SoCon Men’s Basketball recaps for December 1, 2007
GEORGIA SOUTHERN 85, APPALACHIAN STATE 72
STATESBORO, GA. --- Senior Louis Graham (West Palm Beach, Fla.) led a quintet of players in double-figures to lead the Georgia Southern men’s basketball team to an 85-72 victory over Appalachian State Saturday afternoon at Hanner Fieldhouse.
The win is GSU’s sixth straight overall and its 6-1 record is the program’s best start since 1991-92. The Eagles also improve to 2-0 in the Southern Conference. App State drops to 3-5, 0-2.
Graham recorded game-high totals of 21 points and nine rebounds. Senior Dwayne Foreman (Apopka, Fla.) added 16, followed by seniors Matthew Fields (Jacksonville, Fla.) and Anthony Marshall (Lake Worth, Fla.) with 11 apiece. Freshman Willie Powers (Gainesville, Fla.) rounded out the group with 10.
“I think the best thing about our team right now is that we’ve got different people stepping up and that’s a good sign,” said GSU head coach Jeff Price. “I thought Matt Fields and Anthony Marshall were the difference in the game today. I think those two people made a huge difference in the basketball game. [They] made a few shots and Matt was all over the floor. It’s good to see Powers and some other guys step up.”
Fourteen of Foreman’s total came in the second half. He shot 4-of-6 from behind the arc and had four assists.
For the Mountaineers, Donte Minter totaled 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting. Donald Sims came off the bench to pour in 12 points.
Georgia Southern put the game out of reach early. Down 14-13, the Eagles went on a 22-5 run over a 7:38 stretch, sparked by two Marshall 3-pointers. Eight different players contributed baskets during that time.
“For the most part I thought we were pretty balanced both inside and out,” said Price. “We pushed the ball really well and we defended well.”
While Foreman caught fire after halftime, Marshall did his damage in the opening frame. All 11 of his points were in the first 20 minutes.
App State managed to cut the deficit to 11 twice in the first few minutes of the second period, but an 8-0 rally by GSU, including back-to-back 3’s from Foreman and Powers gave the Eagles an insurmountable 19-point edge.
“We kept attacking pretty good,” said Price. “As a coach, when you’re up 17, you want to keep going up and up, but you understand you’re not going to win conference games by 40 points and people aren’t going to quit. And App didn’t quit. They keep fighting back and every time they fought back, we had an answer.”
The victory snaps a four-game losing streak to ASU. The Mountaineers had also excelled in Statesboro, winning four of the last five in Hanner.
“They beat us four straight times,” said Price. “App was the one team in the league that since I’ve been here, we’ve struggled with. It was good to see our guys come out and answer well today.”
ELON 66, FURMAN 61
ELON, N.C. ? Ola Atoyebi canned 18 points ? 14 in the second half ? as Elon erased a 13-point deficit in the second stanza to claim a 66-61 Southern Conference men’s basketball triumph over Furman Saturday night at Alumni Gym.
The Paladins (0-6 overall, 0-2 SoCon) used an early 24-10 surge to transform a 5-0 deficit into a 24-15 advantage on a three-point bucket by Justin Dehm with 6:40 left to play in the opening stanza. Furman’s lead soon swelled to 32-19 on a trey by Bobby Austin with 30 seconds to go before the break.
Brett James’ putback as time expired pulled the Phoenix (4-3, 2-0) within 32-21 at halftime. Noah States jumper just 19 seconds into the second period pushed the Paladin edge to 34-21 before Elon put together a 27-9 run to go ahead 48-43 on a jumper by Montell Watson with 6:35 remaining in the contest.
Furman answered with a 6-2 spurt to pull within 50-49 on a basket inside by Jordan Miller with 4:57 to go, but could not regain the lead. A 9-3 surge put the Phoenix up 59-52 on a bucket by Atoyebi with 2:00 to play.
