Kentucky 93, Appalachian State 69
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Kentucky scored the first 10 points of the game and held ASU scoreless for the first 5:11 of the game until Brand ended the scoreless span. Back-to-back three-pointers from the junior cut the UK to lead to 12-7 but shortly after the Cats launched a 12-0 run with six points from Meeks to take a 32-11 lead with 7:18 left in the half.
Senior Eduardo Bermudez ended the run, and nearly four scoreless minutes for the Apps with a three pointer but UK continued to add to its lead and closed the half on a 21-4 run to take a 53-21 lead into the locker room thanks to 24 first-half points from Meeks.
UK extended their lead to as many as 36 in the first three minutes of the second half, but the Mountaineers countered with a 12-0 spurt that featured back-to-back three-pointers from Abraham to trim the margin to 24, 61-37, with 14 minutes to play.
From there, the Apps played with an intensity and toughness that was lacking in the first half and went toe-to-toe with UK the rest of the way and held the Wildcats to just two points in the final 4:22 of the half while scoring the final seven points of the game.
The Mountaineers also quelled their turnover problems in the second half, committing just four turnovers in the half after coughing the ball up 14 times in the first half. UK scored 24 of their 53 first-half points off turnovers and finished the game with 33 points off turnovers.
Appalachian returns to Boone and points elsewhere to celebrate the Christmas holiday and will return to campus after the break to prepare for its December 30 game against Milligan. Tipoff at the Holmes Center for that contest is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Georgia 74, Wofford 73 (OT)
ATHENS, Ga. ? The Wofford College men’s basketball team took Georgia to overtime on Saturday afternoon, but were defeated 74-73 on a last second three pointer at Stegman Coliseum. Wofford was led by Junior Salters with 20 points.
Wofford is 4-4 overall and 0-1 in the conference, while Georgia is 7-3 overall and have not started SEC play. The Terriers were led by Junior Salters with 20 points, while Tim Johnson had 16 points and 13 rebounds and Noah Dahlman also had a double-double with eleven points and eleven rebounds. Georgia was led by Trey Thompkins with 15 points and five rebounds.
The Terriers scored first, but quickly found themselves down 20-8 at 11:35 in the first half as Georgia put together a 7-0 run. With 6:33 left on the clock, the Bulldogs had a 29-14 advantage. The Bulldogs did not score a basket in the final 5:22 of the first half. During that time, Tim Johnson scored eight straight points as part of a 10-0 run for the Terriers to pull to 33-29 with 1:20 left in the half. Each team then added one free throw for the 34-30 halftime score.
Georgia opened the second half strong and were up 40-32 at 18:14. The Terriers responded with a 7-0 run, which included a three by Junior Salters to make it a 40-39 game at 16:34 in the second half. Salters then hit a three from the top of the arc to give Wofford a 42-40 lead with 15:45 on the clock.
After trading three’s, the score was tied at 45-45 at 11:57. With the addition of free throws by Kevin Giltner, the Terriers had a 48-45 lead at 11:07. Georgia then went on a 9-0 run to retake the lead at 54-48 at 8:18. Back-to-back three pointers by Corey Godzinski and Brad Loesing tied the game back at 54-54 with 6:02 left.
The Bulldogs pushed the lead back to 59-54, but Wofford pulled to within one after a basket by Tim Johnson and two free throws by Junior Salters with 1:46 remaining. The Terriers took the lead after two free throws by Noah Dahlman with 50 seconds left at 60-59. Trey Thompkins hit a three for Georgia with 25 seconds left to go up 62-60. With eight left on the clock, Brad Loesing hit two free throws to tie the game at 62-62. Trey Thompkins tried a long three as the clock ran out, but it missed sending the game to overtime.
Georgia scored first in overtime on a basket by Ricky McPhee, but then Noah Dahlman hit two straight shots for a 66-64 lead at 3:08. Wofford then took a 70-66 lead after three points by Tim Johnson with 1:29 on the clock. A three by Zac Swansey tied the game at 71-71 with 15 seconds. The Terriers took the lead when Brad Loesing drove to the basket to go up 73-71 with only five seconds on the clock. As time expired, Zac Swansey hit another three to give Georgia the 74-73 win.
Wofford shot 37 percent from the floor and 32 percent from three. The Terriers were 65 percent from the line. The Bulldogs shot 37 percent from the floor and 32 percent from behind the arc. Georgia was 62 percent from the free throw line. Wofford had a 45-35 edge on the glass.
The game was the first overtime contest of the season for Wofford. The last meeting between Georgia and Wofford in 2004 also went to overtime. Noah Dahlman fouled out for Wofford and Albert Jackson fouled out for Georgia.
The Terriers will take a break for the holidays and return to action on January 2 at Navy, followed by a trip on January 5 to South Carolina.
