Appalachian State 79, Campbell 66
BOONE, N.C. - Appalachian State University men's basketball never trailed and led by as many as 19 points en route to defeating Campbell University, 79-66, at the Holmes Center Saturday afternoon. Isaac Butts' dominance in the paint with 14 points and 11 rebounds propelled the Mountaineers to their fourth-straight win over the in-state rival.
Appalachian (2-2) opened up another big lead as a 9-0 run helped the team take an early 12-2 lead four minutes into the game with all nine points being scored by Butts and Eduardo Bermudez, who finished the game with 13 points. The Apps kept Campbell (2-3) at bay for the next four minutes until a 12-0 Mountaineer run gave ASU its biggest lead of the game at 29-10 with six minutes left in the opening half. Campbell's Jonathan Rodriguez scored eight of his game-high 24 points in the final five minutes of the half to trim the margin to 38-24 at the break.
Butts finished the half with 10 points and eight boards, four of them off the offensive glass as ASU's 10 offensive rebounds led to 12 second-chance points for the Mountaineers in opening up the big first-half lead.
The Apps ran their second-half lead out to as many as 16, 49-33, on a three-point play from Ryann Abraham with 13:07 left on the clock before the Camels began to chip away, outscoring the Mountaineers 21-11 over the next seven minutes to pull within six points on a Rodriguez layup. That would be as close as CU would come as ASU ran its lead back out into double-digits to cruise in the final minutes to the 13-point victory as all 11 players that hit the floor scored for ASU. Campbell had four players in double-figures with Jabril Bailey (13), Lorne Merthie (11) and Kyle Vejraska (10) complimenting Rodriguez' afternoon.
ASU endured a somewhat average shooting performance, making 38 percent of its shots, but staged another commanding performance on the glass with 45 rebounds to CU's 34. Additionally, the squad got the free-throw line 23 more times than its opponent with 44 total attempts.
The win was the Mountaineers' final tune-up before jumping into conference play next week with contests at Furman and Wofford. ASU begins its swing through the Upstate on Wednesday evening at Furman with a 7 p.m. tipoff.
Ohio State 59, Samford 22
COLUMBUS, Ohio --- The Samford University basketball team shot a season-low 18.8 percent from the field Saturday and turned the ball over 19 times in an excruciating 59-22 road loss against the Ohio State Buckeyes in Value City Arena.
With the loss, Samford (3-2) dropped to 0-2 in road games this season. The Bulldogs are averaging 21.5 turnovers per game on the road this year and are only shooting 31.7 percent from the field when playing outside of the Pete Hanna Center.
Samford’s 22 points scored Saturday was its lowest offensive output since a 35-21 defeat against Auburn on Feb. 19, 1941.
Ohio State (3-0) extended its winning streak to three-consecutive games and was led in scoring by sophomore forward Evan Turner. Turner, the Buckeyes 6-foot-7 native of Chicago, earned a double-double in the contest as he also tallied 13 rebounds, five steals and four assists.
Forward Dallas Lauderdale added 10 points, eight rebounds and three blocks for Ohio State in only 23 minutes of play. The Buckeyes’ 6-foot-8 big man shot 4-of-7 from the field and was 2-for-3 from the free-throw line.
Ohio State scored the first seven points of the game and then earned an early 13-4 advantage with 10:42 remaining in the opening period.
In the first half of play, the Buckeyes’ B.J. Mullens led all scorers with eight points as Ohio State cruised to a 30-6 halftime lead. Samford’s six points scored in the first half of play was the Bulldogs’ lowest halftime score of the Tillette Era.
Samford only shot 13 percent (3-of-23) from the field in the first half and was 0-for-7 from beyond the arc.
In the second half of play, the Bulldogs scored 16 points and shot 24 percent from the floor. Samford knocked down a pair of 3-pointers in the final 20 minutes of play, but finished 2-of-18 from beyond the arc.
Samford’s Bryan Friday paced the team with eight points on 4-of-11 shooting from the field. The 6-foot-6 forward scored four of the Bulldogs’ six points in the first half.
Sophomore Gaby Bermudez finished second on the team in scoring with four points. He also pulled down a rebound.
The Samford basketball team will next be in action Saturday, Dec. 6, at 6:30 p.m. (CST), as the Bulldogs play on the road against the Georgia Southern Eagles in their first Southern Conference game in school history. The SoCon opener will be held at Georgia Southern’s Hanna Fieldhouse in Statesboro, Ga.
