SoCon Men’s Basketball Recaps for December 15, 2007
ELON 66, WOFFORD 57
ELON, N.C. ? Montell Watson and Ola Atoyebi each put up 16 points as Elon defeated Wofford 66-57 Saturday night at Alumni Gym to fashion its second 3-0 Southern Conference men’s basketball start since joining the league in 2003.
The Phoenix (5-4 overall) soared to a 29-15 lead on a jumper by Atoyebi late in the first period. Shane Nichols sank a jumper to close the opening frame as the Terriers (4-3, 1-1) drew within 29-17 at halftime.
Wofford reeled off the first 11 points of the second stanza and forced turnovers on Elon’s first six possessions of the half, closing to within 29-28 on a fastbreak layup by Drew Gibson with 16:45 left to play in the contest.
A Devan Carter bucket swelled the Phoenix advantage to 31-28 with 14:44 to go, but Terry Martin converted a three-point play the old-fashioned way to force the game’s only tie at 31-31 with 14:24 remaining.
Elon responded by scoring the contest’s next five points to claim the lead for good at 36-31 on a free throw by Watson with 12:44 left on the clock.
The game remained tight until the Phoenix used a 15-6 run to stretch a slim 42-40 edge into a commanding 57-46 cushion on a pair of charity shots by Watson with 1:11 to play.
“It was a really good defensive game for us,” Elon coach Ernie Nestor said. “That’s key for us. That’s who we are. I thought we did some better things tonight. Our offense had a little bit more flow to it and we made some big shots.”
The Phoenix fired 46.7 percent (21 of 45) from the field and a season-best 82.6 percent (19 of 23) from the free throw line while the Terriers shot 40 percent (20 of 50) from the floor and 52.6 percent (10 of 19) from the stripe.
Elon connected on 50 percent (5 of 10) of its three-point field goal attempts for the second time this season while Wofford made 35 percent (7 of 20). The Phoenix shot 50 percent (10 of 20) from beyond the arc in its win over Erskine last month.
Elon’s Brett James posted 12 points and a season-high nine rebounds, narrowly missing his first double-double performance of the season. The Phoenix also received 11 points from Monty Sanders and seven rebounds from Atoyebi.
Sanders (5 for 6) and Atoyebi (8 for 8) recorded career-best outings at the free throw line as Elon improved to 3-0 when leading at halftime and 3-1 in games decided by 10 points or less.
The 17 points that the Phoenix held the Terriers to in the opening period represented the lowest first-half output by an Elon opponent this season. Georgia State scored the second-fewest points in an opening stanza last month at 24.
Wofford entered the evening leading the SoCon in both rebounding offense (41.2 caroms per game) and rebounding defense (30.8 per contest), but lost the battle of the boards to the Phoenix by a 38-25 margin.
The Terriers, who committed just 11 turnovers to Elon’s 15, were led by Nichols (13 points), Gibson (11 points, game-high six assists), Tyler Whatley (10 points, contest-best two blocked shots) and Noah Dahlman (eight rebounds).
Wofford will now face Alabama in the Las Vegas Classic at 8 p.m. Monday while Elon visits Chattanooga Tuesday for a 7 p.m. Southern Conference contest, beginning the first of a pair of stretches of five consecutive road games this season.
UNC GREENSBORO 75, FURMAN 63
GREENSBORO, N.C. ? Kendall Toney connected on three key three-pointers in the second half and All-America candidate Kyle Hines tied his own school record with seven blocked shots to go along with his 35th career double-double as UNC Greensboro rallied for a 75-63 win over Furman in Southern Conference men’s basketball action Saturday night.
They were two of five Spartans in double-figures on Saturday night. Hines led the way with 16 points and 10 rebounds, extending his nation’s longest streak to 58 straight games in double-figures. It was his 90th career game scoring 10 or more points, extending another school record. Hines scored all of his points in the game’s final 26 minutes after being held scoreless until the 5:54 mark of the first half.
Mikko Koivisto added 14 points, while Kevin Oleksiak chipped in 13 points. Toney finished with 10 points, all in the second half. Ben Stywall also scored 10 points, nine of those coming in the opening eight minutes.
