CONFERENCE NOTES:
Elon Claims North Division Crown: Elon won its first-ever Southern Conference North Division crown on Monday, knocking off Chattanooga 69-61. Five players reached double digits in scoring, led by LeVonn Jordan and Scottie Rice, who each had 13 points. The Phoenix finished a perfect 7-0 at home during league play and have won a program-best nine SoCon games. The win also secured one of five first round byes for Elon, which advances to the quarterfinals on Friday, Mar. 3.
Georgia Southern Grabs First Round Bye: With its sixth straight victory on Monday at College of Charleston, Georgia Southern captured one of the first round byes. The Eagles improved their record to 18-7, marking the third straight year that GSU has won at least 18 games. It’s the first time since the 1987-89 seasons that the Eagles have produced 18-plus wins in three consecutive seasons.
Elon’s Chalko Named to Academic All-District Team: Elon senior Chris Chalko was named to the College of Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-District IV First Team last week. Chalko, who maintains a 3.64 GPA in exercise sports science, is the lone Southern Conference representative on the team.
Nesbitt Continues Scoring Pace: Georgia Southern’s Elton Nesbitt has scored in double figures in 18 consecutive games and leads the SoCon with a 22.6 points-per-game average. Nesbitt registered back-to-back 30-point performances for the second time in his career last week, posting 31 points against The Citadel and 30 at College of Charleston. He is 35 points shy of becoming the first Eagle to score 600 points in a season more than once in a career. With 1,645 carer points, Nesbitt is also 15 points away from moving into sole possession of fifth place on the GSU scoring list.
Double Digit League Victory Totals: Georgia Southern is one conference win shy of producing its third straight 10-win season in league play, which would be a first since joining the league. The Eagles are also two wins away from recording only the school’s 14th 20-win season in school history. Davidson, meanwhile, is two wins shy of its fifth straight 10-win campaign in conference-only games.
Four Nearing 1,000 Points for Career: Four players from four different teams are closing in on reaching the 1,000 point plateau for their career. Furman’s Robby Bostain is 26 points shy with 974 career points to date, while Appalachian State’s D.J. Thompson is one point back with 973. Wofford’s Tyler Berg is 39 points away, with Western Carolina’s Corey Muirhead needing 57 points.
SoCon Tournament Tickets On Sale: Tickets for the Southern Conference Men’s and Women’s Tournament officially went on sale Feb. 3 at Ticketmaster outlets and at the North Charleston Coliseum box office. Single session tickets are $12 or a tournament book for all sessions is $60. Tickets are also available through SoCon member institution ticket offices.
Seven Games on SIRIUS in February: Seven SoCon games will be broadcast on SIRIUS Satellite Radio in the month of February, beginning with the Wofford at Appalachian State game Feb. 2. Each game will take the home feed. Below is a listing of this month’s scheduled games.
Southern Conference Men’s Basketball Schedule for February on SIRIUS
Feb. 2 ? Wofford at Appalachian State, 7 p.m. (Channel 110)
Feb. 4 ? Western Carolina at Davidson, 1 p.m. (Channel 117)
Feb. 11 ? Elon at Appalachian State, 3:30 p.m. (Channel 107)
Feb. 13 ? Georgia Southern at College of Charleston, 7 p.m. (Channel 110)
Feb. 18 ? Furman at Davidson, 2 p.m. (Channel 181)
Feb. 23 ? UNC Greensboro at Appalachian State, 7 p.m. (Channel 110)
Feb. 25 ? College of Charleston at Davidson, Noon (Channel 110)
SoCon Television Schedule: The SoCon’s eight-game television package on FSN South returns on Saturday, February 18 as Davidson hosts Furman, while the next CSS telecast will be on Saturday, March 4 when the tournament semifinals are aired.
SoCon Tournament Returns to Charleston: After a one year hiatus where the conference tournament was being held in Chattanooga, TN in 2005, the SoCon Tournament returns to the North Charleston Coliseum for the fourth time in five seasons ? and for each of the next two years. The start of the championship is being moved back a day to Thursday-Sunday, March 2-5 to accommodate a Sunday afternoon finals broadcast on ESPN2. The 2006 edition of the conference championship will be the SoCon’s 86th tournament, the longest Division I men’s basketball championship.
