Men’s Basketball Recaps from November 10, 2007

 

CINCINNATI 66, WESTERN CAROLINA 64

CINCINNATI, OHIO -Marcus Sikes took a pass and made a driving layup for his only basket of the game with less than a second to play Saturday, giving Cincinnati a 66-64 victory over Western Carolina.

 

Deonta Vaughn drove the lane and drew defenders before passing to Sikes, who sneaked in along the left baseline for the pass and made the wide-open layup with 0.3 on the clock.

 

Marvin Gentry led Cincinnati (1-1) with 19 points, all but three of them in the second half. Gentry was 4-of-5 from behind the 3-point arc. Rashad Bishop and John Williamson each added 11.

The Bearcats lost to Belmont 86-75 on Friday night and had to rally to avoid their first 0-2 start since 1979. The game had 13 ties and eight lead changes.

 

Western Carolina (1-1) was led by sophomore Nick Aldridge, who had a game-high 22 points. He drove for a layup and was fouled by Adam Hrycaniuk with 23.5 seconds to play. The three-point play tied it at 64 and set up Cincinnati's final shot.

 

Sophomore Jake Robinson added 12 points, making all of his four 3-point shots. Freshman Mike Porrini had 11 for the Catamounts, who opened the season with a 63-60 win over Bowling Green on Friday.

 

Earlier Saturday, Bowling Green never trailed while beating Belmont 78-67. The games were part of the Peggy Cronin Classic, a three-day, round-robin tournament honoring the deceased mother of Cincinnati coach Mick Cronin.

 

 

 

UNC WILMINGTON 98, COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON 91 (OT)

WILMINGTON, N.C. ? Seniors Daniel Fountain and Vladimir Kuljanin combined for 52 points and UNC Wilmington scored the first eight points in overtime to outscore the College of Charleston, 98-91, in a wild men’s basketball season opener for both teams Saturday night at Trask Coliseum.

 

The Seahawks won their fifth consecutive season opener and snapped a four-game losing streak to the Cougars with the hard-earned win. It also marked the second overtime game in the 12-game series between the two squads.

 

Fountain, out of Woodbridge, Va., poured in a career-high 27 points on 9-of-17 shooting, including 6-of-9 behind the arc, to lead the Seahawks. Kuljanin added career highs of 25 points and 18 rebounds, while fellow seniors Todd Hendley and T.J. Carter chipped in 15 and 14 points, respectively.

 

Freshman guard Andrew Goudelock paced CofC with 27 points, scoring the most points by a Cougar freshman since Rodney Conner’s 29-point barrage in a 70-57 victory over South Carolina State on Nov. 29, 1993. Junior forward Jermaine Johnson added 19 points and nine boards, sophomore Tony White, Jr., scored 15 and junior transfer Dustin Scott had 12.

In a see-saw game that featured 10 ties and 12 lead changes, the Seahawks outscored the Cougars, 15-8, in overtime to nail down their second straight season-opening victory for Coach Benny Moss.

 

With the score knotted at 83-all after regulation, Kuljanin got things rolling in OT with a layup 36 seconds into the extra period and added another bucket on a hook shot with 3:19 left. A basket by Hendley with 2:40 showing completed the critical 8-0 spurt and gave the Seahawks a 91-83 cushion heading into the final two minutes.

Goudelock’s long trey cut the lead to 93-89 before the Seahawks held on down the stretch to avenge a 91-70 loss last season in Charleston.

 

After the two clubs were deadlocked at 36-all in the first half, UNCW used a 9-2 rally to forge ahead, 45-41, in the second period on Fountain’s 3-pointer from the top of the key with 16:46 remaining.

 

CofC sliced the deficit to 60-59 on Goudelock’s trey from the top of the key with 11:10 left and Charleston led, 77-74, at 5:02 when rookie Antwaine Wiggins converted the first of two free throws.

 

At the end of regulation, Carter drained a pair of free throws with 38 seconds left to give the Seahawks a 83-81 edge, but Johnson grabbed a loose ball and tossed in the layup to even up the score. Carter’s off-balance attempt with two seconds left in regulation failed to draw iron.

 

Freshman forward Dominique Lacy staked UNCW to an early 17-10 lead when the rookie from Florence, S.C., picked up a loose ball and slammed it home for a seven-point advantage with 12:56 left in the first period.

 

Charleston answered, however, with an 11-0 run to pull ahead, 21-17. Scott capped the spurt with a bucket in the lane at 9:21 for CofC’s biggest lead of the first half.