Men’s Basketball Recaps for November 26, 2007
DAVIDSON 71, APPALACHIAN STATE 60
BOONE, N.C. - Ryann Abraham’s (Mayaguez, Puerto Rico/Starmount) career-high 19 points wasn’t enough to offset a Holmes Center-record 38 points from Davidson’s Stephen Curry as Appalachian State University men’s basketball never led in a 71-60 loss to the Wildcats on Monday evening.
Curry scored 26 of his 38 points in the first half as Davidson (3-2, 1-0 SoCon) built as large as a 17-point lead before halftime. The sophomore broke the previous Holmes Center record of 37 set by ASU’s Shawn Hall against East Tennessee State on Jan. 6, 2003. His nine three-pointers was also a Holmes Center record.
Appalachian (3-3, 0-1 SoCon) cut the deficit to six points, 55-49, on Kellan Brand’s (High Point, N.C.) two free throws with eight minutes remaining, but Davidson answered with consecutive three-pointers, the second by Curry, to key a 13-3 run the extended the Cats’ lead to 16, 68-52, with 3:38 left in the game.
Abraham’s career-high, his second such performance in as many games, came by virtue of 8-of-12 shooting from the field. Abraham also had a team-high four assists with no turnovers in a game that saw ASU commit 17 as a team. Brand was the only other Mountaineer in double-figures with 12 points.
Curry was one of three Wildcats in double-figures as Thomas Sander scored 13 points and Boris Meno added 10. Curry was also the only Davidson player to get to the free-throw line as the team was awarded just two free throws in the win.
The teams traded buckets for the first three minutes of the game until Davidson went on an 8-0 run in the next minute that was capped by back-to-back three-pointers from Curry and Sander. The Apps would answer back moments later with a 7-0 run of their own in which Brand scored five points to trim the margin to three, 19-16, with 11:16 remaining in the half.
Unfortunately for ASU, Davidson would reassert control of the contest by scoring 19 of the next 24 points in the game to build to a 17-point lead and cruise into the locker room with a 14-point, 42-28 advantage.
THE CITADEL 76, CHARLESTON SOUTHERN 73
CHARLESTON, S.C. ? For the second time in two days, the Bulldogs came back from a 10 point deficit at the half to pull out a big win, this time against a tough Charleston Southern team on Monday night at McAlister Field House. The 76-73 win breaks a five-game winning streak held by the Bucs since 1998.
The first half was a back-and-forth battle with the Bulldogs responding to every Buccaneer basket as CSU came out strong connecting on their first four three-pointers attempted. The Citadel was step-for-step though, as a couple of jumpers and 3-point baskets by Cameron Wells and Zach Urbanus knotted the game at 11. The Buccaneers would then rally to obtain their first double-digit lead at 9:23, 26-16.
The Bulldogs answered with a pair of baskets, but the Buccaneers would strike again going on a 10-0 run to give them their largest lead of the half at 38-21. A layup by Demetrius Nelson would bring the run to a halt followed by a Phillip Pandak 3-pointer and a layup by Wells that would cut the lead back to 10 at 1:33. Charleston Southern’s Jamarco Warren connected for a 3-point basket, and Urbanus answered right back to leave the Buccaneers with a 10-point lead at the half, 41-31.
The Bulldogs were led by guards Urbanus, who was 4-5 from the field including three 3-point baskets, and Wells, who shot 4-7 from the floor. Leaders for the Buccaneers were Warren, 5-9 from the field including four 3-pointers, and Omar Carter who connected with three long range shots from behind the arc.
The Citadel came out strong in the second half to cut the lead to five for the first time since the 12-minute mark in the first half. The Buccaneers would extend their lead back to nine, but not for long as the Bulldogs used a 10-2 exchange to get within one point of the Bucs at 50-51 with 11:58 left in the game.
The two teams battled back and forth with the Buccaneers connecting on a pair of field goals, but the Bulldogs answered with a couple of their own to stay within striking distance. A 7-3 exchange, including a 3-point basket by Urbanus, gave the Bulldogs their first lead of the game at 65-64 with 4:29 left.
Charleston Southern regained the lead with a jumper by Omar Carter, but it would be short lived as once again Urbanus would step up to hit a clutch 3-pointer to regain the lead for the Bulldogs. The Dogs would then go on a 6-0 run as CSU could not connect from behind the arc to put the score at 70-66 with 2:21 to go. The Bulldogs would hold off a Buccaneer surge, as they converted 8-of-10 from the free throw stripe with the clock winding down to pull out the victory, 76-73.
Urbanus would lead the Bulldogs with 21 points, shooting an impressive 80 percent from the field converting 8-of-10 field goals, including 5-of-6 from 3-point land. Wells also stepped up big for the Dogs with 15 points of his own hitting 5-of-12 field goals and scoring four clutch free throws down the stretch. Nelson showed great leadership by taking eight rebounds and scoring 12 points to pave the way for his team.