TEAM NOTES:
APPALACHIAN STATE (11-14, 5-7 SoCon): Appalachian State won back-to-back league games last week for the second time this season, knocking off Elon and Western Carolina...D.J. Thompson led the Mountaineers in scoring in each of the wins, averaging 18.5 ppg...Thompson, who had 20 points, six steals and five assists versus the Phoenix, is 26 points shy of 1,000 points for his career...ASU shot a season-high 58 percent from the floor in the win over the Catamounts...All five starters scored for ASU against WCU, with Nathan Cranford and Jeremy Clayton tallying 16 and 15 points, respectively...Since Cranford returned to the lineup three games ago after missing five straight games, he is averaging 13.3 ppg...The Mountaineers are idle until next Monday (Feb. 20), when they travel to Chattanooga.
COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON (14-9, 7-5 SoCon): The Cougars lost for only the second time in their last seven games on Monday, falling at home to Georgia Southern, 91-79...College of Charleston squeaked out a 67-65 win at Furman on Saturday behind 14 points from Josh Jackson and 13 from Dontaye Draper...Draper added a team-high 25 points versus the Eagles, pushing his career points total to 908...David Lawrence pulled down 11 boards against GSU, marking the third straight game that he has led the team in rebounding and ninth overall this season...The Cougars are 10-5 in their last 15 games...CofC is at The Citadel on Thursday, then hosts Georgia State on Saturday in the team’s final non-conference game of the regular season.
CHATTANOOGA (15-12, 6-6 SoCon): Chattanooga had its two-game winning streak snapped on Monday, losing 69-61 to Elon...Steve Cherry posted his first double-double of the season against the Phoenix, scoring 15 points and pulling down 11 rebounds...Cherry also added a game-high 19 points in the Mocs’ win over UNC Greensboro last Saturday...Khalil Hartwell grabbed a career-best 11 caroms versus the Spartans and added seven points in 18 minutes of action coming off the bench...The Mocs were outrebounded 44-30 against Elon, marking the third time in their last seven games that they have been outrebounded by 10 or more boards...UTC is at home for its final two games of the regular season, first hosting Appalachian State next Monday (Feb. 20).
THE CITADEL (7-18, 0-12 SoCon): The Citadel ended a 13-game losing streak last week with an 80-73 win over Savannah State...J’Mel Everhart scored a team-high 20 points and added 11 rebounds for his sixth double-double of the season...Everhart’s six double-doubles are the second most in the league this season...Donny McLendon tallied 26 points on 10-of-19 shooting in an 81-77 loss to Davidson on Monday...Everhart chipped in 16 points and nine rebounds while Dante Terry had 15 points...McLendon is 13 points shy of 500 for his career...The Bulldogs turned the ball over only six times against Davidson, tying them for the lowest turnover total by a SoCon team this season...The Citadel hosts College of Charleston on Thursday and Furman in its final home game next Monday (Feb. 20).
DAVIDSON (15-9, 8-4 SoCon): Davidson split its two games last week, falling 84-71 at Wofford on Saturday and winning at The Citadel on Monday, 81-77...The Wildcats’ win over the Bulldogs was only their third road triumph in 11 tries this season...Jason Morton scored a career-high 27 points against The Citadel, going 9-for-10 from the field and a perfect 6-for-6 from beyond the arc...Ian Johnson added 19 points and 10 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season, and his first since Jan. 13 against Furman (13 pts., 10 reb.)...Morton also added 16 points in only 14 minutes in Davidson’s win over UNC Greensboro last Wednesday and ended the week hitting 72 percent of his shots from the floor overall and 77 percent from 3-point range...Johnson is 12 points shy of 1,400 for his career, while Brendan Winters needs 28 for 1,800...Davidson hosts Furman on Saturday in the league’s television game of the week on FSN South.
ELON (13-12, 9-3 SoCon): Elon secured the school’s first-ever North Division crown on Monday after a 69-61 win over Chattanooga...The Phoenix also claimed one of five first round byes in the conference tournament...The 13 overall wins and nine league victories are the most by an Elon program since moving to Division I...Scottie Rice averaged 13.5 points per game last week in the two games, scoring 14 points in a loss to Appalachian State and 13 in a win over the Mocs...Rice, who has 203 career steals, needs four steals to become the school’s all-time leader...Jackson Atyoebi is 26 points shy of 1,200 for his career and is two rebounds shy of 600...Elon finished the conference schedule with a perfect 7-0 record at home...The Phoenix, who are 11-3 in their last 14 games, are at Western Carolina on Saturday.