“We played better in the second half,” said UNCG coach Mike Dement, who earned his 292nd career win. “I thought we did better defensively in our help and recover. We made it more difficult on them shooting the ball and they missed some open looks, as well. We got more balance in that second half offensively, hitting a couple of three’s and such.”
Hines, a 6-6 senior forward from Sicklerville, NJ, tied the school record that he has equaled twice before. Nathan Popp is the other UNCG player who has recorded seven blocks in a game, achieving it in February 2001. Hines now has 280 blocks in his career, 28 shy of the Southern Conference record.
Furman dropped to 0-8 for the first time since 1944-45. The Paladins, 0-3 in SoCon play, are still winless all-time at Fleming Gym, dropping to 0-7 with Saturday’s loss. UNCG snapped a three-game losing skid to even its record at 4-4 overall and 1-1 in the league.
Furman was led by Noah States’ 16 points, 14 of which came in the first half. Alex Opacic added 13 points. The duo combined to shoot 13-for-25 from the floor. However, the remainder of the Furman squad shot just 13-for-37.
Despite the fact that both teams hadn’t played in at least a week due to final exams, both teams came out hot. The teams combined to make their first six shots from the floor ? three on each side. With Hines doubled with two post players on every touch, other players had to step up. As a result, Stywall scored nine of UNCG’s first 16 points and Oleksiak had the other seven. But Furman hung tough, forging an 18-18 tie at the midway point of the first half.
In fact, the Paladins, who came into the game having allowed six of their first seven opponents to shoot 50 percent or better from the floor, were the ones making a good number of their shots in the first half on Saturday night. Furman shot 15-for-33 from the field in the opening half and held a 38-34 advantage at the break.
Furman held onto that lead until Kendall Toney’s three-pointer ? just the Spartans’ second of the night ? with 14:12 to play gave UNCG a 43-41 lead. The Paladins scored just three points in the first 6:45 of the second half as the Spartans regained the lead.
The lead was still just two when Toney hit another three with 6:51 remaining to make it 56-51. Hines then made his statement, blocking a shot ? his fifth of the game ? grabbing the loose ball and calling time out in a pile-up, then slamming it home on the next offensive possession. That was part of a 9-0 run that gave UNCG its largest lead of the night to that point at nine. Furman got no closer than nine points after that.
After the good shooting first half by the Paladins, UNCG held Furman to just 25 points in the second half and 38 percent shooting from the floor. That coupled with UNCG’s 55 percent shooting in the second half turned the game around.
CHATTANOOGA 86, COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON 70
CHATTANOOGA, TENN. - Junior forward Khalil Hartwell (Philadelphia, Pa.) led four Mocs in double-figures with a career-high 19 points and pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds as Chattanooga (5-4, 2-0) defeated the College of Charleston (4-4, 1-1) 86-70 Saturday evening in a Southern Conference men’s basketball game at The McKenzie Arena.
After jumping out to a 22-point lead in the first half, Chattanooga withstood a fierce rally by the Cougars as they locked up the 16-point victory and improved to 2-0 in the Southern Conference.
Trailing 30-8 with 7:46 remaining in the opening half, the Cougars mounted a run of their own to get back in the game as they closed out the first half with a 20-9 run to draw to within 39-28 at the break.
CofC continued to make it a tight affair in the second half as they pulled to within seven points, 43-36, behind two three-pointers by junior forward Dustin Scott and again at 47-40 with 15:55 to play. Chattanooga would maintain at least a seven point advantage until the 9:57 mark when a three-pointer by junior guard Marcus Hammond narrowed the gap to 60-54.
The Mocs pushed their lead back to ten points within the minute before a 9-1 run, all on three-pointers, made the score 65-63 with 7:35 to play. That would be as close as the Cougars would get as Chattanooga then posted a 14-0 run over the next five minutes to make the score 79-63 and put the game out of reach before wrapping up the 86-70 victory.
Chattanooga staked themselves to an early advantage as they jumped ahead 16-4 at the 14:45 mark of the first half before extending to an impressive 27-6 advantage with 11:08 remaining in the half.
Sophomore guard Tony White, Jr. led five Cougars in double-figures with 12 points and was joined by freshman guard Andrew Goudelock with 11 points and freshman forward Jeremy Simmons, freshman forward Antwaine Wiggins and junior forward Jermaine Johnson each finished with 10 points on the night. Simmons added a team-high eight rebounds while Wiggins and Johnson each grabbed six boards, with all six of Johnson’s coming on the offensive glass.
