ELON 64, APPALACHIAN STATE 63
BOONE, N.C. - Elon University rallied from a 16-point first-half deficit to hand Appalachian State University men’s basketball its first conference loss of the season with a 64-63 loss at the Holmes Center Saturday afternoon. Demetrius Scott (Orlando, Fla.) led the Mountaineers with a season-high 20 points but it wasn’t enough to counter an off night from the floor and free-throw line for the Apps.
With the loss, ASU fell to 12-4 overall and 4-1 in league action. Elon, led by four players in double-figures including Brett James’ team-high 14, improved to 4-11 overall and 2-3 in the Southern Conference.
D.J. Thompson (Raleigh, N.C.) was the only other Mountaineer in double- figures with 15 points and an impressive seven assists to just one turnover. In addition, he recorded four steals to become ASU’s all- time career leader in the category past Tyson Patterson with 248 steals.
ASU jumped out to an early 15-4 lead and held a sizable lead that it extended to 16, 31-15, on a Doug McLaughlin-Williams (Reston, Va.) layup with three minutes left in the opening half. However, Elon scored eight of the next 10 points to cut the lead to 10, 33-23, at halftime.
The Mountaineers kept Elon at bay to start the second half until the Phoenix went on a 13-2 run to tie the contest at 60 a piece with 3:30 left on a LeVonn Jordan layup. The lead changed hands twice in the next minute with Donte Minter (Salisbury, N.C.) hitting a free-throw to give ASU a one-point lead followed by a jumper from Ola Atoyebi to put the Phoenix up one, 62-61. On ASU’s next possession Minter got two more points on a jumper to reclaim the lead for the Mountaineers.
The Apps then sent Elon’s Brett James to the free-throw line where he drained both shots to give the Phoenix the 64-63 lead with 32 seconds left. Minter tried to put a shot in the paint with four seconds left to give ASU the lead, however his effort was blocked before it left his hands by Chris Chalko and a host of Elon players. The Mountaineers then fouled to stop the clock and the Phoenix missed both free throws with a second remaining to keep the Mountaineers’ hopes alive. On the inbounds play, the Elon defense knocked the ball out of bounds in the front court to give ASU on last gasp with 0.5 seconds left.
Unfortunately for the Mountaineers, they were unable to convert on the last-second alley-oop as the Phoenix held on for its first win in Boone since 1969.
The Apps shot 43 percent from the field, the first time in six games they shot below 50 percent. Elon converted on 48 percent of its shots and shot 69 percent from the free-throw line. Appalachian was only 12-of-21 (57 percent) from the charity stripe.
The loss came before a crowd of 4,055, the fifth-largest to filter through the Holmes Center doors. Appalachian will try to rebound on Monday, January 15 with another pivotal SoCon divisional game as rival Western Carolina visits Boone. The game, televised on FSN South, will tipoff at 7:30 p.m.
THE CITADEL 74, GEORGIA SOUTHERN 69
Charleston, S.C. ? Senior guard Kevin Hammack scored a career-high 32 points and went 16-17 from the free-throw line as The Citadel basketball team won a thrilling, overtime contest over Georgia Southern, 74 -69, in Southern Conference basketball action at McAlister Field House on Saturday afternoon.
“It was a lot of fun,” said head coach Ed Conroy. “I know I had a lot of fun and I hope everyone in the building did. “I can’t say enough about the seniors today. They provided us with a lot of energy.” With the game tied at 60, Eagles guard Donte Gennie hit a jumper from the right wing to make it 62-60 with two seconds left. The Citadel (6-11, 3-3 SoCon) had one more chance to tie and had to go the length of the court to do it. Senior forward Joseph Thompson’s long pass from the opposite baseline ended up in the hands of Hammack after bouncing off senior forward J’Mel Everhart. Hammack saved it from going out of bounds and found senior guard Donny McLendon, who laid it in with 0.7 seconds left to tie the contest at 62. Georgia Southern (9-8, 2- 4 SoCon) couldn’t get a shot off in the remaining time and the game went to overtime.
