Story courtesy of Davidson sports information
Davidson 77, Furman 59
DAVIDSON, N.C. ? Sophomore Thomas Sander posted a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds and senior Ian Johnson scored 20 points as Davidson cruised to a 77-59 triumph over visiting Furman Saturday afternoon. The Wildcats more than doubled the Paladins on the boards, 47-22, helping Davidson improve to 16-9 overall and 9-4 in the Southern Conference. Furman fell to 14-11 and 7-6 on the season.
Johnson, a 6-9 forward, tied a career-high by hitting four three-pointers and ignited a 21-4 tear with his first two trifectas, giving the ’Cats a 28-9 advantage barely 10 minutes into the game. Senior Jason Morton scored the final eight points of the run, including a pair of three-pointers to extended his streak of consecutive treys made to 11 dating back to Feb. 8.
Davidson took a 39-22 lead into the locker room at the intermission, and it would have been a bigger deficit for Furman if it weren’t for Moussa Diagne. The forward scored 12 of the Paladins’ 22 first-half points, hitting 5-of-6 from the floor and both of his three-pointers. The rest of the Furman squad managed just four field goals in 19 attempts (.211).
Davidson crashed the boards the entire first stanza, turning 10 offensive rebounds into 13 second-chance points. Those 10 offensive boards were nearly as many total rebounds for the Paladins (12).
In the second half, the Wildcats never let Furman get close as the Paladins never got closer than 15 points, despite the fact Diagne scored eight of the first nine Paladin points for a total of 20 in the game. A Johnson three less than two minutes into the final half gave Davidson its first 20-point advantage at 44-22.
Gerad Punch converted a three-point play with 11:37 to play to make the score 56-41. But a 13-2 spurt by the Wildcats put the game completely out of reach with 6:38 to play at 69-43, their largest lead of the afternoon.
Davidson hit 50 percent of its shots (28-of-56), the 10th time the ’Cats have reached the 50 percent mark this year. They have not lost in any of those 10 games.
Joining Sander and Johnson in double figures were senior Brendan Winters with 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting and Morton with 14 points. Morton also grabbed a career-high seven rebounds and connected on 3-of-7 from long range.
The Wildcats entered the game sixth nationally in assists per game at 18.3 and reached that mark thanks to senior point guard Kenny Grant who dished out nine of their 19 assists.
Furman struggled to find its shot from everywhere except behind the three-point line as the Paladins hit 7-of-14 trifectas. But the Paladins, leading the league in field goal percentage (.475) and second in free throw percentage (.735), managed to drain just 22-of-53 (.415) from the floor and 8-of-17 (.471) foul shots.
Diagne got into foul trouble after getting to 20 points and fouled out with more than six minutes to play. The only other Paladin in double figures was reserve guard Jadee Jones with 10 points. Point guard Tony Carter led Furman on the glass with five of the team’s 22 rebounds.
Davidson will clash with South Division leader Georgia Southern (18-7, 9-3) on Tuesday evening in Statesboro, Ga., at 7:30 p.m. The Eagles first play at Wofford this evening, and should they lose, the Wildcats would be tie them for first place. Furman, meanwhile, heads to Charleston, S.C., to play at The Citadel (7-9, 0-13) at 7:15 p.m.
Story courtesy of UNC Greensboro sports information
Saint Peter’s 80, UNC Greensboro 76
JERSEY CITY, NJ ? Keydren Clark scored 25 points, including six in the overtime period, to lift St. Peter’s to an 80-76 win over UNC Greensboro in men’s basketball action at the Yanitelli Center on Saturday afternoon.
UNCG (11-15) trailed by as many as 22 early in the second half before pulling off a furious comeback.
Clark, who is third in the nation in scoring at 26.2 ppg, moved into 10th place on the college basketball all-time scoring list, passing Hall of Famer Kelvin Hayes. The Peacocks (13-13) also got 20 points and 12 rebounds from Todd Sowell and 18 points and nine rebounds from Raul Orta.
Kyle Hines led UNCG with 29 points and 11 rebounds, his ninth double-double this season and the 20th of his career. Hines has now scored in double figures in 16 consecutive games, which ties for the eighth-longest streak in school history. His 29 points tied a career-high.
Dwayne Johnson provided a big spark in his homecoming. The sophomore from just across the river in Queens, NY had a career-high 18 points, 16 of them after halftime. He was a perfect 13-for-13 from the free throw line. His 13 made free throws were the second-most in a game in school history.
Ricky Hickman also chipped in with 14 points and 11 rebounds, his second double-double of his career. He extended his string of games in double figures to 24 straight games, two shy of the Robert Bryant’s school record.
“I am proud of my team,” said UNCG coach Mike Dement. “We didn’t quit. We showed character this afternoon. We were down 19 at the half and never quit. We just kept on battling against a great player. Clark is a great player and we did a good job on him and never gave up today.”