For Chattanooga, Hartwell was joined by junior guard Stephen McDowell (Indianapolis, Ind.) with 15 points and a season-high seven rebounds while senior forward Marcus Watts (Clinton, S.C.) and senior guard Kevin Bridgewaters (Columbia, Ky.) each contributed 12 points. Watts added nine rebounds while junior center Qavotstaraj Waddell (Norfolk, Va.) chipped in with six points and seven rebounds.
As a team, Chattanooga held the Cougars to only 33 percent shooting and outrebounded CofC by 20 rebounds, 56-36. In the second half, the Mocs pulled down 30 rebounds to only 11 for Charleston.
FLORIDA 52, GEORGIA SOUTHERN 49
JACKSONVILLE, FLA. --- Two free throws by Florida’s Nick Calathes with 34 seconds left gave the Gators a lead they wouldn’t relinquish to rally for a 52-49 win over Georgia Southern Saturday afternoon at the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
The loss snaps a seven-game winning streak for the Eagles, the longest streak before January since 1950.
While Georgia Southern (7-2) outshot Florida (10-1) 41.2%-25.5% for the game, the Eagles went without a point for the final 3:53 of the contest.
UF’s Dan Werner scored a career-high 20 points and had 14 rebounds to help the Gators come back from a 27-18 halftime deficit.
GSU freshman Willie Powers (Gainesville, Fla.) poured in 17 points and was the only Eagle in double-figures. Senior Matthew Fields grabbed 10 rebounds.
Werner gave Florida its first lead since the opening moments at the 6:28 mark of the second half with a 3-pointer at the top of the key to beat the shot clock buzzer.
But the Eagles scored six of the next eight points and a lay-up from Powers with 3:54 put GSU up 49-48.
That would be Georgia Southern’s final points of the game.
Calathes went 4-for-4 at the line in the last 34 seconds to ice the win.
The Eagles play their final contest before Christmas on Thursday, hosting Asbury College at 7:30 p.m.
INDIANA 100, WESTERN CAROLINA 52
BKLOOMINGTON, IND. - Thirteenth-ranked Indiana put three players in double-figures, led by a game-high 26 points from freshman guard Eric Gordon as the Hoosiers handed Western Carolina a 100-52 defeat Saturday night in front of 13,142 fans at Assembly Hall, extending IU's home winning streak to 24, currently the fourth-longest in the nation.
Western put two players in double figures led by freshman guard Michael Porrini, who seemingly chased Gordon all over the court on the defensive end, with a hard-earned, career-high 20 points on 6-of-15 shooting. It was the eighth-straight game the rookie from Massillon, Ohio has scored in double-figures, having reached double digits in all but one game this season. Porrini also led the Catamounts (3-6) with seven rebounds, while also dishing out a pair of assists.
Senior Arnold Gore joined his frosh teammate in double figures with 16 points while freshman Blake Gallagher pulled down six rebounds while battling against the larger Hoosiers.
"Physically, at times, we were overmatched, and at times I didn't think we competed the way we had to compete," said WCU head coach Larry Hunter during post-game comments on the Catamount Sports Network. "(Indiana's) defense really took us out of our offense. At times we struggled to handle the ball and our execution would break down after one or two passes. They basically, most of the first half, took us away from the inside. In the second half we did things a little bit better. We got it in the paint and we were a little bit more efficient on offense, but the game was well over at that point."
Western managed to hang close with its nationally-ranked foe for most of the opening 20 minutes before the Hoosiers mounted a late run to build their lead. Gore drained a jumper on a pass from sophomore Brandon Giles to close the deficit to within 10, 28-18 at the 7:36 mark of the first half, but that was as close as the Catamounts would get the remainder of the game.
Sparked by a dunk by senior D.J. White, Indiana (9-1) used an 11-0 run to push its advantage to 21 with four minutes showing before the half. Then, the Hoosiers outscored the Catamounts 13-to-3 over the final 3:49 to take a 28-point, 52-24, lead into intermission.