Austin Peay 77, Georgia Southern 66
STATESBORO, Ga. --- Austin Peay outrebounded Georgia Southern 45-25 and held off a late rally to win 77-66 Saturday afternoon at Hanner Fieldhouse.
The Governors’ victory is the first by a non-conference opponent at Hanner since Dec. 8, 2002, a span of 25 games.
APSU improves to 3-2 on the season while GSU drops to 2-3.
The game was Georgia Southern’s first since Nov. 18 at UTEP.
Drake Reed recorded a double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds, maintaining his career average against the Eagles. He scored 22 last season in Clarksville.
Wes Channels added 16 points and Anthony Campbell had 12 on 5-of-5 shooting and six rebounds off the bench.
Sophomore Willie Powers totaled a team-high 20 points and senior Julian Allen had 13.
After being down 14 early in the second half, the Eagles came back and rallied to get within 60-57 at the 6:46 mark on a lay-up from senior Anthony Marshall. But GSU would get no closer as APSU answered every comeback attempt and a 3-pointer by Channels in the right corner with 1:29 to play gave the Governors an insurmountable 72-64 lead.
Austin Peay finished off the game with an 8-2 run.
The Governors took control midway through the first half, going on an 18-2 run over a seven-minute span. Junior Antoine Johnson finally snapped a 4:21 scoreless drought with a lay-up, but by then Austin Peay had built a 15-point advantage.
APSU led the rebounding battle 20-11 at the half, including a 14-1 edge on GSU’s end of the floor. The Eagles gathered just six offensive rebounds all game.
The Eagles take a week off before returning to the court next Saturday when they open the Southern Conference portion of their schedule against Samford.
Central Arkansas 58, The Citadel 53
CANCUN, Mexico ? The Citadel (3-3) had a hard time getting their shots to drop at the Moon Palace Resort Saturday morning, where they fell to Central Arkansas (3-2), 58-53. Two players scored in double-digits with Demetrius Nelson and Cameron Wells leading the Bulldogs on offense.
Nelson recorded a game-high 16 points and seven rebounds, while Wells contributed 15 points. On the offensive end, the Bulldogs struggled to get points on the board, shooting just 28.8 percent from the field and 58.1 percent from the foul line. The Bulldogs grabbed 39 rebounds with 16 of them on the offensive end.
Central Arkansas scored the first points of the game with a jumper by Brooks Taylor. The Citadel answered with a bucket by Nelson to tie the score 2-2. A 3-pointer by Marcus Pillow put the Bears up by three before the Bulldogs responded with a 3-pointer by Daniel Eykyn to tie the score once more. Once Chris Brown nailed a jumper to give the Bears a 7-5 lead, the Bulldogs were unable to even the score. The Bulldogs would not get back on the scoreboard until a basket by Nelson at 10:22.
For the remainder of the first half, the Bulldogs trailed the Bears. Central Arkansas managed to take a 14-point lead with 4:47 left in the half after Mitch Rueter hit a jumper. The Citadel managed to cut the lead to 10 going into halftime after Wells hit a jumper and a free throw to go into the half down, 29-19.
At the end of the half, the Bulldogs were led by Nelson and Wells, each with six points. Nelson had five of the Bulldogs’ 13 rebounds at halftime. The Citadel shot 27.3 percent from the field and 36.4 percent from the foul line in the first half. The Bears were led by Brown and Rueter, each with six points.
Coming out of the break, the Bulldogs scored the first basket off a layup by Nelson, cutting the lead to eight. With 16:52 on the clock, the Bulldogs cut the Bears’ lead to five after a layup by Dahn.
The Citadel cut the lead to four with 10:30 on the clock after Tyrell McDowell sunk two free throws. Every time the Bulldogs got within two baskets of a tie, the Bears would clip the Bulldogs’ wings. With 9:06 left in the game, the Bears increased the lead to nine. The Bulldogs continued to chop at the lead, getting back within four at 7:32.
With 4:05 on the clock, Wells sunk a 3-pointer to get the Bulldogs within one, 45-44. A foul by McDowell would put Rueter on the line for two shots. Rueter hit both to extend the lead to three. Pillow followed it up with a 3-pointer, extending the lead to six. A foul by Brian Marks would sit him on the bench and put McDowell on the line for two shots.
Wells went to the line with 1:54 on the clock after he was fouled by Rueter. After hitting one of two, the Bulldogs were within three. Brooks Taylor decided to keep the game out of the Bulldogs’ reach, hitting a 3-pointer with 1:20 on the clock. With the Bulldogs down by six, a Bear free throw would extend the lead to seven. Wells answered back with a layup to put the Bulldogs within five.
