good on a jumper by Jackson with 7:56 remaining for a 54-52 lead.
Lawrence added 13 points and seven rebounds, Draper had 11 points and seven assists and Marcus Hammond added 13 points and six boards.
FDU was led by Andre Harris’ game-high 23 points and a game-high nine assists from teammate Cameron Tyler.
The Cougars play at Davidson on Saturday, January 6 at 7:00 p.m.
The All-Tournament team included: George Hill (IUPUI), Chris Oliver (Radford), Andre Harris (FDU), Philip McCandies (CofC), Dontaye Draper (CofC). MVP, David Lawrence (CofC).
FURMAN 83, MERCER 69
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Sophomore Jadee Jones paced five Paladins in double figures with a career-high 18 points to lead Furman to an 83-69 victory over Mercer before 1,206 Saturday afternoon at Timmons Arena.
Jones connected on 6-of-10 field goal attempts, including 5-of-9 from beyond the arc, as the Paladins shot 56.7% (34-60) from the field.
Furman, who led wire-to-wire, opened up a 48-35 halftime lead shooting 67.7% (21-31) from floor and 6-of-9 from three-point range in the opening 20 minutes.
“I thought we were very good offensively, but I’m a little concerned about our defense,” said Furman head coach Jeff Jackson. “I’m not sure we are doing everything we need to do defensively from a team standpoint. That said, I’m happy with the win.”
Mercer (5-7) stayed within striking distance by shooting 57.7% for the game. Guard Shaddean Aaron led the Bears with a game-high 25 points on
11-of-14 shooting from the field. Calvin Henry netted 11 and Sam Dolan and James Florence each added 10 points in the loss.
Mercer began the second half on an 8-2 run to trim the Paladin lead to
50-43 with 17:49 remaining. Furman answered with an 11-4 run of its on to up the advantage to 77-63 and put the game out of reach with 4:49 left.
Robby Bostain joined Jones in double figures with 16 points and seven assists. Gerad Punch tied a career-high with 15 points while grabbing a game-high eight rebounds. Moussa Diagne scored 14 points on 7-of-9 shooting and Alex Opacic tallied 11 points to round out Furman’s double figure scorers. Eric Webb added 10 assists for Furman.
The Paladins held a 28-21 edge in rebounding and got 34 points from its bench. With the victory, Furman finishes the non-conference portion of its schedule at 6-5.
Furman, 6-6 overall and 0-1 in league action, returns to Southern Conference play when it hosts Chattanooga in a 7:00 p.m. contest Wednesday at Timmons Arena.
DAVIDSON 71, WESTERN MICHIGAN 64
DAVIDSON, N.C. ? Freshman Stephen Curry scored a game-high 23 points, and Davidson survived a second half in which it managed just six field goals to hold off visiting Western Michigan on Saturday night, 71-64. The victory was the eighth straight for the Wildcats as they improved to 12-3 on the season. Western Michigan fell to 4-8 in dropping its fourth in five games.
More than half of Curry’s 23 points came from the free throw line, where he converted all 13 of his foul shots. He struggled from the floor, however, as did the entire Wildcat squad. Curry hit just 4-of-17 (.231) field goals while Davidson as a team shot just 33.3 percent (19-of-57), including a dismal 21.4 percent (6-of-28) in the second half.
The Wildcats enjoyed a 14-point lead entering the second half, 40-26, but the Broncos whittled away at the deficit. Freshman David Kool stroked a trio of trifectas in the first six minutes of the final half to get Western Michigan within six points at 46-40.
The lead remained between four and nine points for the next seven minutes until Curry hit his only second-half field goal, a three-pointer, to give Davidson a 59-49 advantage with 7:07 to play. That would be the final field goal of the game for the ’Cats.
A Kool layup and a three-pointer from Derek Fracalossi got WMU within four, 60-56. The Broncos also got a three-pointer by Michael Redell and a three-point play by Kool to cut the lead to just two points with 2:11 on the clock, 64-62.