Elon erupted for 45 second-half points on 69.6-percent shooting (16 of 23) after struggling for 21 first-half markers on 41.7-percent shooting (10 of 24). Meanwhile, the Paladins were held to 29 second-half points on 41.7-percent marksmanship (10 of 24) after scoring 32 first-half points on a 62.5-percent performance (10 of 16).
“We challenged our players,” Elon coach Ernie Nestor said. “Obviously, we don’t anticipate shutting anyone out, but we have to make it more and more difficult for teams to score. Our offense flows out of our defense. To be a good basketball team, you need to play both halves.”
The Phoenix fired 55.3 percent (26 of 47) from the floor for the contest while Furman connect on exactly 50 percent (20 of 40) of its attempts from the field. Elon edged the Paladins 26-18 on the glass. Furman committed 15 turnovers and forced 13 Phoenix miscues.
Atoyebi sank eight of his 10 shots from the floor and pulled down six rebounds while James added 14 points and a game-high seven rebounds ? both season highs ? and Watson posted 11 markers and four assists. For Furman, Jordan Miller knocked down 12 points while States and Alex Opacic each tallied 11.
Elon outscored Furman 34-20 in the paint, 18-17 off turnovers and 17-6 off second chances. The Paladin bench edged the Phoenix bench by a 19-15 margin. Elon shot 71.4 percent (10 of 14) from the free throw line while Furman made 70.6 percent (12 of 17) of its tries from the charity stripe.
The Paladins converted 45 percent (9 of 20) of its attempts from three-point land while the Phoenix shot 30.8 percent (4 of 13) from behind the arc. The nine three-point field goals made by Furman mark the most allowed by Elon this season.
DUKE 79, DAVIDSON 73
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Gerald Henderson scored 21 points and Greg Paulus had two key baskets and a steal in the final 2 minutes as No. 7 Duke remained unbeaten by holding off pesky Davidson 79-73 on Saturday.
Jon Scheyer scored 15 points and Kyle Singler added 14 and grabbed 12 rebounds for the Blue Devils (8-0), who needed big plays from Paulus down the stretch to extend their winning streak over Davidson to 21 straight.
Davidson (3-3), which took top-ranked North Carolina to the wire just over two weeks ago, rallied from down 16 in the first half and 12 with 5 minutes to play, getting within 70-65 with 2:37 left.
Paulus then hit a 3-pointer, and after Stephen Curry hit a 3 at the other end, Paulus' baseline fadeaway with 32 seconds left gave Duke a 75-68 lead.
Paulus then stole the ball from Jason Richards, and Duke held on with Henderson's two free throws with 5.3 seconds left putting it away.
Curry scored 20 points despite playing the final 12 minutes with four fouls, and Richards added 14 points and 11 assists for Davidson.
Poor shooting did in Davidson again in its 23rd straight loss to a ranked team. The Wildcats hit eight of 24 3s, after shooting 4-of-22 from long range against the Tar Heels. Davidson also missed seven of 12 free throws.
Duke had won its first seven games by an average of 15 points, including an 82-58 rout of No. 20 Wisconsin on Tuesday. But despite being far superior in athleticism, the Blue Devils never got comfortable against Davidson, which won a school-record 29 games last season before losing to Maryland in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
Duke, though, was able to hit 11 3-pointers to offset 16 turnovers and win its 42nd straight game against Southern Conference teams, in part thanks to foul trouble from Davidson's star.
Curry, the son of former NBA 3-point specialist Dell Curry, picked up his second offensive foul with 8:39 left in the first half. With him on the bench, Duke immediately scored 10 straight points in a 17-4 run.
The Blue Devils eventually took a 40-24 lead on Scheyer's 3-pointer and three free throws.
The Wildcats got back in the game by going on an 8-0 run to start the second half, with Curry's straightaway 3 cutting Duke's lead to 43-40.
But Curry would pick up his fourth foul on another charge with 11:58 left, and Henderson's alley-oop dunk and driving layup got Duke's cushion back to 10.
COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON 86, WESTERN CAROLINA 84
CULLOWHEE, N.C. - College of Charleston held on for an 86-84 triumph over homestanding Western Carolina in Southern Conference action in the Ramsey Center.
Catamount freshman forward Blake Gallagher boarded an Andrew Goudelock missed free throw, igniting a fast break that featured a coast-to-coast dribble drive by freshman Michael Porrini who dished to Gore on the low block for a contested lay-up. Feeling the pressure from the Cougar defense, Gore circled the rim with a left-handed lay-up that just rimmed out as time expired, relegating WCU to its third-straight defeat on the season.
"I was really ecstatic about the way we played in a lot of phases of the game. You could actually build a case that we deserved to win. That's not taking anything away from the College of Charleston because they did some big things that they had to do as well," said WCU head coach Larry Hunter."
The loss overshadowed two career performances for the Catamounts, which put four players in double figures. Sophomore forward Brandon Giles posted a career-high 32 points on 14-of-18 shooting, including 4-of-6 from beyond the 3-point arc.
"I thought Brandon (Giles) executed well - especially offensively," Hunter said. "He used his size, length and strength a little bit tonight and that was something he did not do as much as a freshman consistently and something he had not done consistently until this week."
Freshmen Porrini and Gallagher scored 14 and 11 points, respectively, with the latter marking the most in Gallagher's young college career. The Monroe, N.C., native also tied his career-high with eight rebounds, while Porrini led the team with nine boards and tied his career-high with seven assists. Gore added 15 points, six of which came from the free throw line
After trading buckets through the opening minutes of the contest, it was the College of Charleston (4-3, 1-0 SoCon) which moved ahead first. The Cougars were able to capitalize on a stretch which saw WCU miss shots on four of five-consecutive possessions to stretch their advantage to what would prove to be a game-high 10 points, 34-24, with five minutes showing on the clock. Western was able to trim the deficit to five with consecutive buckets, including a triple from Porrini, but the Cougars went to the locker room up eight, 40-32.
Down nine, 65-56, midway through the second half, Western Carolina (2-5, 0-2 SoCon) went on a 13-0 run utilizing four missed shots by the Cougars to claim their first lead since early in the first half. First, Gallagher converted an interior pass from senior Eric Wilson to trim the lead to seven on a potential three-point play. On the ensuing possession, Gore drained a 3-pointer - again on a pass from Wilson - to slice the deficit to four. Giles then converted on back-to-back trips on dishes from Porrini, including a jumper and a 3-pointer to give Western a one-point edge.
The run culminated when Porrini forced a turnover near mid-court, flung the ball ahead to sophomore Brigham Waginger for the fast-break lay-up and a three-point, 68-65, lead with 7:38 showing on the clock, prompting a CofC timeout.
After the stoppage, the Cougars settled down and eventually reclaimed the lead on a pair of Tony White, Jr., free throws with six minutes remaining in the contest. Charleston was able to balloon its lead to five on two occasions, with the final bulge coming on Jermaine Johnson's final field goal of the contest.
But the Catamounts, aided by a raucous Ramsey Center crowd, refused to go away. Giles canned his fourth 3-pointer of the night with 1:18 to play to cut the lead to a pair. On Charleston's next possession, the Catamount defense tightened around Johnson, who was forced to miss a lay-up which was boarded by Gore. After a quick timeout, Hunters' squad ran a play to try and spring sharp-shooting sophomore Jake Robinson for a 3-pointer at the top of the key. Chasing on the play, the Cougars defended the play well and Robinson's offering fell short.
Forced to foul, Johnson hit both free throws at the other end to stretch the lead back to four, 84-80. Robinson has another opportunity the next time up the floor but Porrini pulled down the offensive rebound on his miss and was sent to the free throw line where he hit both charity tosses to pull WCU back to within a pair with 11 seconds to play. The Catamounts fouled on the inbounds play with White missing one of two for a three-point edge with less than nine ticks remaining.