With 0:23 left in the game, Wells hit a 3-pointer to give the Bulldogs hope. Down two, the Bulldogs hoped for a steal. Brewer’s dunk with 0:17 on the clock put the Bulldogs within four and slammed the door on the Bulldogs hope for a victory. Nelson earned his fifth foul with 0:11 left in the game after he put Brewer on the line for two shots. Brewer missed the first, but after a timeout by the Bears, he sunk the second for a five-point lead.
The Bulldogs were down five with 11 seconds left in regulation and tried to get some points on the board and hope for some luck, but a missed layup and a missed 3-pointer would end the game. The Citadel fell to Central Arkansas, 58-53.
Central Arkansas had four players score in double-digits with Pillow leading the way with 13 points. Rueter, Pouncy and Taylor each had 10 points. The Bears shot 45.5 percent from the field and 71.4 percent from the 3-point line. From the free throw line, the Bears shot 59.1 percent.
The Citadel will be back in action Sunday, Nov. 30 when they face the Tigers of Grambling State at 12:30 p.m. Eastern time.
Western Carolina 71, Northern Illinois 67
ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Freshman Harouna Mutombo notched his first career double-double with a 22-point, 10-rebound performance Saturday to push Western Carolina past Northern Illinois, 71-67, for fourth place in the Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout at Sullivan Arena.
Junior forward Jake Robinson added 15 points, including the game-clinching free throws with 3.9 seconds remaining, and seven rebounds for the Catamounts (3-2).
Guard Darion Anderson led the Huskies (3-4) with 15 points and five assists, but the sophomore standout was forced into 3-of-14 shooting and five turnovers.
The Catamounts led 34-27 at halftime before NIU came out with a 16-2 run after the break, going ahead 43-36 on a Michael Patton three-pointer with 13:34 remaining. The Huskies still led 57-49 with 6 minutes left before the Catamounts mounted their winning surge.
Mutombo, who shot 10 of 17 and dished three assists, brought his team within 60-59 on a fast-break layup at the 3:45 mark, and Robinson would give the Southern Conference squad the lead for good with a free throw at the 3-minute mark.
NIU’s Tyler Storm banked in a long three-pointer with 11 seconds left to cut it to 68-66, but the Huskies never got a shot to tie the game in the waning seconds.
Center Sean Kowal scored 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting for NIU, adding a team-high seven rebounds.
Standout swingman Brandon Giles was the Catamounts’ third double-digit scorer with 13 points on 5-of-8 marksmanship (3-4 3FG).
NIU finished the tourney with a 1-2 mark to place sixth.
Chattanooga 108, Tennessee Temple 67
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. --- In its first home game of the season, the Chattanooga men’s basketball team captured its first win of the 2008-09 campaign with a 108-67 victory over Tennessee Temple.
The Mocs (1-5) enjoyed its best shooting night of the season, going 33-for-61 (54.1 percent) from the field as five players scored in double figures. Chattanooga also tied a season-high with 11 three-pointers as the Mocs went 11-of-24 (45.8 percent) from behind the arc.
Chattanooga was led by senior Stephen McDowell who poured in 24 points on the evening on 8-for-11 (72.7 percent) shooting, including going 6-for-9 (66.6 percent) from the three-point line.
Ty Patterson and freshman Ricky Taylor also had big offensive nights for UTC, with 19 and 13 points respectively, which were both season-highs.
Nicchaeus Doaks also continued his strong play with his fourth double-double of the season with 14 points and 12 rebounds, while Khalil Hartwell contributed with a season-high 10 points of his own.
The Crusaders were led by Larry Franklin with 13 points as Tennessee Temple shot 32.8 percent from the field. The Crusaders also drained 13 three-point field goal as the team shot 29.5 percent from three-point range.
In what looked to be a blowout from the opening tip, the Mocs stormed out to an early 26-3 lead. However, the Crusaders were able to fight back to only be down by 14, 56-42, at halftime thanks to 10 three-pointers in the half.
In the second half, the Mocs’ defense was able to stymie the Crusaders offense, holding Tennessee Temple to only 22.2 percent from the field as UTC outscored the Crusaders 52-25. Thanks in part to a 41-7 run through three-fourths of the final 20 minutes of play.
The Mocs will return to action on Saturday Dec. 13 for its Southern Conference opener on the road against Davidson. Tip off is scheduled for 7 p.m. from the Baker Sports Complex in Davidson, N.C.