Appalachian State 81, Davidson 74
DAVIDSON, N.C. -- D.J. Thompson recorded a game-high 19 points and Appalachian State ended the nation's second longest winning streak of 12, with an 81-74 victory over Davidson in Southern Conference men's basketball action Saturday at Belk Arena in front of 5,580 fans. The loss was the first for the Wildcats in league play this year dropping them to 7-1 and 16-4 overall. The Mountaineers improved to 14-5 and 6-2 in the conference.
Thompson, a senior Preseason All-Conference selection, led four Appalachian players with at least 10 points going 6-of-15 from the floor. Donte Minter was a close second with 16 points, while Kellen Brand and Jeremy Clayton contributed 14 and 12, respectively.
The final stanza featured a number of runs as the Wildcats started the period with an 8-0 run to grab their first lead of the game, 44-43, forcing Appalachian to burn a 30 second timeout just 2:21 into the frame. Out of the stoppage, the Mountaineers responded with eight unanswered of their own to push the game back in their favor, 51-44.
Davidson scratched and clawed its way back over the next 2:05 to tie the affair 52-52 on an Andrew Lovedale bucket, and continued what would be a 20-6 spurt to grab its largest lead of the day, 64-57, midway through the second.
Trailing by seven, ASU eventually evened the score at 69-69 on Thompson's second trey and only field goal in the frame. Minter broke the deadlock with a jumper in the lane just before the shot clock expired, but the Wildcats' Boris Meno answered with a long range basket to put his club back in front 72-71 with 4:39 to go.
After both teams struggled and went scoreless over the next 1:39, Minter pushed the score back in favor of the Mountaineers for good with just over three minutes to play. The Virginia transfer scored the final three field goals for ASU.
The backcourt duo of Jason Richards and Stephen Curry led three Wildcats in double figures with 15 each, while Meno added 13. Richards also dished out eight assists and swiped a career-high four steals.
Appalachian State raced out of the gates grabbing an early 8-0 advantage following back-to-back treys from Nathan Cranford and Thompson. The Mountaineers maintained their lead the entire first half not allowing Davidson closer than one point as they closed on a 7-2 run to head into the break up 43-36.
The Wildcats struggled offensively in the opening period connecting on just 36.8 percent (14-38) of their attempts, while ASU drilled 51.5 percent (17-33) overall and 4-of-8 of its tries from deep. Davidson's lone bright spot in the stanza came on the boards as they hauled in 12 offensive rebounds to hold a 23-19 edge on the glass.
Thompson led all-scorers with 13 points on 5-of-11 shooting in the first 20 minutes of action.
The Wildcats improved on their overall percentage thanks to a 48.4 clip (15-31) in the second half to finish the contest with a 42 percent (29-69) total from the field. Davidson hit just seven of its 27 attempts from behind the arc, but shot 90 percent from the charity stripe.
Appalachian State, the SoCon's top-shooting club, drilled 50.9 percent (29-57) from the field and hit 9-of-19 (47.4 percent) from downtown.
Despite just its first loss in 12 contests at home, Davidson ended with a slim 37-36 margin on the glass.
Davidson will travel to Statesboro, Ga., for a 7:30 p.m. contest with Georgia Southern Tuesday, Jan. 23. The Mountaineers return home to entertain Furman on Jan. 24 at 7 p.m.
UNC Greensboro 47, The Citadel 44
CHARLESTON, SC ? UNC Greensboro held The Citadel without a field goal the final 4:38 to grind out its fourth straight conference win, 47-44, Saturday afternoon at McAlister Field House.
Kyle Hines recorded his eighth double-double of the season and the 29th of his career with 18 points and 11 rebounds. It extended his string to 40 consecutive games scoring 10 or more points and gave UNCG a four-game SoCon winning streak, the longest for UNCG since January 2002.
Hines became the second player in school history to score 400 points in a season three separate years, joining UNCG’s all-time leading scorer Jay Joseph. Hines is the first to do so in three consecutive years as Joseph’s came in his freshman, junior and senior seasons.
There were no style points for Saturday’s win as UNCG battled through a second-half drought of just two field goals over a nearly 13-minute span.
