Friday, November 9 Men’s Basketball Recaps
UNC GREENSBORO 83, GEORGIA TECH 74
ATLANTA, GA. ? All-America candidate Kyle Hines led the way with 25 points, but it was Dwayne Johnson and Mikko Koivisto’s clutch shooting late that got UNC Greensboro past Georgia Tech, 83-74, in the opening game of the 2007-08 men’s basketball season for both teams.
Johnson finished with 11 points, all of them from the foul line. He finished the night 11-for-13 from the line, including 5-of-6 in the final 1:26. UNCG was 10-for-12 from the line in the final 86 seconds as a team, erasing the memory of last year’s season-opening loss at Marshall when a nine-point lead disappeared in the 96 seconds with bad foul shooting and turnovers. On the night, UNCG was 22-for-29 from the floor.
Koivisto had 16 points, including three three-pointers. All three treys came at crucial times, starting a Spartan run or ending a Tech threat.
“This is certainly one of the biggest wins in our program’s history,” said Hines afterwards. “It feels great. But we know that we’ll have to work harder every day because we’ll have a bull’s eye on our backs after this one.
“They played me differently in the second half,” said Hines, who scored 18 of his 25 in the first half. “They started doubling me more, but then Mikko and the guys started hitting some shots from the outside,”
Previous marquee wins for the Spartans in their 17-year Division I history would be defeating Arizona State in the Great Alaska Shootout in November 1996 and topping Southern Mississippi four years ago at the Hawkeye Classic in Iowa. It was by far UNCG’s biggest win on an opponent’s floor ever ? for a team that won just one road game two seasons ago and snapped a 14-game road losing skid last December at Gardner-Webb, ironically.
“At halftime, we begged them to rebound better in the second half,” said UNCG coach Mike Dement, who gave the Spartans their first-ever win over an ACC foe in 25 meetings. “We gave up 17 offensive boards in the first half and we only allowed four in the second ? and a few of those were really late. We got some great rotations on our defensive end in the second half and that was a big key to us getting some deflections and stopping them on that end of the floor.
“Mikko hit some big shots, Kendall (Toney) hit some shots and Dwayne knocked down his free throws. That was what we really needed.”
Hines’ 25 points extended his nation’s longest double-figure scoring streak to 51 consecutive games. He surpassed the 1,600 point mark for his career, now sitting at 1,616 points ? 30 points shy of the school’s career mark held by Jay Joseph. He also had nine rebounds and two blocks, while shooting 10-for-12 from the floor.
Trailing by 14 and having recorded just one basket in the last nine minutes, Georgia Tech made a run coming out of the final media timeout. Matt Causey hit a three-pointer from the left wing and then drew a five-second call on the other end. Gani Lawal followed with a runner and the Yellow Jackets were within nine, 70-61.
Koivisto and Anthony Morrow traded three-pointers and the lead was still nine with 1:50 to play. UNCG turned it over on the ensuing in-bounds. Lawal was fouled by Hines on a drive to the basket. He badly banked home the first one and missed the second, leaving the margin at eight.
Georgia Tech then fouled Dwayne Johnson with 1:26 left. He converted one of two at the line, but Lawal cut it to seven on a dunk with 1:18 left.
Johnson was fouled again with 1:08 to play. This time, he knocked down both to make it a 76-67 game. After a Tech miss, Johnson knocked down two more to take it back to double-figures and the win was within UNCG’s reach.
The Yellow Jackets, who lost a home opener for the first time since 1980, were led by Morrow’s 23 points. Maurice Miller chipped in with 10 points.
Neither team came out very efficient on the offensive end to open the contest. UNCG missed five of its first seven, while Georgia Tech missed 10 of its first 14 over the same span. However, a three-pointer by UNCG’s Kendall Toney from the left wing and three free throws by Johnson after he was fouled on the three-point attempt erased an early 9-4 Yellow Jacket advantage.
Hines started to get loose shortly thereafter and the Spartans hung around. The Sicklerville, NJ native scored nine of UNCG’s next 10 points, including a conventional three-point play to extend his double-figure scoring streak ? the 26th time in the 51-game streak that he has scored 10 or more points in the first half. Ben Stywall followed with a three-pointer from the top of the key on the next possession and UNCG had a 23-19 lead.
UNCG still held the lead with just over five minutes to play in the first half, 31-29, when Georgia Tech ran off eight straight points. The spurt was capped off by a breakaway dunk Lawall. But UNCG had an answer with eight straight of its own, capped off by a Hines fall away jumper.