After UNCG scored the first two buckets of the game, the Peacocks went out on a 14-2 run to open up an early eight-point lead. Orta knocked down four three-pointers over the next six minutes as St. Peter’s extended its lead to 29-14 with nine minutes left in the first half. Shooting 57 percent from the floor in the first half and committing just two turnovers, the Peacocks maintained that advantage for the remainder of the half, taking a 44-25 lead into the intermission.
UNCG turned up the defensive intensity in the second half, holding St. Peter’s without a field goal for more than nine minutes, and cut into the lead. Limiting St. Peter’s to just four field goals in the first nine minutes of the second half, the Spartans cut into the deficit. Scoring just four field goals themselves in that time, UNCG knocked down 12-of-14 from the line to trial 55-46 with 11 minutes to play.
The Spartans cut it to five, 55-50, before St. Peter’s ended its drought with a breakaway lay-up by Clark at the 7:17 mark. UNCG looked like it was about to run out of gas when Johnson provided a spark. Johnson knocked down a 24-footer from above the top of the key and then followed on UNCG’s next possession with a conventional three-point play to cut it to 62-58 with 3:21 to play.
Hickman scored when he drove the right side of the lane with 1:07 to bring UNCG within one, 66-65. The Peacocks called timeout with 57.9 seconds left, but Kyle Hines blocked a shot and it went off of a St. Peter’s player. UNCG went back to Hines on the other end and he scored with 11.7 seconds left to give the Spartans the lead, 67-66.
Clark, however, drove the left side and was tripped, sending him to the line with 3.5 seconds to play. He made both free throws, but then fouled Hickman with 0.5 seconds left. Hickman made the first, but back-ironed the second and time expired before the Peacocks could get a shot off to send the game to overtime.
UNCG grabbed a three-point lead midway through the extra session. A tip-in by David McClenny and a bucket in the lane by Hines gave UNCG a 76-73 lead with 2:43 to play. But that would be UNCG’s last points of the afternoon.
Clark hit a jumper to cut it back to one. After a UNCG turnover, Todd Sowell was fouled and hit one of two at the line to tie the game. Hickman missed a three-pointer and then fouled Clark on the rebound on the next possession. Clark hit one of two to give St. Peter’s the lead. After another scoreless possession, Kiamondre Owes scored in the lane to make it 79-76 with 13 seconds left. UNCG failed on its next possession and Raul Orta knocked down one of two at the line to put it out of reach.
UNCG returns to action on Tuesday when it visits Western Carolina for a 7 pm Southern Conference contest.
Story courtesy of College of Charleston sports information
College of Charleston 83, Georgia State 75
Charleston, S.C. -- Josh Jackson scored 25 points, while Dontaye Draper added 21 as the College of Charleston downed Georgia State, 83-75, in ESPN Bracket Buster men's basketball action before 2,143 at the John Kresse Arena on Saturday.
Charleston, which plays host to Wofford at 7:00 on Wednesday, improved to 16-9 overall. The Panthers fell to 6-19.
Charleston, which led 40-27 at intermission, opened the second half with a 9-0 run to take a 49-27 lead with 16:49 left. After Georgia State cut the margin to 57-54 on a pair of free throws by Justin Billingslea with 9:27 left, the Cougars used a 12-8 spurt to take a 69-62 lead with 5:46 left.
Jackson added a career-best 13 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season, while teammate Jermaine Johnson picked up his fifth double-double with 10 points and a career-best 13 boards. The Cougars had a 45-28 rebounding edge, including 19-12 on the offensive glass.
The Panthers had four players score in double figures, including Herman Favors team-high 18. Favors added a team-high six assists. For Charleston, David Lawrence added 11 points and Drew Hall dished out a game-high eight assists.
Story courtesy of Wofford sports information
Wofford 78, Georgia Southern 62
SPARTANBURG, SC ? Howard Wilkerson scored a career-high 30 points to lead Wofford College to a 78-62 win over Georgia Southern Saturday night at Benjamin Johnson Arena.
It marked the second time in a week that the Terriers had beaten the first place team in the Southern Conference’s South Division. Last Saturday night, Wofford defeated division-leader Davidson, 84-71.
The win also halted Georgia Southern’s six-game winning streak.
The Terriers improved to 11-15 overall, 6-7 in the SoCon. Georgia Southern is now 18-8, 9-4 SoCon.
Wofford trailed 38-31 at halftime and Georgia Southern extended its lead to 10 at 41-31 on a 3-pointer by Elton Nesbitt just 30 seconds into the second half. After a layup by GSU’s Louis Graham with 18:31 to play, the Eagles held a 43-32 lead, its largest advantage of the game.
That is when Wofford went on an 18-0 run, holding Georgia Southern scoreless for nearly seven and one-half minutes. The Terriers made seven of 12 field goal attempts during the run while GSU missed all eight attempts from the floor and turned the ball over seven times.
Georgia Southern’s drought ended on a free throw by Nesbitt with 11:07 remaining to play. Following his free throws, Wofford held a 50-45 lead.