It was the Cougars turn to play the foul game, hacking Porrini on the ensuing drive up the floor to put him at the free throw line down three with six seconds to play. The Massillon, Ohio, native hit both freebies to trail by just one and set up the frantic finish as Goudelock missed the second of a two shot foul and Gore's lay-up circled the cylinder for the defeat.
Charleston matched WCU with four players in double figures led by the double-double of Johnson who finished with 26 points on 9-of-13 shooting and 11 rebounds. Goudelock scored 20 points with four 3-pointers and five assists, while Antwaine Wiggins and Jeremy Simmons each finished with 11 for the Cougars, who have won three-straight on the year.
Western Carolina opens its first of five-straight non-conference games by hosting North Carolina Central this Wednesday, Dec. 5 at 7:03 pm in the Ramsey Center. College of Charleston returns to SoCon action in two weeks as the Cougars visit Chattanooga at the McKenzie Arena on Dec. 15.
KENT STATE 71, UNC GREENSBORO 64
GREENSBORO, N.C. ? Kent State shot 55 percent from the floor and had four players in double figures as the Golden Flashes held off a late charge to beat UNC Greensboro, 71-64, in front of a capacity crowd at Fleming Gym on Saturday night.
Mikko Koivisto led all scorers with a career-high 22 points for UNCG (3-2). Mike Scott led Kent State with 15 points, while Haminn Quaintance had a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
UNCG’s All-American candidate Kyle Hines finished with 14 points and nine rebounds, extending his nation’s longest double-figure scoring streak to 55 straight games. Hines spent most of the night in foul trouble, picking up two quick fouls midway through the first half and a third with 2:38 to play before intermission. The senior from Sicklerville, NJ also struggled at the free throw line, shooting just 4-for-9 from the stripe.
Kent State (6-2) opened the second half on a 13-2 run that erased a first-half that saw UNCG lead throughout the 20 minutes. The Spartans scored just one basket in the first seven minutes of the second half. In fact, UNCG missed 10 of its first 11 shots from the floor in the second half.
However, a crazy sequence got the Spartans back into with a little over two minutes to play. Quaintance dunked to give Kent State what looked to be a comfortable nine-point lead. But Quaintance was called for a technical foul ? his fourth personal ? when he hung on the rim. Koivisto sunk the two free throws and then Ben Stywall converted a conventional three-point play to cut the Kent State lead to 65-61 with 2:16 to play.
After a Kent State turnover, Kevin Oleksiak converted one of two to make it a three-point game with 1:55 left. UNCG looked to have another turnover on the next possession, but a loose ball wound up in the hands of Mike Scott underneath the basket for an easy lay-up.
Hines countered on the next possession for UNCG to take it back to a one possession game with 1:12 left. He then fouled Scott on the next possession, who knocked down both free throws and Koivisto missed on the Spartans’ next possession.
“We got some open looks early on ? Kevin (Oleksiak) and Kendall (Toney) and me,” said Koivisto, who has now made a three-pointer in 15 consecutive games. “In the second half, though, they started trailing our shooters more and we weren’t getting as many open looks at the basket on the perimeter.”
The Spartans came out of the gates red hot. UNCG, which connected on 12 three-pointers in its win over USC Upstate in the last outing, knocked down three-pointers on its first three possessions, two by Koivisto and a third by Oleksiak to open up a 9-0 lead and force a Kent State timeout just 1:54 into the game.
The Golden Flashes recovered to pull within two with a pivotal three-point play. Hines’ picked up his second foul at 12:57, both fouls within 40 seconds of each other. The conventional three-point play by Julian Sullinger sent Hines to the bench and pulled Kent State back to just a 14-12 deficit.
Hines came back twice after that, but picked up a costly third foul with 2:28 left in the first half when he came over the top of a Golden Flash on an offensive rebound. He finished the first half with just four points on 2-of-4 shooting from the floor.
That, however, caused the Spartans to get out of sync offensively. After Hines’ third foul, the Spartans shot just 9-for-31 from the floor the rest of the night.