The first half wound up with 17 lead changes and nine ties, but it was Georgia Tech that went into the break with the lead, 43-39.
Tech scored the opening bucket of the second half before the Spartans ran off 12 straight, capped off by Daniel Oliver’s three-pointer, to show that they weren’t going away. In fact, the Spartans did not surrender the lead after that.
The Spartans held the Yellow Jackets to just 13 minutes in the first 15 minutes of the second half to gain a double-digit lead. Back-to-back three-pointers by Koivisto from the left corner gave UNCG its biggest lead to that point, 65-54, with 9:40 to play.
Georgia Tech wound up with a 42-36 advantage on the boards, but UNCG outrebounded the Yellow Jackets 24-15 in the second half.
The Spartans returns to action at the Missouri State Tournament next weekend. UNCG will face UT-Pan American on Friday night at 6:35 pm eastern time (5:35 pm local time).
THE CITADEL 131, DANIEL WEBSTER 79
CHARLESTON, S.C. ? Seven Bulldogs scored in double figures, six of them in their debut at The Citadel, as the Cadets raced to a 131-79 victory over Daniel Webster to open the 2007-08 season on Friday night at McAlister Field House.
The 131 points was the most scored by The Citadel in its basketball history, breaking the mark previously set record of 126 against Atlanta Christian in 2005. The Bulldogs also set a record for most three-pointers in a game as they hit 21 from beyond the arc. The previous mark was set last season in a 113-59 victory over Atlanta Christian at McAlister Field House on Dec. 30 as they went 18-26 from beyond the arc. The Cadets finished 21-41 from downtown against Daniel Webster and shot 57.7% from the field overall.
It was a sensational Bulldog debut for freshman guard Phillip Pandak as he led The Citadel with 24 points and went 6-10 on three-pointers. Another freshman, forward Austin Dahn, began his Cadet career with 20 points and hit four threes.
“To be successful, we need to shoot well and that’s exactly what they did,” head coach Ed Conroy said. “I’m thrilled for them. They have worked hard in practice and were ready to play tonight.”
Four other Bulldog freshmen began their careers by scoring in double figures as guard Cameron Wells had 17, forward Matt Clark scored 13, guard Daniel Eykyn ended the night with 12, and forward Tyrell McDowell had 10 points. Junior Jonathan Brick added 10 points and five assists for The Citadel. Guard Brian Inge had 24 to lead Daniel Webster. Guard Chris Hanson added 19 points and hit five from downtown as the Eagles hit 12 three-pointers of their own.
The Citadel scored the first 11 points of the contest as Dahn hit a three-pointer to make it 11-0 with 18:41 left in the first half. After Inge hit a three to pull the Eagles to within eight at 18-10, the Bulldogs went on an 18-2 run to claim a 36-12 lead on a three-pointer by Dahn with 9:12 remaining in the first half.
The Bulldogs continued with a 23-11 run to take their biggest lead of the contest at the time at 59-23 on a jumper by Pandak with 1:59 left until halftime. The Citadel took a 66-34 advantage into the locker room, led by Pandak’s 17 points and five three-pointers. Dahn added 15 with three from beyond the arc in the opening 20 minutes.
The Cadets opened the second half on a 10-2 run to take a 76-36 lead on a lay-up by Clark. The Citadel extended their lead with a three-pointer by Eykyn to make it 92-45 with 13:28 left in the game. A three-pointer by Wells put the Bulldogs over 100 at 101-52 with 11:24 remaining, and another one from downtown by Pandak made it 104-55 with 10:30 left.
The Citadel took a 114-64 lead on a lay-up by freshman forward Neven Zeravica with 7:31 remaining. A free-throw by Brick gave the Cadets a 120-69 advantage with 5:11 left, and The Citadel took their biggest lead of the game on a free throw by Zeravica with 3:45 remaining to make it 126-71. A free throw by freshman center Dino Dogan gave the Bulldogs the new points scored record at 127-77 with 1:42 left in the contest.
The Bulldogs will travel to Columbia to take on South Carolina on Monday night. Tip-off is set for 7:05 p.m.
DAVIDSON 120, EMORY 56
DAVIDSON, N.C. -- Davidson placed five in double figures led by a game-high 27 from Stephen Curry as the Wildcats soared past the Emory Eagles 120-56 in both teams' season opener Friday evening at John M. Belk Arena.