But The Citadel wasn’t much more proficient. The Citadel managed just seven field goals in the second half, while UNCG managed just six. But it was just enough for the Spartans to hold onto first place in the SoCon’s North Division.
After The Citadel shut down UNCG for a shot clock violation, UNCG’s Kevin Oleksiak got a piece of a three-point attempt to tie the game with 57 seconds to play and Hines grabbed the rebound. The Spartans ran the clock down to 26 seconds before calling timeout, but could not get a shot coming out of the timeout, either.
However, UNCG (10-9, 7-2 SoCon) turned to the defense one last time, forcing The Citadel into a desperation shot as time expired, which fell short and UNCG had the big road win. The Spartans have now won in each of their last three trips to McAlister Field House.
Demetrius Nelson had 13 points and Donny McLendon added 11 for The Citadel (6-13, 3-5).
“It was exactly what we expected,” said UNCG coach Mike Dement. “We expected to come down here and be in a grind-it-out kind of a game and that is exactly what it was. They are better than they were a year ago and we really had to turn it up a notch on the defensive end to get it done today.
We responded and are happy to get out of here with a win.”
An 8-1 run by The Citadel gave it a 23-18 lead with five minutes to play in the first half, the biggest lead by either team to that point. UNCG missed six of eight from the floor, including a span of more than four minutes without a bucket, as a two-point Spartan lead turned into a five-point Bulldog advantage.
But UNCG scored the last nine points to close out the half, despite Kyle Hines, Ricky Hickman and Ben Stawall all sitting on the bench with two fouls. UNCG held the Bulldogs without a field goal for the final 4:52 of the half. The half was capped off by a long three-pointer by Dwayne Johnson and an 18-footer by Kevin Oleksiak as the Spartans took a 27-23 lead into the locker room. Mikko Koivisto began the second half with a three-pointer to give UNCG its largest lead to that point at seven and cap the 12-0 run.
The Bulldogs battled back to within one, 36-35, on Joseph Thompson’s bucket in the lane. UNCG went 7:15 between baskets as The Citadel rallied.
UNCG returns to action next Saturday when it hosts Furman at 6 pm at Fleming Gym. The game will be televised on Comcast Sports Southeast.
SIDELINES: The Spartans had just 40 hours between Thursday’s win over Appalachian State and the tip-off of Saturday’s game in Charleston. In between were Friday morning classes, a five-hour Friday afternoon bus ride and a quick 70-minute workout at McAlister Field House on Friday night... Dwayne Johnson moved into seventh place on the UNCG career assist list on Saturday... Kendall Toney extended his streak of consecutive games with a three-pointer to 11. Toney didn’t waste much time, knocking one down just
1:17 into the contest.
Furman 79, Western Carolina 67
Greenville, S.C. -- Furman raced out to an 18-point first half lead and connected on 35-of-38 attempts at the foul line on its way to a 79-67 victory over Western Carolina in Southern Conference men’s basketball action Saturday afternoon before 3,112 at Timmons Arena.
With the win, Furman improves to 9-9 overall and 3-4 in the SoCon. The Catamounts fall to 7-11 overall and 4-3 in league play.
After falling behind 5-0 in the opening minutes, Furman reeled off a 35-12 spurt to dominate the first half and build a 35-17 lead with 2:56 remaining in the period. The Paladins shot 51.7% (15-29) from the floor and 9-of-9 from the charity stripe in the first 20 minutes to hold a 41-29 cushion at the break.
Despite a 5-of-23 (21.7%) effort from the field in the final 20 minutes, Furman sunk 26-of-29 free throws to hold off the Catamounts for the 12-point victory. Robby Bostain paced the Paladins with 23 points on
5-of-8 shooting from the field and 13-of-14 at the foul line. Jadee Jones added 15 of Furman’s 34 points off of the bench to join Bostain in double figures.
Freshman Nick Aldridge netted 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead five Catamounts in double figures. Jake Robinson connected on 4-of-6 shots from beyond the arc to add 14 points while Antonio Russell, Arnold Gore and Brandon Giles each scored 10 points.