After the two teams traded a pair of free throws, the Wildcats missed a three-pointer, giving Western Michigan its first chance to tie the game or take the lead since the first half. But sophomore Max Paulhus Gosselin came up with a big steal to thwart the opportunity.
Point guard Jason Richards hit one of his two free throws after being fouled, so the Broncos had one more chance. Stout defensive pressure forced a difficult shot from behind the arc, and Davidson corralled the rebound. Curry and Thomas Sander each drained a pair of free throws seal the victory.
The Wildcats hit 11-of-12 free throws in the final 3:13 and 28-of-33 (.848) for the game, while Western Michigan went to the line just six times, converting five. On the boards, the Broncos had a sizeable advantage, 43-29, which was negated by turnovers as they committed 26 to just 10 for Davidson. The Wildcats converted those 26 turnovers into 27 points.
In the opening half, a Derek Fracalossi jumper gave WMU a 26-25 lead with 6:36 on the clock. Davidson finished the opening stanza, however, on a 15-0 run, with eight of those points provided by Curry.
Other scoring leaders for the Wildcats were Richards with 11 and Sander with 10, while Richards also led the team with six rebounds and six assists.
Kool and center Joe Reitz each contributed 14 points, and Reitz also hauled in 15 boards for a double-double.
Davidson concludes a brief two-game homestand next Saturday. Jan. 6, when it hosts College of Charleston in a Southern Conference game at 7 p.m. Western Michigan returns home to host Culver-Stockton on Tuesday, Jan. 2 at 7 p.m.
APPALACHIAN STATE 73, VCU 70
RICHMOND, VA. ? Virginia Commonwealth University had four players in double figures, led by sophomore guard Eric Maynor’s (Fayetteville, N.C./Westover) game-high 27 points, but Appalachian State University overcame a 17-point second-half deficit to defeat VCU, 73-70, Saturday night at the Alltel Pavilion at the Stuart C. Siegel Center.
VCU (9-3) and Appalachian State (11-3) traded field goals to start the game as the Rams opened with an early 8-6 advantage, but the Mountaineers would use an 11-5 run over the next five minutes to take a four-point lead at 17-13. The Rams would answer with a 19-8 run of their own to build the largest lead of the first half, seven points, at 32-25 with 1:32 remaining. Appalachian State scored the final four points of the period as VCU took a 32-29 advantage into the locker room. Maynor and freshman forward T.J. Gwynn (Burlington, N.C./Cummings) led VCU with eight first-half points.
VCU came out of the locker room on a 22-8 run, extending the Rams’ lead to 17 points at 54-37 with 14:24 left in the contest. Maynor scored 16 straight points for the Rams, netting the final six of the first half and the first 10 of the second half. ASU would hold VCU without a field goal over the next eight minutes as the Mountaineers scored 16 unanswered points to pull within one at 54-53 with nine minutes remaining. ASU tied the game on a free throw by forward Donte Minter (Salisbury, N.C./Virginia) at 55-55 with 8:01 to go and took their first lead, since the 6:34 mark in the first half, on another free throw by Minter with 2:18 remaining. Maynor missed a game-tying three-pointer as time expired, securing the Mountaineers’ win.
Senior guard Jesse Pellot-Rosa (Richmond, Va./George Wythe) added 13 points for VCU, while senior guard B.A. Walker (Onancock, Va./Nandua) and Gwynn chipped in 11 points.
Appalachian State, who shot 52.8% from the field, were led by Minter’s 25 points and 10 rebounds. Junior forward Jeremy Clayton (Greensboro, N.C./Ben L. Smith) added 13 points and 10 boards for the Mountaineers.
VCU, under the direction of first-year head coach Anthony Grant, return to CAA action on Wednesday, Jan. 3, with a 7 p.m. contest at Towson.
ELON 75, SHAWNEE STATE 53
KENT, OHIO -- Chris Chalko's season-high 23 points paced the Elon Phoenix to a 75-53 win over the Shawnee State Bears on Saturday afternoon in the second round of the Kent State Classic.