Curry, a 6-3 shooting guard from Charlotte, N.C., knocked down 10-of-15 from the floor including five buckets from long range to hit the 20-point plateau for the 20th time in his brief career. The Preseason Southern Conference Player of the Year also recorded seven rebounds, seven assists, three blocks and a pair of steals in the effort.
Davidson's Jason Richards (14 points, 10 assists) and Boris Meno (12 points, 13 rebounds) tallied double-doubles for the fourth and 10th times in their careers, respectively, while Bryant Barr scored 17 off the bench including five 3-pointers and Brendan McKillop added 11 in his first collegiate contest.
The Wildcats finished the affair shooting an even 50-percent (46-92) from the floor and hit 19 of their 46 (41.3 percent) attempts from beyond the arc.
Emory struggled offensively making just 30.6 percent (19-62) overall, but managed to convert a better percentage from downtown finishing with a 38.9 percent (7-18) clip.
Dan Curtin was the lone Eagle to score in double digits with 11 points in 14 minutes off the bench.
Davidson raced out of the gates scoring the game's first 16 points capped off by one of Richards' four treys on the evening and the Wildcats never looked back as they went into the break leading, 65-45.
A Can Civi layup with 2:08 remaining stretched Davidson's advantage to 118-53, it's largest of the contest.
The Wildcats' pulled down 27 offensive boards and doubled up Emory 68-34 in the rebound column.
Tonight's points total marked the most by a Davidson club since the Wildcats cruised by Washington & Jefferson 125-44 Dec. 21, 2002.
Davidson returns to action Wednesday, Nov. 14 in a 7 p.m. contest at Bobcats Arena in Charlotte, N.C., against the top-ranked North Carolina. The matchup between the Wildcats and Tar Heels will be televised on ESPN. Emory will enjoy an eight-day break before battling UT-Tyler Nov. 17 at 1 p.m.
CHATTANOOGA 120, COVENANT 59
CHATTANOOGA, TENN. --- The UTC men’s basketball team jumped out early on visiting Covenant College of neighboring Lookout Mountain, Ga., and cruised to a 120-59 win over the Scots. The 120 points is the fourth-highest total for the Mocs in The McKenzie Arena and in its NCAA Division I era. It is the highest scoring output in fourth-year Head Coach John Shulman’s tenure.
The Mocs started the game on a 34-3 run and never looked back. The 72 points scored in the first half is the most since Nov. 29, 2003, a 125-78 win over Emmanuel. The 120 points are the most since the Nov. 27, 1991 win over Tennessee Wesleyan (123-63).
Six players scored in double-digits. Junior Stephen McDowell (Indianapolis, Ind.) hit five-of-eight from three-point range en route to 25 points in 20 minutes of play to lead all scorers. Senior Marcus Watts (Clinton, S.C.) added a “double-double” with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Juniors Nicchaeus Doaks (Trenton, Tenn./17 points) and Kevin Goffney (Ethel, La./14), sophomore Verice Cloyd (Nashville, Tenn./10) and freshman Stephen McClellan (Cohutta, Ga./10) were the other double-digit scorers for the Mocs. Doaks hit seven-of-eight from the floor.
UTC shot 62.5 percent (45-72) for the game, while holding the Scots to 30.4 percent (21-69) shooting from the floor. The Mocs hit 16 three-pointers and out-boarded Covenant 47-34. Every UTC player that got in the game, scored on the evening.
Dan Nielson led the Scots with 20 points, eight rebounds and four assists. Wade Tapp chipped in 14 points.
The Mocs travel to No. 9 Indiana Monday for a 7 p.m., matchup in Assembly Hall. The game will be broadcast on WGOW 102.3 FM in Chattanooga and worldwide at GoMocs.com. The game is also being broadcast live on the Big 10 Network.
WESTERN CAROLINA 63, BOWLING GREEN 60
CINCINNATI, OHIO - Nick Aldridge scored a game-high 17 points Friday night, leading Western Carolina to a 63-60 victory over Bowling Green and spoiling Louis Orr's debut as the Falcons coach. Brigham Waginger added 15 points, including a 3-pointer that put Western Carolina (1-0) ahead to stay in the closing minutes. Ryan Hamblet missed a 3-point attempt at the buzzer for Bowling Green (0-1), which was led by Chris Knight's 16 points and 10 rebounds.