The Catamounts compiled a 39-35 edge in rebounding, but Furman held Western Carolina to a just 34.0% (18-53) from the field, the lowest percentage by a Paladin opponent this season. WCU made 24-of-37 free throws and 7-of-19 treys.
Furman finished the game at 38.5% (20-52) from the floor and just 17.4%
(4-23) from three-point range. The Paladins shot 92.1% (35-38) from the foul line. The sixth best single game percentage on school history.
Furman wraps up its three-game homestand Monday when it hosts The Citadel in a 7 p.m. contest at Timmons Arena. Western Carolina entertains Elon at
7 p.m. on Monday
College of Charleston 67, Elon 45
Charleston, S.C. ? David Lawrence scored 19 points and Dontaye Draper added 14 points and six assists as the College of Charleston cruised to a 67-45 win over Elon in Southern Conference action before 3,704 at John Kresse Arena on Saturday.
Charleston, which has won 10 of its last 11 games, improved to 13-7 overall and 6-2 in league play. Elon is 4-13 and 2-5.
The Cougars roared to a 40-19 lead at intermission behind Lawrence’s 14 points and Drapers’ 12.
The Cougars held their largest lead at 67-37 with 5:09 remaining on a layup by Marcus Hammond.
Hammond added 10 points while Jermaine Johnson had a career-high five assists and a team-high eight rebounds.
Adam Constantine had a team-high 11 points for Elon. LeVonn Jordan added a game-high nine rebounds for the Phoenix.
Both teams play 7:00 games on Monday. The Cougars play host to Wofford while Elon travels to Western Carolina.
Wofford 66, Chattanooga 63
SPARTANBUR, SC ? Eric Marshall hit two critical mid-range jump shots in the closing seconds and Wofford overcame a nine-point halftime deficit to defeat Chattanooga 66-63 Saturday night at the Benjamin Johnson Arena.
Wofford improved to 6-13, 1-7 in the SoCon while Chattanooga is now 9-12, 2-7.
With Wofford trailing 63-62, Marshall hit a 14-foot jumper with 1:14 to play in the game that put the Terriers ahead 64-63. Chattanooga’s Casey Long missed a 3-point attempt with 59 seconds remaining and Wofford’s Tyler Whatley was able to rebound. With the shot clock running down, Marshall hit a 17-foot jumper with 25.5 seconds left to give Wofford a 66-63 advantage.
Whatley blocked a Long layup with 16.2 seconds remaining and Chattanooga’s Nicchaeus Doaks missed a game-tying 3-pointer as the clock expired and the Terriers claimed the win.
The game included two distinctly different halves. Wofford took a 17-14 lead seven minutes into the game before the Mocs ran off 11 straight points to go ahead 25-17 with nine minutes remaining. Chattanooga led by nine at half, 38-29 after shooting 55 percent from the floor and outrebounding the Terriers 20-9.
The Terriers outscored the Mocs 15-3 to start the second half and take a 44-41 lead. Drew Gibson and Marshall each converted old-fashioned 3-point plays and Marshall added a 3-point field goal and a layup to spark the Terrier rally. UTC’s only points during the stretch came on a 3-pointer by Keddric Mays who led the Mocs with 21 points.
Wofford took its biggest lead of the game at 58-50 with 11:06 remaining on a 3-pointer by Junior Salters. The Terriers held a 62-56 lead with 3:33 remaining before Long hit a pair of free throws to cut the lead to four. Khalil Hartwell scored on a lay-up with 2:22 remaining to bring the Mocs within two before Ricky Hood’s offensive rebound and tip-in tied the game at 62. Hartwell drained a free throw 1:32 remaining to give the Mocs a one-point lead.
Gibson finished with a career-high 21 points for Wofford and added seven assists. Salters finished with 14 points for the Terriers.
Besides Mays’ 21 points, Long finished with 14 points for the Mocs.
“When the game is on the line, you want to get the ball in the hands of your best player and that’s what (Marshall) did on two separate occasions,” said head coach Mike Young. “Those were two big-time shots from a senior captain.”
Wofford will play at the College of Charleston Monday night at 7 p.m. in a game to be televised on Comcast/Charter Sports Southeast (CSS). The Mocs will host CofC next Saturday in McKenzie Arena.