“That’s actually a play that we really do work on in practice,” Conroy said when asked about the sequence that tied the contest. “Hammack did a great job of knowing he had enough time to make the pass with three seconds left, and McLendon was in the right spot and converted. It was a play I’m sure they’ll remember for a long time.” Both teams traded baskets to begin overtime, and a three-point play by forward Louis Graham gave the Eagles a 67-64 lead. Two free throws by Hammack trimmed the lead to one, and he nailed two more from the charity stripe to give The Citadel their first lead of overtime at 68-67.
Hammack scored again, this time driving inside and laying it off the glass, to extend the advantage to 70-67. A jumper by Graham from the baseline cut the lead to 70-69 with 52 seconds left. After Everhart missed a shot from the baseline, the Bulldogs grabbed the offensive rebound and the Eagles were forced to commit a foul. They sent Hammack to the line, who was already 12-13 from the charity stripe in the game, and he hit both with 12 seconds remaining to make it 72-69. Fittingly, it was Hammack who also made the defensive play of the game as he blocked a three-point attempt by Gennie and grabbed the rebound. He hit two more from the line after being fouled to make the final score 74-69. Hammack scored 10 of the Bulldogs’ 12 points in overtime and 24 of their final 33 points overall.
“He (Hammack) has become a terrific player,” Conroy said. “He wants the opponent’s best and he uses that to raise his own level of play.” After The Citadel jumped out to a 3-0 lead, Georgia Southern went on an 11-1 run to take an 11- 4 advantage and a layup by forward Diogo Salazar made it 18-10 Eagles with 9:53 remaining in the first half. The Bulldogs then went on a 7-0 run as two straight layups by Thompson cut it to an 18-17 Eagles lead. Georgia Southern responded with a run of their own, however, as a three- point play by guard Jimmy Tobias gave the Eagles their biggest lead of the half at 28-19 with 4:25 left until halftime. The Bulldogs were able to climb closer before heading into the locker room as two free throws by junior forward Demetrious Nelson made it 31-27. A layup by forward Kenith Ward with a minute left gave the Eagles a 33-27 halftime advantage.
The Bulldogs began the second half with an 11-4 run to claim their first advantage since that 3-0 lead at the beginning of the contest. A layup by sophomore guard Vytautas Valiulis gave The Citadel a 38-37 lead with 14:33 left in the game, and extended that advantage to 40-37 on a layup by Hammack. After Valiulis hit another layup to make it 42-39, the Eagles scored the next four points and a jumper by guard Dwayne Foreman gave the Eagles the lead back at 43-42. They held a slim advantage until Hammack drove the lane and layed it in to give the Bulldogs a 50-49 lead with 3:42 left in regulation. From there, the lead changed hands eight times and became a battle of free throws. Georgia Southern came right back to take back the lead after a jumper by Graham.
A pair of free throws by Hammack gave the Bulldogs the lead back at 52-51, but a three-pointer by Foreman made it 54-52 Eagles. McLendon was fouled shooting a three-pointer on the Bulldogs’ next offensive possession, and he capitalized by hitting all three free throws and putting The Citadel back on top 55-54. Georgia Southern went to the charity stripe on their next possession and Tobias hit two to once again give the Eagles the lead. The Bulldogs continued to hit their free throws as Hammack hit two more to give the Cadets a 57-56 lead with 1:42 left. A jumper by Gennie from the baseline made it 58-57 Eagles, and after an offensive foul by Hammack, Georgia Southern was able to extend the lead.
A three-point attempt by Gennie rattled in and out, but Foreman ran down the rebound and fed forward Louis Graham inside who layed it in and was fouled in the process. Graham missed the free throw, however, and the Bulldogs were down 60-57 with 37 seconds left. Hammack came back and had a chance at a three-point play of his own after laying it in and being fouled. Hammack hit the free throw and tied the game at 60, and the Bulldogs went on to win in overtime. Graham had 21 points to lead the Eagles while Gennie added 18. After shooting 39 percent in the first half, the Bulldogs came back to hit 52 percent in the second half.
COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON 67, FURMAN 55
CHARLESTON, S.C. ? Dontaye Draper’s 20 points and David Lawrence’s 15 points, six rebounds and career-high four blocks lifted the College of Charleston to a crucial SoCon victory over Furman, 67-55, before 3,687 at the John Kresse Arena on Saturday.
With the win, Charleston improves to 11-7 overall and 4-2 in the SoCon, while Furman drops to 7-9 ad 1-4 in the SoCon.
The Paladins started the game quickly on offense and a three-pointer by Robby Bostain 5:02 into the first half gave Furman the lead, 14-6. The Cougars responded with a 9-5 run that was culminated with a lay-up by Draper with 11:27 left in the first half. However, Furman was able to keep their lead by finishing the half outscoring Charleston, 17-16. The Paladins went into halftime with a 36-31 lead.
For the first half, Furman shot 39.4 percent (13-33) from the field and made six out of 13 three-pointers. Charleston shot 36.9 percent (11-30) from the field and made four out of 12 three-point attempts.
The Cougars were able to gain its first lead of the game with a Josh Jackson jumper with 11:23 left in the second half to make the score, 46-44, in favor of CofC. The two teams traded baskets and a free throw from Lawrence with 8:26 left in the game tied the score for the sixth time, 49-49. However, a crucial three-pointer by Philip McCandies with 6:49 left propelled CofC on a 15-6 run to end the game.
Overall, Charleston shot 39.6 percent (21-53) from the field and made six out of 21 three-pointers. Furman shot 32.8 percent (21-64) from the field and made eight out of 25 three-point field goals. Charleston had more rebounds than Furman, 41-38.
Charleston made a season-high 19 free-throws out of 26 attempts in the game, while Furman made five out of six free throws. Furman had more turnovers than CofC, 12-11.
For the Cougars, Jackson also contributed 11 points and a season-high eight rebounds in the victory. Philip McCandies had a game-high ten rebounds for CofC, which was his sixth double-figure rebounding game of the season.
Moussa Diagne led Furman in scoring with a game-high 24 points with a team-high eight rebounds. Bostain finished with 10 points, five rebounds and three assists for the Paladins.
Both teams will return to action on Jan. 15, with the Cougars facing Georgia Southern at the John Kresse Arena at 7 p.m. on CSS. Furman next game will be at home against Wofford in Greenville, S.C., beginning at 7 p.m.
DAVIDSON 83, WOFFORD 78
SPARTANBURG, S.C. ? Boris Meno scored 25 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to lead Davidson to its 11th consecutive victory, an 83-78 win at Wofford’s Benjamin Johnson Arena on Saturday, Jan. 13.
Davidson improved to 15-3 overall and 6-0 in the Southern Conference. Wofford is now 5-12, 0-6.
The Terriers were within one point at 76-75 with 1:08 to play in the game following Matt O’Connor’s 3-pointer from the top of the key. On the following possession, Davidson’s William Archambault made his only field goal of the night, a 3-pointer with 36 seconds left to put the Wildcats up 79-76.
Wofford missed a pair of 3-point attempts on its next possession and Meno was able to grab a rebound with 16 seconds left. He was fouled and converted both free throws to put Davidson up 81-75 with 12 seconds left. Davidson made all 15 of its second half free throws and 19 of 21 on the game.
Wofford jumped to a 17-8 lead through and forced a Davidson timeout with 14:41 to play in the half. Following the timeout, the Wildcats scored the next 15 points to go ahead 23-17 with Meno collecting seven points. Davidson built a seven point lead at 30-23 with 4:33 remaining in the half but the Terriers rallied to pull within one at 34-33 at intermission.
Wofford was never able to gain the lead in the second half. Davidson took a nine point lead on four occasions, the last coming with 12:27 remaining following a Thomas Sander layup. The Terriers closed to within one point on four occasions, the last with 1:08 left to play.
Meno’s 25 points and 14 rebounds led all players. Jason Richards finished with 16 points and eight assists for Davidson.
Wofford was led by Drew Gibson with 16 points and eight assists. Eric Marshall added 15 points and Shane Nichols chipped in with 15. Junior Salters added 14 points for the Terriers.