Chalko shot 50 percent from three-point range, connecting on a season-best seven of his 14 tries. Chalko also tallied four rebounds along with two assists. LeVonn Jordan posted 14 points for the Phoenix, all coming in the second half. Jordan pulled in a season-best nine rebounds, including four offensive boards, while also posting a career-high six assists along with three blocks and three steals. Brett James added 14 points, five rebounds and five assists while Brian Waters notched 11 points, five assists and four steals.
Shawnee State was led by Josh Reed's 16 points. Justin Brinkman posted a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Bears.
Ahead by one point at 39-38 with 14:09 left in the second half, Elon went on a 23-3 run to take a 21-point advantage at 62-41 with 6:35 remaining. The Bears would cut the lead to 18 with a three-pointer, but Elon pushed the lead back over twenty points and lead by 24 with 57 seconds remaining on a traditional three-point play by Jordan.
Shawnee State (9-6) scored the first seven points of the game to go ahead 7-0 with 17:35 remaining in the first half. But Elon went on a 13-0 run, behind three treys from Chalko, to take a six-point lead at 13-7 with 13:48 left in the half. The Bears knotted the game, 15-15, with 10:28 left on a layup from Aaron Mauk. But Elon hit back-to-back three-pointers from TJ Douglas and James to go up by six at 21-15 with 8:08 to play.
The Bears again tied the game at 23-23 with 4:14 on the clock before layups from Adam Constantine and James gave Elon the 27-23 lead. A three from Reed at 1:48 cut the Elon edge to one at 27-26 for the halftime score.
The Phoenix (3-8) shot 46.6 percent from the field and 40 percent from three-point range, including a 53.8 percentage in the second half. Elon tied its season high with 12 three-pointers made. The Bears posted a 41.5 percentage from the floor while Elon held them to just a 27.8 three-point shooting percentage.
Elon edged the Bears in rebounds (37-33), points off turnovers (18-9) and fast break points (7-4). Shawnee State took the advantage in points in the paint (28-20), second chance points (10-8) and bench points (13-11).
Elon returns to action on Wednesday, Jan. 4 in a 7 p.m. home contest with The Citadel.
THE CITADEL 113, ATLANTA CHRISTIAN 59
CHARLESTON, S.C. ? The Bulldogs recorded their third win of the season and the 35th 100-plus performance in Citadel history when they defeated Atlanta Christian, 113-59, Saturday afternoon at McAlister Field House.
What started off as a three-point shootout, turned into a near record-setting first half for the Bulldogs who recorded 13 long range shots and 72 points. The record for the most points scored in a first half is 73.
Starting off the game, senior guard Kevin Hammack made a quick layup at 19:31 to put the first points on the board for the Bullodgs before Jordan Poole hit the first of three consecutive three-pointers for the Chargers at the 19:10 mark. Freshman forward Bryan Streeter, who earned his fourth consecutive career start, responded with a layup at 18:46, before Hammack and senior guard Donny McLendon added a three-pointer of their own putting the Bulldogs up 18-16, a lead they would hold for the remainder of the game.
Leading The Citadel at the half was McLendon with 19 points, three boards and one assist. McLendon shot 7-of-9 from the field and hit five of the Bulldogs’ 13 first half three-point field goals. Also, with a season-best performance was sophomore guard Jonathan Brick, who hit three first half shots from behind the arc, totaling 11 points in the half, while Hammack added 10 points and seven first half assists, both in 11 minutes of play. Streeter, perfect from the field, went 4-of-4 with nine points in first period.
Shooting 72.2 percent from behind the arc in the first half, the Bulldogs hit 27-of-38 field goals for a season-high of 71.1 percent in the first period. The Citadel went into the locker room at the half with a 72-37 lead, only committing two turnovers and scoring 17 points off of Charger giveaways.