“I told our guys that we are changing nothing after halftime,” said head coach Ed Conroy. We were going to play the exact same. We were right at this same point 48 hours ago and we are going to do the same thing we did then.”
The Citadel (3-3 overall) will travel to Chattanooga for their first Southern Conference matchup of the season on Saturday, Dec.1. For complete coverage of Bulldog Basketball, visit the official home of The Citadel Athletics at CitadelSports.com.
GEORGIA SOUTHERN 80, MERCER 69
STATESBORO, GA. --- Georgia Southern freshman Willie Powers (Gainesville, Fla.) scored a career-high 26 points to pace the men’s basketball team to an 80-69 victory over Mercer Monday evening at Hanner Fieldhouse.
GSU records its fifth-straight win to improve to 5-1 on the season.
Powers shot 10-of-16 from the floor and 4-of-6 from 3-point land. He also grabbed a career-high seven rebounds and had two steals and two assists.
“He certainly doesn’t play like a true freshman,” said GSU head coach Jeff Price. “He’s got good poise and he makes shots. Obviously he’s got a chance to be a very special player. He’s got things that he’s got to get better at. But he’s a hard worker and he’ll certainly get better.”
Senior Dwayne Foreman (Apopka, Fla.) tallied 16 points and eight assists and classmate Louis Graham (West Palm Beach, Fla.) added 14 points and nine rebounds.
Mercer’s Brian Pfohl shot 10-of-12 from the field for 21 points and nine boards. Shaddean Aaron recorded 14 points.
The teams traded runs early in the contest. GSU started the game with seven straight points, only to see Mercer answer with a 12-2 run.
The Bears managed to pull ahead 28-22 with 6:34 left in the contest on a lay-up by Pfohl. But Powers and Foreman teamed up for nine straight points on a trifecta by Powers and back-to-back 3’s from Foreman. Powers added another jumper and a free throw by sophomore Antoine Johnson (Atlanta, Ga.) turned a six-point deficit into a six-point lead.
The Eagles led by two (39-37) at the half and an 11-3 run early in the second half gave GSU a double-digit lead for the first time. Georgia Southern led by no fewer than seven the rest of the way.
“We played the second half entirely different than the first half,” said Price. “And we should have played like that in the first half. We were a lot more aggressive and we went to the line more, and we got more offensive rebounds and we talked about it at half time. I thought our guys did a nice job in the second half.”
The Eagles’ start is the best since the 1992-93 team also started 5-1. Mercer, headed in the opposite direction, loses its fifth-straight after a season-opening win at Southern California.
“I guess I’m pleasantly surprised,” said Price. “To be 5-1 with the first five on the road, is pretty impressive. I think we’re showing some good things early in the season that we haven’t shown in the past. We’re rebounding the ball well and we’re defending pretty good.
“Mercer’s a good basketball team. Mercer had a big win at Southern California, probably one of their most talented teams in a while. And we answered them well in the second half.”
The Eagles return to action Saturday when they host Appalachian State at 3 p.m. The game will be televised by SportSouth.
WOFFORD 85, TOCCOA FALLS 35
SPARTANBURG, S.C. ? Wofford College men’s basketball team defeated Toccoa Falls 85-35 on Monday night at Benjamin Johnson Arena. The Terriers were led by Noah Dahlman, Corey Godzinski, Marcus Jackson and Terry Martin, each with eleven points in the game.
Wofford improved to 3-1 on the season, while Toccoa Falls fell to 4-5. Toccoa Falls was led by Cody Clevenger with nine points. The Terriers held a commanding 54-7 lead in rebounding and shot 64.3 percent from the floor.
The Terriers jumped out to a 7-0 lead. The Eagles closed the gap to one point at 7-6, which was the closest that Toccoa Falls would come to Wofford in the game. Beginning with a lay-up by Noah Dahlman, Wofford scored the next 24 points. Kerington Youmans broke the scoring drought at 31-8 with 8:30 remaining in the first half.
Following a dunk by Tim Johnson and a three-pointer by Marcus Jackson, Wofford took a 49-12 lead. The Terriers closed the first half with a lay-up by Terry Martin for a 53-12 lead at the break. In the first half, Wofford shot 63.9 percent from the floor and held the Eagles to 4 of 23 shooting.
After a basket and free throw by Noah Dahlman to open the second half, Wofford had a 56-12 lead. The Terriers went on a 8-0 run to extend the margin to 68-23. The largest lead of the game was at 52 points after a jump shot by Drew Crowell with 4:07 remaining in the game. Toccoa Falls’ Chris Grover hit a three-pointer with 3:37 left in the game, which was followed by a free throw by Tim Johnson for the 85-35 final score.
Wofford’s next game will be Monday, December 3 at Wisconsin. The game will be televised nationally on ESPN2 at 9:00 pm.