A layup by GSU’s Donte Gennie pulled the Eagles within three at 50-47. Wofford then scored the next seven points on a jumper by Tyler Berg, a layup by Ralph Hegamin and an old-fashioned three-point play by Drew Gibson to take a 57-47 lead with 8:39 remaining.
A pair of free throws by Will Dunn drew GSU within seven at 57-50 before Wilkerson scored on an inside move for a 59-50 lead. A three-pointer by Matt Estep put the Terriers on top 62-50 with 7:24 to play in the game. Georgia Southern never closed within single digits the remainder of the game.
Wilkerson became the first Wofford player in three years to hit the 30-point mark. The last was Mike Lenzly who scored 32 points against Chattanooga on Feb. 10, 2003.
Wofford will visit the College of Charleston on Wednesday night while Georgia Southern will host Davidson on Tuesday.
Story courtesy of Western Carolina sports information
Western Carolina 85, Elon 78 (OT)
Cullowhee, N.C. ? On Senior Night, Catamount senior Corey Muirhead scored 25 points and grabbed six rebounds, while sophomore Negus McKenna tied a career high with 24 points, as Western Carolina handed Southern Conference North Division champion Elon an 85-78 overtime loss Saturday night at the Ramsey Activity Center. Overall, Muirhead (7-of-10 from the field and 11-of-15 from the line) and McKenna (9-of-12 from the field, including 5-of-7 from 3-point range) combined to score 20 of Western’s final 29 points of regulation and overtime. On the other end of the floor, Elon’s Scottie Rice and Colin Wyatt scored 16 of the final 20 points for the Phoenix.
Elon struck first in overtime as Wyatt made 1-of-2 from the free throw line to give the Phoenix (13-13, 9-4 SoCon) the early edge. However, McKenna answered with a 3-pointer and the Catamounts, who made all three of their 3-point attempts in overtime, kept the lead the rest of the way. The Phoenix kept the pressure on Western in the overtime period, getting to the free throw line and making 6-of-8 at the charity stripe over the first 2:30 in overtime. Eric Wilson and Antonio Russell each hit key 3-pointers to keep Western in control, while Muirhead converted an old-fashion 3-point play then sealed the win with a dunk.
Elon took control early in the game thanks to a pair of 3-pointers by Chris Chalko and one by Rice. The Phoenix would lead by as many as eight (21-13) after a Michael Brandon 3-pointer with 8:29 left in the first 20 minutes before Western went on a 22-6 run to end the first period. Elon looked to take the momentum into the locker room, but Western’s Kyle Greathouse drained a shot just beyond half court as time expired to put the Cats up 35-26 at the break.
Western (12-15, 6-6) looked to build on that momentum on the first possession of the second half on a McKenna 3-pointer. However, Elon held Western scoreless over the next six minutes, taking a 39-38 lead. Wilson broke WCU’s drought with a 3-pointer with 12:56 left in regulation.
From that point, the lead bounced back-and-forth 10 times, including six ties, over the next nine minutes. With the score tied at 60-60 at the 4:19 mark, LeVonn Jordan’s dunk, off a Rice assist, put the Phoenix up two and Elon would keep its advantage until 33 ticks were left on the clock in regualtion. The final 3:05 featured some outstanding individual efforts by both teams. Elon’s Colin Wyatt made an old fashion 3-point play, Rics drained a 3-pointer as the shot clock was running down. Muirhead, who scored a jumper between Wyatt and Rice’s 3-pointers, made a jumper to trim WCU’s deficit to three (68-65) and, after an Elon turnover, made another jumper to make it a one-point contest. Muirhead then got a steal and was fouled with 33 seconds left. He made 1-of-2 at the line to tie the game.
Elon’s bid the end the game, a Chalko 3-pointer, failed. Wilson got the rebound and WCU called a timeout with 2.5 seconds left. Wilson lobbed a three-quarter court inbounds pass to Muirhead on the left baseline, but the jumper did not fall as time expired.
Western shot 51.9 percent from the field against the SoCon’s leader in field goal percentage defense (Elon was holding opponents to just 41.8 percent shooting from the field coming into the game). The Catamounts made 12-of-25 (48 percent) from 3-point range. Prior to this season, the WCU record for 3-pointer made in a game was 12, a mark that has now either been tied or surpassed five times this season.
In addition to Muirhead and McKenna, each of whom tied to team high honors with six rebounds, Wilson scored 14 points and Russell added 12 to lead the Cats.
Wyatt paced the Phoenix, making 8-of-10 shots from the field and 5-of-8 from the line, while Rice added 14 and Chalko contributed 12. Jackson Atoyebi came off the bench to score 10 points and grab six rebounds, while Jordan gathered eight rebounds.
Western Carolina will complete its three-game home stand on Tuesday (Feb. 21), hosting UNC Greensboro at 7 pm. Elon will conclude its 2005-06 regular season with a game at UNC Greensboro on Feb. 25 (Saturday). The game, set to be telecast by Fox Sports Net South, will begin at Noon at Fleming Gym.