The Bulldogs, who recorded 21 points off the bench in the first half, experienced similar success in the second, with 27 bench points, 13 from Citadel freshmen forward Walter Howard and guard Trey Swinton. After senior guard Mark Schiavoni hit the Bulldogs’ 15th long range shot of the game, an all-time Citadel record, at the 5:08 mark in the second half, Swinton, a former Wando High School standout, added his name to the 3-point list with two from downtown in less than two minutes, before Howard recorded the final 3-pointer with 11 seconds left in the game, extending The Citadel lead to 54 points, the largest margin of the game.
“I was extremely pleased with how we came out and shared the basketball and worked well with each to shoot high percentage 3-point shots. That is why were able to find the success the way we did from behind the arc,” said head coach Ed Conroy. “It was also great to see J’Mel Everhart return to the floor and make a solid contribution.”
The Bulldogs shot season-highs 63.8 percent from the field and 69.2 from long range for the game, with 46 points in the paint, 30 points off turnovers and 30 total assists, a season-high by 11. All 12 on the Citadel roster scored, while eight players hit 3-points and five scored in double figures. McLendon lead the team with 21 points, his fourth 20-plus performance of the season. Both Brick and Hammack contributed 13 points a piece, while Streeter and junior forward Demetrius Nelson each recorded 11 points. Both Brick and Streeter’s totals were career-highs. Streeter led the Bulldogs in boards, tying his career high of eight rebounds, while Hammack recorded a season-high in assists with seven.
The Citadel outrebounded Atlanta Christian 43-16, holding them to 42 percent from the field and 36 percent from long range. Guards Poole and Joe Rawlings led the Chargers with 13 points each, while guard Anthony Snell contributed 12.
The Bulldogs improved to 3-10 for the season and will hit the road to take on Elon for their third Southern Conference match-up on Jan. 3 at 7:05 p.m. For more information on Bulldog Athletics, go to www.CitadelSports.com.
COLORADO STATE 76, CHATTANOOGA 65
CHATTANOOGA, TENN. ---The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga shot a meager 34.4 percent from the floor and Colorado State rode a hot-shooting Stephan Gilling’s 21 points to a 76-65 win and the championship of the Dr Pepper Classic.
Colorado State (10-2) wade 10 of its first 12 shots, including three Gilling threes, to race to a 29-15 lead. The Mocs (7-7) battled back to within five points at 35-30 with 4:12 before the intermission. The Rams responded, scoring nine of the final 11 points of the half and taking a 12 point halftime lead after a Gilling three-pointer at the horn.
An 18-7 run to start the second half put Colorado State firmly in control at 62-39, but the Mocs would not go away going on a 20-6 run to cut the deficit to nine with 2:24 remaining. In the end, it was too late for the Mocs as Colorado State held on for an 11-point win and the tournament crown.
The Rams shot 50 percent from the floor and battled the Mocs even on the glass. Gilling was 6-of-9 from beyond the arc and led the Rams with his 21 points. Playboy All-American Jason Smith added 14 points and 13 rebounds. Stuart Creason’s 12 points and six rebounds were enough to claim tournament MVP honors off of the strength of his 22 point-10 rebound performance in the tournament opener.
Nicchaeus Doaks led the Mocs with 19 points and eight rebounds. Kevin Bridgewaters added 11 point. The two joined Creason and Gilling on the all-tournament team.
Casey Long added nine points and a season-high eight assists. Keddric Mays, UTC’s leading scorer and the nation’s top three-point shooter, was 2-of-10 from the floor and managed only six points.
The Mocs will be back to Southern Conference play on Wednesday, playing at Furman.
Dr Pepper Classic All-Tournament Team
Shuan Stegall ? Kennesaw State
Ronell Wooten ? Kennesaw State
Kevin Bridgewaters ? Chattanooga
Nicchaeus Doaks ? Chattanooga
Stephan Gilling ? Colorado State
Most Outstanding Player
Stuart Creason ? Colorado State