FURMAN (14-10, 7-5 SoCon): Furman rebounded from a 67-65 loss to College of Charleston last Saturday with a 67-59 victory over Wofford on Monday...Eric Webb led the Paladins with 15 points...Webb hit two 3-pointers in the game to become the first Furman player to record 200 treys in a career (has 201)...Furman hit only 39 percent of its shots from the floor but was 27-of-31 (87 percent) from the free throw line...Gerad Punch came off the bench against the Terriers to score a career-high 13 points and grab six rebounds...Furman’s bench outscored Wofford’s bench 28-10...Robby Bostain was 9-of-10 versus Wofford at the free throw line and finished with 14 points...It was Bostain’s 11th consecutive game with 10 or more points...Bostain needs 26 points to become the 26th Paladin to score 1,000 points in his career...Paladin head coach Larry Davis is two wins shy of 125 for his career...Furman is on the road for two of its last three games, starting with its appearance on FSN South against Davidson on Saturday.
GEORGIA SOUTHERN (18-7, 9-3 SoCon): Georgia Southern won its sixth game in a row on Monday at College of Charleston, 91-79...The Eagles’ win streak is the longest active streak in the SoCon and is the team’s second longest win streak this season -- 8 wins from Dec. 10-Jan. 14...GSU joined Elon on Monday in earning one of the five first round byes in the conference tournament...Elton Nesbitt averaged 30.5 points, 4.0 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 2.0 steals last week in the two GSU victories...Nesbitt had 31 points against The Citadel and 30 versus College of Charleston, giving him back-to-back 30-point games for the second time in his career...Of the top 11 scoring performances by a SoCon player this season, Nesbitt has five of them...Louis Graham had 16 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks against the Cougars for his fourth double-double of the season...Will Dunn and Dwayne Foreman came off the bench against CofC to score 13 and 11 points, respectively...Graham is three blocks away from becoming only the third Eagle to record 100 career blocks...The Eagles are at Wofford on Saturday then close out the home portion of their schedule against Davidson Feb. 21.
UNC GREENSBORO (11-14, 4-7 SoCon): UNC Greensboro fell for the fourth time in its last five games last Saturday against Chattanooga, 76-67...Ricky Hickman scored 15 points versus the Mocs to become only the 13th Spartan to score 1,000 points in their career and just the fifth to do so as a junior...Hickman is one 3-point field goal shy of 100 for his career and would become only one of nine players in school annals to reach the feat...Hickman has hit a trey in 21 straight games...Kyle Hines led UNCG with 16 points and tied with Matt Akinosho for team honors in rebounds with nine...Hines has scored in double digits in 15 straight contests...He also blocked three shots to increase his career total to 175, moving him into ninth place on the career SoCon chart...The Spartans are at Saint Peter’s on Saturday in an intraconference game resulting from the BracketBuster pool...They are then at Western Carolina next Tuesday (Feb. 21).
WESTERN CAROLINA (11-15, 5-6 SoCon): Western Carolina fell to 5-6 in league play with an 83-66 loss at home to Appalachian State on Monday...Corey Muirhead scored a career-high 28 points on 12-of-20 shooting and also added six rebounds...Muirhead is 57 points shy of 1,000 for his career...David Berghoefer was held to six points versus ASU, his third-lowest outing in a SoCon game this year...he needs two points to move into 23rd post on the school’s scoring list and is 28 rebounds from reaching the top 10...Berghoefer’s 672 career caroms are the most by an active player in the league...The Catamounts host Elon on Saturday then entertain UNC Greensboro next Monday (Feb. 20).
WOFFORD (10-15, 5-7 SoCon): Wofford split its two games last week, knocking off Davidson (84-71) and losing to Furman (67-59)...Howard Wilkerson led the Terriers with 22 points against the Wildcats, while Shane Nichols added 19...Wilkerson paced the team again versus the Paladins, scoring 19, with Tyler Berg chipping in 14...Wilkerson has led the team in scoring 10 times this year...Berg is 39 points shy of reaching 1,000 for his career...Wofford snapped a four-game win streak for Davidson in the series...After shooting 41 percent in the first half against Furman, Wofford responded by hitting 52 percent of its shots in the second half...The Terriers host Georgia Southern on Saturday.