Wofford will play at Furman on Monday, Jan. 15 in a 7 p.m. start. Davidson’s next contest will be at home against The Citadel on Tuesday, Jan. 16.
UNC GREENSBORO 67, CHATTANOOGA 57
GREENSBORO, N.C.- UNC Greensboro held Chattanooga to just one field goal in the final 3:37 to secure a 67-57 win in Southern Conference men’s basketball action at Fleming Gym on Saturday night.
Freshman Kendall Toney led all scorers with 17 points, including five three-pointers. Kyle Hines added 16 points, eight rebounds and four blocks for the Spartans (8-9, 5-2 SoCon). Ricky Hickman chipped in with 12 points and Mikko Koivisto added 11 points.
Hines entered the game having shot 75 percent from the floor in five career games against the Mocs. Chattanooga did a good job on the All-American candidate on Saturday, forcing him into a 4-for-10 night from the floor with the double teams that Hines has gotten accustomed to night in and night out. But the Sicklerville, NJ native still managed to score 16 points to extend his streak of scoring 10 or more points to 38 consecutive games.
With the win and Appalachian State’s loss at home to Elon on Saturday afternoon, the Spartans move to within percentage points of the top of the SoCon’s North Division. The Mountaineers (12-4, 4-1) visit Fleming Gym on Thursday at 7 pm. Western Carolina (7-9, 4-1) is also in the mix atop the division. Those two teams must first meet in Boone on Monday.
Chattanooga (8-11, 1-6) was led by Marcus Watts’ 11 points, the first time he has led the Mocs in scoring this season. Nicchaeus Doaks and Casey Long each chipped in 10 points apiece.
With UNCG holding a 10-point lead and just under four minutes remaining, the Mocs rallied to cut the lead to five. But Dwayne Johnson’s only field goal of the night ? a three-pointer from the top of the key ? gave UNCG an eight-point lead and set the stage Chattanooga’s need to foul. The Spartans hit 4-of-4 at the line to put the game out of reach.
“I think that last six to eight minutes were our best defensive effort this season,” said UNCG coach Mike Dement, whose team broke a four-game losing skid to Chattanooga. “Matt Akinosho gave us a big lift, not just with his blocks down the stretch, but he had a big bucket, too, when one of our guys was falling out of bounds and flipped it back under the basket.
“We did the things that don’t show up on a stat sheet tonight. Dwayne Johnson had a block out foul and we made a big deal about it because that is the kind of things we need to do defensively. And we got four guys scoring in double figures. We need that kind of balance, not like we had the other night against Virginia Tech where Kyle was the only one scoring.”
Early on, UNCG showed no signs of a hangover from Wednesday’s 23-point loss to Virginia Tech, forcing five turnovers in the first four minutes of the game and jumping out to a 10-0 lead.
UNCG went nearly six minutes without a field goal, however, midway through the first half and the Mocs rallied back to take the lead. Keddric Mays’ three-pointer from the left wing closed Chattanooga to within 16-13 just inside of the 10-minute mark. Matt Gwynne followed that up on the Mocs’ next possession with a bucket to get to within a point. Doaks followed that with a three-pointer from the top of the key to give the Mocs an 18-16 lead and cap off a 14-1 run.
From there the came became a see-saw battle of runs. Chattanooga didn’t find the basket for the next four minutes and the Spartans ran off the next nine points to regain the lead, 25-18. Kendall Toney accounted for six of the nine points with a pair of treys in the run.
Chattanooga battled back to within two at the intermission when Ricky Hood scored the last four points of the half, however, and then scored the first four points of the second half to take a 33-29 lead.
But UNCG battled back with a 13-4 run, capped off by a baseline drive and dunk by Ricky Hickman, to take a 42-37 lead. Chattanooga battled back to tie the game at 48-48 before a UNCG 12-2 run that was sparked on the defensive end by Akinosho. A native of Sanford, NC, Akinosho had three blocks in a span of 2:20 to shut the Mocs off on the offensive end as UNCG opened up a 10-point lead with just under four minutes to play.
The Mocs did not get closer than five points the rest of the way.