It was the opening game of the Peggy Cronin Classic, a three-day, round-robin tournament honoring the deceased mother of Cincinnati coach Mick Cronin. Cincinnati and Belmont also are playing in the exempted tournament on the Bearcats' home court.
The 6-foot-7 Aldridge led Western Carolina in scoring as a freshman last season, averaging 18.3 points as the Catamounts finished 11-20. He had seven in the first half, which ended with Western Carolina up 29-28.
Camden Miller scored off a fastbreak alley-oop, and Aldridge had a driving layup off a spin move for a 51-45 lead midway through the second half. Bowling Green's Nate Miller made a layup and a pair of free throws that tied it at 55 with 3:27 to go.
Consecutive 3-pointers by Waginger and Jake Robinson put the Catamounts ahead to stay. Arnold Gore's two free throws with 19.1 seconds left made it 63-60, and Hamblet missed a pair of 3-point shots - the last one off an offensive rebound - in the closing seconds.
Western Carolina plays the host Cincinnati Bearcats at 7:00 pm on Saturday night at the Fifth Third Arena as tournament play continues.
VIRGINIA TECH 69, ELON 64
BLACKSBURG, VA.. ? In his first regular season game in over a year, Montell Watson poured in a team-high 18 points and Adam Constantine grabbed a career-best 10 rebounds, but the Elon Phoenix men’s basketball squad fell just short of upsetting the Virginia Tech Hokies in a 69-64 decision from Cassell Coliseum in the season-opener for both teams on Friday night. The Phoenix now owns a 0-1 mark in 2007 while the Hokies are 1-0.
Virginia Tech never trailed and jumped on top 2-0 when Deron Wahington hit a jumper 15 seconds into the contest. Constantine evened the score with a lay-up 20 seconds later before Jeff Allen hit a jumper for two of his game-high 19 points put the Hokies in front for good with 19:10 to go in the first half.
The Hokie lead grew to six at 10-4 with 16:41 to go in the half on an Allen lay-up. The Phoenix responded with a 5-0 run capped by two Brett James free throws that drew Elon within one at 10-9. Virginia Tech answered right back, scoring eight of the game’s next 10 points to grab an 18-11 lead on Allen’s three.
A double digit VT advantage never occurred until J.T. Thompson’s dunk with 9:06 to play in the first period made the score 25-15. Elon used a 10-4 run to claw back to within four at 29-25 with 4:44 left when Watson put in a lay-up. Virginia Tech finished the half with an 8-4 run to lead 37-29 at the break.
The second half started slow for both teams and four minutes in, the Hokies led 41-31. The Hokie advantage grew to as many as 14 when A.D. Vassallo’s free throw put Tech up 57-43 with 6:50 to play.
Led by Watson and Chris Long, the Phoenix fought back yet again and closed the gat to five at 63-58 on a Brian Waters free throw with 56 seconds to play. During that 15-6 run for Elon, Watson and Long scored eight points. Two Watson’s threes closed the gap from seven to one with just 12 ticks left on the clock. After two Vassallo free throws pushed the margin back to three with nine seconds left. The Phoenix pushed the ball back up the floor to try and even the score, but Watson’s three-point attempt fell just short with four seconds to go and Allen sank two final free throws to provide the final margin.
Along with Watson, Long finished the contest with 11 points while Ola Atoyebi added 10 markers. Tech’s Vassallo chipped in 17 points while Washington ended the night with 14 points and 11 rebounds for his first double-double of the season.
Elon shot 41.1 percent from the floor and Virginia Tech connected at a 46.9 percent clip.
On the boards, the Hokies held a slim 37-36 edge although the Phoenix finished with a 13-11 advantage on the offensive glass. Elon outdid Tech in assists 14-10, but lagged in blocks (8-3), steals (6-1) and turnovers (8-10).
Up next for Elon will be a home game with Erskine on Tuesday night. Tip is set for 7 p.m. from the “Nest”.
UNC ASHEVILLE 78, FURMAN 75
ASHEVILLE, N.C. -- Senior Bryan Smithson tallied a game-high 24 points and K.J. Garland added 19 to lead UNC Asheville past Furman 78-75 in the season opener for both teams Friday evening at the Justice Center.
Furman, behind freshman Justin Dehm’s 14 second half points, trimmed a 12-point deficit down to three in the final moments, but junior Alex Opacic’s last second three-pointer from the left wing bounced off the back iron allowing the Bulldogs to escape with a three point victory.
