Western Carolina 76, Louisiana Tech 62
ANCHORAGE, Alaska ? Freshman guard Greg Avery came off the bench to score a career-high 17 points, including 13 in the second half alone, as Western Carolina evened its seasonal record with a 76-62 win over Louisiana Tech in the consolation semifinal of the 2008 Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout at the Sullivan Arena.
WCU advances to face Northern Illinois (3-3) ? a 71-68 winner over NCAA Division II host, Alaska-Anchorage on Friday ? in the fourth-place game of the consolation bracket. Tip-off from the Sullivan Arena is set for 2:00 pm local time, 6:00 pm ET.
In addition to the play of Avery, the Catamounts (2-2) also received big performances from junior swingman Brandon Giles, who had 15 points and four boards, and junior forward Jake Robinson, who tallied 11 points to stretch his consecutive double-digit scoring outings to nine-straight games dating back to last season. The Canton, N.C., native, moved into sixth-place all-time on WCU’s career 3-pointers made chart with one trey on Friday, giving him 143 all-time to surpass Terry Boyd (1991-92).
Junior point guard Brigham Waginger kept the WCU offense flowing smoothly with eight points and six assists while also swiping three steals, with freshman Keaton Cole adding a career-best eight points off the bench.
Thursday’s hero, red-shirt freshman Harouna Mutombo, finished with seven points including two slam dunks with junior Adrian Gailliard ? who moved back into the starting lineup in place of sophomore Richie Gordon who suffered a mild ankle sprain against San Diego State ? finishing with seven points, four boards and two blocked shots.
Western Carolina (2-2) closed a nip-and-tuck first half that saw six ties and eight lead changes with a 7-0 run to claim a six-point, 29-23, halftime advantage.
With five straight points out of the locker room from Giles, WCU extended its run to 12-0 to stretch its lead to 11 just over a minute into the second stanza. However, La. Tech (2-3) responded with an 11-to-2 spurt of its own to trim the deficit to two points, 36-34, at the 16 minute mark.
Five minutes later, thanks to a pair of technical foul charity tosses by Robinson, the Catamounts ballooned their lead back into double-digits for good, with a Robinson two-point jumper providing WCU's largest advantage of the game at 23 points, 68-45, with seven minutes remaining in regulation. The Bulldogs were able to trim the deficit back to 14 points for the final margin, but never seriously threatened down the stretch.
Louisiana Tech center, Kenneth Cooper, led four Bulldogs in double figures with 13 points and five rebounds, while star guard Kyle Gibson managed 10 points on 3-of-3 from beyond the 3-point arc.
WCU out rebounded its opponent for the third-straight game holding a 34-to-29 edge on the glass against the Bulldogs.
College of Charleston 82, South Carolina 80 (OT)
CHARLESTON, S.C. - A long jumper from sophomore guard Andrew Goudelock sent the game into overtime and a pair of free throws from junior guard Tony White, Jr. sealed the College of Charleston's (5-1) 82-80 overtime victory over in-state rival South Carolina (4-1) Friday night in a non-conference men's basketball game before 5,032 at Carolina First Arena. The victory is the first over the Gamecocks since a 40-32 decision on January 17, 1930 and only the second all-time.
Trailing 65-61 with 5:37 to play, four straight points from senior forward Dustin Scott sparked a 13-5 run that would give the Cougars a 74-70 advantage with 1:39 to play. Back-to-back three-pointers from South Carolina junior foward Evaldas Baniulis and junior forward Dominque Archie then gave the Gamecocks a 76-74 lead with 11 seconds remaining in regulation. With 2.6 seconds remaining, Andrew Goudelock drilled a long jumper to tie the score at 76-76 and send the game into overtime.
In that overtime session, Tony White knocked down two free-throws at the 3:10 mark to give CofC a 78-76 lead before USC responded with a quick layup by senior guard Zam Frederick at the other end to the knot the game at 78-78. Two free-throws from senior forward Jermaine Johnson gave the Cougars the lead again, this time at 80-78, with 1:28 left in the period. The Gamecocks would not go away, however, as junior guard Devan Downey knocked down a jumper to tie the score at 80-80 with 1:09 to play.
After driving the ball to the hole with the clock winding down and drawing a foul with three seconds remaining, White sunk a pair of free-throws to reach the final margin and sophomore forward Antwaine Wiggins stole the ensuing inbounds pass to seal the 82-80 victory.
The Gamecocks controlled the first half as they jumped out to a 9-2 lead at the 16:36 mark before a three-pointer and jumper from senior guard Zam Fredrick pushed the advantage to 19-9 with 13:01 remaining in the half. Trailing 25-12, a three-pointer by Wiggins followed by a layin from Jermaine Johnson cut the deficit to 25-17 before a trey from USC’s Evaldas Baniulis quickly pushed the lead back to 28-17.
With South Carolina leading 30-19, Charleston got right back in the game with a 15-6 run fueled by six points from sophomore guard Andrew Goudelock and capped off by an alley oop dunk to sophomore forward Jeremy Simmons to close to within 36-34. Following back-to-back baskets that pushed the lead to 40-34, a pair of jumpers from junior guard Tony White, Jr. and a three-pointer by senior guard Marcus Hammond keyed a 7-2 Cougars run that closed the half and made the score 42-41, South Carolina, at the break.
Charleston wasted no time at the start of the second half as Wiggins gave the Cougars the lead, 43-42, on a dunk 13 seconds into the frame before the Gamecocks responded with four straight points from junior guard Devan Downey to reclaim the lead at 46-43. The teams would continue the back-and-forth affair throughout the second half with CofC taking a 51-48 lead at 14:11 and USC retaking the lead at 59-56 with 8:44 to play. The Cougars would keep the game close, staying within three-points, before allowing the Gamecocks a four-point advantage at 65-61. From there, Charleston staged it’s late game heroics to go on to clinch the victory.
Devan Downey led the offensive attack for South Carolina with a game-high 22 points on 10-of-20 shooting and added four assists and two steals while sophomore center Mike Holmes recorded a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Evaldas Baniulis finished with 14 points and junior forward Dominque Archie added 12. Senior guard Branden Conrad rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points.
Charleston was lead by Tony White, Jr.’s 21 points and four steals and Andrew Goudelock’s 20-point, six assist performance. Jermaine Johnson recorded not only his 20th career double-double with 12 points and a game-high 14 rebounds, but also his 1,000th career point in the first half while Antwaine Wiggins added 13 points and eight rebounds. Dustin Scott chipped in with 10 points.
For the Cougars, the victory is the first over South Carolina since a 40-32 victory on January 17, 1930.
The Cougars return to action on Thursday, December 4 when they open Southern Conference play against Elon. Game time is set for 7:00 p.m. in Elon, N.C.