Out of the halftime locker room, WCU matched buckets with Indiana as both Gore and classmate Eric Wilson tallied lay-ups in the paint inside the first minute of the second half. But, a Catamount cold spell allowed IU to push the game out of reach. Down 26, 54-28, WCU was held without a bucket for four and a half minutes as Indiana tallied 15 unanswered points to go up 41, 69-28, and would eventually take a game-high edge of 51 twice en route to the victory.
In addition to Gordon's game-high 26 point, Indiana got 21 from forward D.J. White, who was coming off back-to-back Big Ten Player of the Week honors. White also led the Hoosiers with 11 rebounds marking his sixth-straight, double-double. Rounding out IU's double-digit scorers was Jordan Crawford with 19 and five assists.
The Catamounts committed 21 turnovers and were out rebounded by the Hoosiers, 50-to-24, falling to 0-10 lifetime against teams from the Big Ten.
Western Carolina continues its two-game road swing through the Big Ten on Monday night as it visits Illinois at 7:00 pm CT / 8:00 pm ET.
THE CITADEL 79, ATLANTA CHRISTIAN 55
CHARLESTON, S.C. ? The Citadel Basketball (4-5, 0-2 SoCon) put on a nice performance in front of their home crowd Saturday afternoon as they defeated the Chargers of Atlanta Christian 79-55. The Bulldogs got great production from freshman guard Cameron Wells and forward Matt Clark. Wells had a double-double on the night scoring 26 points and retrieving 10 boards, and Clark scored 14 points while collecting three offensive rebounds.
The Bulldogs come out strong against Atlanta Christian jumping out to an early 10 point lead with the score at 12-2. From there the Bulldogs and Chargers battled back and forth until the Bulldogs put together a 12-0 run to extend their lead to 20 with 4:53 left in the first half. Atlanta Christian would score a pair of free throws before the Bulldogs closed out the first half by manufacturing a 9-2 exchange leaving the score at 44-17 going into the half.
Freshman guard Cameron Wells picked up right where he left off in Davidson scoring 16 points and six boards in the first half. Wells knocked down seven of his eight shots, including two three pointers. Freshman forward Matt Clark had a nice first half as well scoring 12 points and recording three rebounds.
“I think we may have been a little tired after Thursday’s game at Davidson,” said Bulldog Head Coach Ed Conroy. “I tried to keep them charged by calling timeouts to ensure that they had enough energy.”
Coming out of halftime, the Chargers struck first to cut the Bulldog lead to 25, but a three point basket by Tyrell McDowell and another quick layup by Clark that put the Bulldogs up 50-20. After a free throw basket by Atlanta Christian, Wells would knock down a pair of free throws of his own to give the Bulldogs their largest lead of the afternoon at 31 with 16:49 left in the game.
Atlanta Christian answered back going on a 9-0 run cutting the Bulldog lead back to 23. The Bulldogs slowed the Chargers’ drive with by a Zach Urbanus free throw, and the two teams exchanged a couple of baskets. Atlanta Christian worked 6-0 run to get back into the game only down by 17. The Bulldogs charged right back to go on an 8-0 run of their own to build their lead back up to 25 at 65-40. The two teams scored basket for basket as the game wound up with an even 15-15 exchange as the Bulldogs held on to defeat the Chargers 79-55.
“Cameron did a great job inside and really stepped up rebounding for us without Demetrius available,” Conroy said. “It is really important to get to the free throw line and we did a good job of that and taking advantage of those opportunities.”
The Citadel shot 48.4 percent from the field and 73.7 percent from the free throw line. Wells had an outstanding afternoon collecting the first double-double of his career scoring 26 points with 10 rebounds. Clark finished the game strong scoring 14, and freshmen Tyrell McDowell and Daniel Eykyn put up 10 points each for the Bulldogs. Atlanta Christian was led by Stacy Williams who totaled 17 points and seven boards for the Chargers.
“Seattle is going to be a great trip for our group,” said Conroy. “Washington State is a very good team and we will have to play exceptionally.”
The Bulldogs will depart Tuesday, Dec. 18 for Seattle, Wash. to play Washington State in the Cougar Hardwood Classic, on Thursday, Dec. 20 which will be aired on Fox Sports and SportSouth at 10:30 p.m. ET (7:30 p.m. PT). Bulldog fans can catch the live action through an audio stream on www.CitadelSports.com through Bulldog Insider and on CNN 1450.