SoCon Men’s Basketball recaps for December 30, 2007
COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON 76, JAMES MADISON 53
CHARLESTON, S.C.- Jermaine Johnson scored 14 points and pulled down 14 rebounds while teammate Dustin Scott added 10 points and 10 boards to lead the College of Charleston to a 76-53 win over James Madison before 3,165 in the championship game of the Jim ?N Nick’s Cougar Classic at John Kresse Arena on Sunday.
With the win, the Cougars improved to 6-6 on the season. The Dukes fell to 8-3. Charleston won its Holiday Classic for the 10th straight season and won its 21st consecutive game in the Classic overall dating back to 1997.
Andrew Goudelock and Scott scored seven points each as the Cougars led 29-23 at halftime.
After Abdular Jalloh’s layup with 16:33 remaining cut Charleston’s lead to 35-31, the Cougars used a 15-6 run to grab a 50-37 with 9:52 left. JMU, which entered the game shooting 50.9 percent from the floor, was limited to a season-low 31.0 percent hitting just 22-of-71 attempts.
Johnson, who was named the Classic’s MVP, recorded his fifth double-double in the last seven games. Charleston’s Tony White, Jr. had 12 points while Donavan Monroe and Goudelock added 11 points each.
James Madison was led by Juwann James’ game-high 19 points and 10 rebounds by Terrance Carter.
The all-Classic team included: Scott (CofC), Goudelock (CofC), Marcus Hammond (CofC), James Florence (Mercer), James (JMU).
The Cougars play host to Southern Conference foe Appalachian State in a 7:00 tipoff at Kresse Arena on Thursday, Jan. 3.
WRIGHT STATE 87, CHATTANOOGA 82
CHATTANOOGA, TENN. - Sophomore guard Vaughn Duggins notched a game-high 22 points and sophomore guard Todd Brown posted 21 points to lead Wright State (8-3) to an 87-82 victory over Chattanooga (8-5) Sunday evening in the Championship Game of the Dr Pepper Classic at The McKenzie Arena.
After seeing 27-point first half lead cut to 50-34 at the break, Wright State opened the second half with a 16-7 run to extend their lead to 66-41 with 13:01 to play. The Raiders would then remain firmly in control of the game until the 2:23 mark. At that point Chattanooga posted a 24-10 run, fueled by five three-pointers from junior guard Stephen McDowell (Indianapolis, Ind.), to close to within 85-82 before finally falling 87-82.
It was a much different scene in the first half as Wright State took control of the game very early on, posting a dominating 34-5 run and taking a 34-7 lead at the 10:20 mark. During that stretch of 7:30, the Raiders notched 12 consecutive points and outscored Chattanooga 20-1 at one point.
An 8-0 run by the Mocs narrowed the margin to 34-15 before Wright State pushed its lead to 42-18 with 5:27 to play in the half. Chattanooga managed to get back in the game with a 16-8 run just before the break, making the score 50-34 at the break, but would not be able to overcome the early deficit.
In addition to Duggins and Brown’s offensive performances, the Raiders also received double-digit performances from freshman guard Troy Tabler and senior forward Jordan Pleiman who finished with 16 and 14 points, respectively. Tabler finished the evening with 4-of-6 from beyond the arc while Pleiman added a team-high eight rebounds. junior guard Will Graham added a well rounded game with eight points, four rebounds and a team-high five assists.
McDowell led the way for Chattanooga with 21 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the field, all from three-point range, while junior forward Khalil Hartwell (Philadelphia, Pa.) added 13 points and eight rebounds. Senior guard Kevin Bridgewaters (Columbia, Ky.) rounded out the double-figure scorers for the Mocs with 10 points while junior forward Nicchaeus Doaks (Trenton, Tenn.) added nine points and game-highs of nine rebounds and two blocks. Senior forward Marcus Watts (Clinton, S.C.) finished the evening with eight points and six rebounds.
Chattanooga resumes its schedule in the new year when they travel to Spartanburg, S.C. for a 7:00 p.m. contest against Wofford on January 3, 2008.
2007 DR PEPPER CLASSIC ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Shane Dansby ? Belmont
Scottie Wilson ? Wright State
Kevin Goffney ? Chattanooga
Vaughn Duggins ? Wright State
Nicchaeus Doaks ? Chattanooga
Most Outstanding Player
Todd Brown ? Wright State
EAST TENNESSEE STATE 72, APPALACHIAN STATE 69
JOHNSON CITY, TENN. - Appalachian State University men’s basketball came up just short in a 72-69 loss at East Tennessee State Sunday afternoon in the 120th meeting between the old rivals. The Mountaineers trailed by as many as 21 points, but a 14-0 run pulled the Mountaineers within two with less a minute remaining in the contest.
Appalachian (5-6) was led by freshman Donald Sims (Gaffney, S.C./Fork Union) in the loss with 13 points. Jeremi Booth (Altavista, Va./Fork Union) and Doug McLaughlin-Williams (Reston, Va./South Lakes) scored nine and 12 points, respectively, most coming on a late flurry of three-pointers that got ASU back into the game.
The Mountaineers got off to slow start, hitting just one of their first 14 shots from the field and shooting 23 percent from the floor in the half. For the game, the uncharacteristically cold Apps hit 39 percent of their attempts in the cavernous Memorial Center, tying for the team’s worst effort from the field this season.
ETSU (6-7) was paced by Andrew Reed’s 24 points and 12 boards that led a 48-percent shooting effort by the Bucs. Mike Smith had 15 points and seven rebounds off the bench for the Buccaneers.
ASU faced a 38-20 halftime deficit and ETSU extended that margin to a game-high 21 points over the next eight minutes to take a 53-32 lead. Appalachian responded with a 12-2 run that saw three three-pointers from Booth and one from Sims to get ASU within 12 points, 56-44, with 8:32 left.
Over the next five minutes, ETSU maintained that lead and slowly added to it, going up 66-50 with 3:48 left to play on a pair of Reed free throws. However, the Bucs would be kept off the board for the next 3:27 as ASU went on its 14-0 run to pull within two, 66-64, on back-to-back McLaughlin-Williams three-pointers. ETSU ended the charge with a pair of Kevin Tiggs free throws to stretch the lead back out to four with 29 seconds on the clock. Seven seconds later, Sims drew contact and got to the line where the 92-percent free-throw shooter drained two shots to put ASU back within two.
ASU was forced to foul on the ensuing possession and Smith hit both shots to make it a two-possession game again. ASU’s next offensive effort resulted in two missed three-point attempts, the second of which was corralled by Smith, who sank two more free throws to seal the victory. A three-pointer by Ryann Abraham (Mayaguez, Puerto Rico) as time expired accounted for the final 72-69 tally.
The Apps missed their first seven attempts from the field to open the first half and after taking a brief 4-3 lead, were held scoreless for the next four minutes as ETSU rattled off 12 straight points to take a 15-4 lead with 10:57 left in the stanza. A McLaughlin-Williams three-pointer ended the drought and keyed an 8-2 spurt that allowed the Mountaineers back within five points. However, the Bucs quickly reasserted control and ran their lead back out to double digits en route to the 18-point halftime lead.
Appalachian will return to action and Southern Conference play on Thursday when they visit College of Charleston for a 7 p.m. tipoff in John Kresse Arena. The game will be televised regionally on Comcast Sports Southeast (CSS).