Despite that, however, the Spartans managed to go into the intermission clinging to a one-point lead, 34-33, behind Koivisto’s 14 first-half points. However, the sophomore from Vantaa, Finland would not score again until the 8:17 mark of the second half.
The Golden Flashes scored the first nine points of the second half, grabbing their first lead of the night and taking control. On the opening possession of the second half, Scott’s bucket in the paint made it 35-34 and Rodriquez Sherman followed with a three from the left corner to give Kent State a four-point advantage. It wasn’t until a Hines put back at 16:34 that UNCG got on the board in the second half.
In fact, after Hines’ third foul, the Spartans missed 16 of their next 19 shots from the floor to dig themselves a hole that they couldn’t quite get out of. UNCG also didn’t help its cause at the free throw line, shooting just 13-for-24 from the charity stripe.
CHATTANOOGA 87, THE CITADEL 74
CHATTANOOGA, TENN. ? Zach Urbanus and Cameron Wells both recorded a career-high night in points Saturday night in Chattanooga but The Citadel fell to the Mocs in both teams’ conference opener, 87-74, at McKenzie Arena.
The Citadel (3-4, 0-1 Southern) played most of the game without a front court due to a Demetrius Nelson foot injury and Matt Clark’s early foul trouble. Forced to play a guard-heavy offense, the Bulldogs had three freshman guards ? Urbanus, Wells and Austin Dahn ? each record over 34 minutes played in the game. Chattanooga (4-3, 1-0 SoCon) attacked the exposed post as Nelson’s injury limited the senior forward to only 12 minutes of playing time, all in the first half. The Mocs capitalized on the short bench in the front court, outscoring the Bulldogs 42-16 in the paint.
“I’m not happy with the loss, but I’m very proud of our effort tonight,” said head coach Ed Conroy. “Our freshman guards had a gritty and gutty night and did a sensational job. We pretty much played five freshmen the entire game. Give credit to Chattanooga, they did a tremendous job attacking the middle of the court and then making the shots from the outside when they needed to.”
A short and inexperienced bench forced a lot of playing time for a few players with Phillip Pandak and Daniel Eykyn both on the floor for more than 20 minutes. “Our bench gets short with injuries and foul trouble and that puts Wells, Dahn and Urbanus on the floor for 35 minutes.
But guys like Daniel Eykyn did a great job tonight, playing 21 minutes and drawing three charges. He also grabbed four rebounds. Dino Dogan only played two minutes, but went 1-for-1 on a nice hook shot from the post. Our freshmen gave a great effort tonight.” The Bulldogs held the game close for the first nine minutes of the ballgame before Chattanooga went on a 7-1 run over the course of two minutes to hold the 25-15 advantage. Despite shooting 37.5 percent in the first half of play, that would be the only run the Mocs would be able to mount in the first half as Urbanus scored 15 and Austin Dahn added 10 points in the first period to keep the Bulldogs within striking distance. Chattanooga held a 13 point lead with 2:49 remaining in the first half before Phillip Pandak sank a three-pointer to bring the deficit back down to 10 points. Wells nabbed a defensive rebound off a missed three attempt by the Mocs’ Stephen McDowell. Wells took the ball down the court and drew a foul off UTC’s Kevin Bridgewaters, sinking both free throws to cut the Chattanooga deficit to eight before the end of the half.
Chattanooga got hot early in the second half, racing out to their biggest lead of the game in the first eight minutes of play. Down 66-43, the Bulldogs spent most of the second half whittling away at the 23-point deficit they faced entering the final 12 minutes of play in the game. That deficit dropped to as little as 10 with 4:49 left to play as a young, pesky Bulldog team prevented Chattanooga from putting The Citadel away.
The Citadel ended the game with only 10 turnovers, a season-best turnover mark for the Cadets. The team now has approximately two weeks to rest and recover with their next game not scheduled until a Dec. 13 contest at Davidson.
“Right now, we have exams coming up and we want to focus on school,” said Conroy, of the scheduling. “We want to have good grades and we’ve already started off on the right foot with some great midterm scores.”