UNCA looked to be in control when a pair of Kenny George free throws pushed the Bulldog advantage to 11 at 73-62 with less than four minutes remaining. After trading baskets, Dehm and Opacic connected on back-to-back treys to cut the lead to 75-71 with 2:15 left. George and Dehm traded free throws before Furman pulled within two when Tony Anderson fed a slashing Dehm for a layup with just 49 seconds left.
The Paladins fouled Garland on the inbound and the guard converted one of two at the charity stripe with 23 second left. Jordan Miller missed a quick three-pointer from the right corner, but Dehm secured the rebound and Furman called timeout with 9.8 seconds remaining. Opacic got an open look from just left of the top of the key following the inbound, but could not force overtime.
Garland and Smithson each connected on 8-of-13 field goal attempts and grabbed four rebounds while Garland added seven assists. George, a 7-foot-7 center tallied 12 points, seven boards and five blocked shots for the Bulldogs. UNC Asheville shot 51.0% (26-51) from the field, including 52.9% (9-17) from three-point range.
Dehm made 6-of-9 field goal attempts, including 3-of-6 from long range to pace the Paladins. Senior George Brozos added 13 points and six rebounds while freshman Bobby Austin finished with 10 points. Junior Stanley Jones and freshman Noah States each chipped in with eight points. Jones led the Paladins with a game-high eight rebounds.
After shooting just 30.8% from the field in the opening 20 minutes, Furman converted 17-of-38 (44.7%) second half field goals. The Paladins connected on 10-of-27 threes and made 15-of-16 attempts at the foul line.
Furman grabbed the early lead and led 11-8 with just over 12 minutes remaining in the first half. Smithson gave UNCA its first lead on a jumper with 10 minutes remaining and buried a three off of a turnover to up the advantage to 16-11. The Bulldogs would lead the rest of the way.
UNCA held a 35-31 edge in rebounding while turning the ball over 18 times. Furman committed just 13 turnovers on the night and just four after intermission.
Furman continues its three-game road trip Monday when the Paladins travel to face Clemson at Littlejohn Coliseum. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.
ARKANSAS 67, WOFFORD 45
FAYETTEVILLE, ARK. -- Wofford started with a strong first half performance but No. 19 Arkansas rallied late the opening period and carried the momentum in the second frame to pull away for a 67-45 victory Friday evening in the men's basketball season opener for both schools.
The Terriers opened with a 6-0 lead behind three points from sophomore Corey Godzinski and a 3-pointer by Junior Salters before the Razorbacks netted their first points at 14:35 on a dunk by Darian Townes.
Wofford (0-1) would increase its lead to as high as eight, 10-2, with 13:38 to play in the first half on a layup by senior preseason All-Southern Conference pick Drew Gibson. The Hogs would then slice into the Terrier lead before taking their first lead, 15-14, on a Sonny Weems layup at the 8:57 mark. Townes converted another layup before Gibson knocked down a trey knotting the score at 17-17 with 7:42 left.
Neither team could pull away the remainder of the half. After Tim Johnson knotted the score for the fifth time in the half at 26-26, a pair of Charles Thomas free throws put Arkansas (1-0) ahead for good. The 'Backs closed the half when Downes blocked a Gibson jumper before racing to the other end for a dunk as the halftime buzzer sounded giving the hosts a 30-26 lead.
The second half began with a 15-6 Arkansas surge giving the Hogs a 45-32 advantage with 9:53 showing on the clock before Godzinski hit another layup. Last season's SEC Freshman of the Year, Patrick Beverley, hit a pair of triples in the run after being held scoreless in the opening half.
Foul trouble plagued the Terriers in the second half as key players (Gibson, Salters and post Tyler Whatley) all were forced out of the lineup at various times keeping Wofford from running its typical rotation.
Gibson would hit 1-of-2 free throws at 2:11 cutting the margin to 16, 61-45, before Arkansas closed the contest by scoring the final six points.
Four Razorbacks finished in double-figure scoring, led by Beverley's 15 points. Townes added 14 with a game-best five blocked shots. Weems and Gary Ervin each chipped in 10 points, while Steven Hill collected a game-high nine rebounds.
Gibson was the lone Terrier in double digits with 12 points. Godzinski poured in nine points and Salters finished with eight.
Wofford will return to action in its home opener at 6 p.m. Tuesday against Lees-McRae inside the Benjamin Johnson Arena.