No. 13 Purdue 76, No. 22 Davidson 58
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - Robbie Hummel led four Purdue scorers in double figures with 18 points to go along with a career-high 14 rebounds to lead the No. 13 Boilermakers to a 76-58 victory over No. 22 Davidson Saturday afternoon at Conseco Fieldhouse.
Will Archambault and Stephen Curry led the Wildcats (8-2) with 13 points each, and Andrew Lovedale added 10. Curry also had a season-high eight rebounds and six assists.
Keaton Grant posted 15 points for Purdue (9-2), and JaJuan Johnson collected 14 points and seven rebounds. E'Twaun Moore finished with 11 points.
Davidson opened the game by missing its first 10 shots and did not score until a putback by Lovedale 7:19 into the contest. Purdue had a 21-2 advantage by that point and expanded the lead to 25-2 on a Johnson layup with 12:09 left in the half.
The margin would prove to be too much for the Wildcats to overcome. A 13-2 run, sparked by a pair of 3-pointers from Bryant Barr trimmed the lead to 12 points with 8:31 left in the first frame.
But Purdue responded immediately with a 14-4 spurt that made the score 41-19 and went into halftime with a 47-24 cushion. Davidson made just 10-of-40 in the first stanza, including 4-of-18 from long distance. The Boilermakers hit 56.7 percent from the floor and went 7-of-11 from downtown.
Purdue ballooned the margin to 29 points early in the second half, but Davidson continued to battle. A 14-2 run midway through the stanza made the lead 66-51 with 7:52 to play, but that was as close as Davidson could get.
The Boilermakers shot 46.3 percent from the field and canned 11-of-18 3-pointers. Purdue also made 15 of their 18 free throws.
The Wildcats return to conference action in their next game as they travel to South Division rival, the College of Charleston Dec. 29. That game will tip off at 9 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPNU.
Chicago State 66, Samford 49
CHICAGO, Ill. --- The Samford University basketball team dropped its fifth-straight road game of the 2008-09 season Saturday as the Bulldogs were defeated by the Chicago State Cougars 66-49 in a non-conference matchup held at the newly-built Jones Convocation Center.
In the loss, Samford (4-5) continued its poor shooting on the road and finished the game with a 31.5-percent outing from the field and a 32.4 mark from 3-point range. The Bulldogs’ Trey Montgomery led the team in scoring with 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting from the field. All four of his baskets came from beyond the arc.
With the win, Chicago State (5-6) remained undefeated at home and improved to 4-0 when playing at the sterling Jones Convocation Center.
The Cougars finished the victory with two players scoring in double figures and were led by David Holston’s 19 points on 7-of-16 shooting from the field. Chicago State’s 5-foot-8 guard from Pontiac, Mich., was also 4-of-10 from 3-point range. Fellow senior guard John Cantrell added 16 points on 7-of-14 shooting.
Chicago State shot 47.4 percent from the field, but only connected on 25 percent of its shots from 3-point range. The Cougars out-rebounded the Bulldogs 45-28 and tallied nine blocked shots.
Midway through the second half, Samford fought back to trim Chicago State’s lead to three points with eight minutes to play. Sparking the Bulldogs’ comeback was junior forward Bryan Friday and freshman guard Jeffrey Merritt.
Friday finished with 11 points, four rebounds and two assists while Merritt came off the bench to knock down back-to-back 3-pointers. Samford’s 6-foot-6 native of Oklahoma City, Okla., tallied a career-high eight points on 3-of-7 shooting from the field.
The Bulldogs’ Jim Griffin, a native of Chicago, played in front of a number of his hometown friends and family Saturday and finished the game with four points, three rebounds and three assists.
Samford will now take a break from action for the Christmas Holidays and is scheduled to play its next game on Dec. 30 with another road game at McNeese State.
At halftime, Chicago State held a 31-22 advantage. The Cougars jumped out to an early 12-3 lead in the game and connected on 46.4 percent of their shots in the opening period. Samford struggled from the field in the first half and finished the stanza with a 36.4 shooting percentage.
Five of the Bulldogs’ eight field goals in the first period came from behind the arc. Samford shot 38.5 percent from 3-point range and was 5-for-13 from downtown.
Montgomery was a perfect 3-for-3 from beyond the arc in the first half. The Bulldogs’ 6-foot-4 guard from Destrehan, La., led the team with nine points in the opening period.
Chicago State’s Cantrell scored nine first-half points to lead the Cougars. He was 4-for-8 from the field and added three rebounds, two assists and a pair of steals. Chicago State’s Holston, the second-leading scorer in the nation, added eight points in the first half of play, but was limited to a 3-for-7 outing from the field.
Holston entered the game averaging 27.1 points per contest.
Samford struggled on the boards in the first half of play and trailed Chicago State in the rebounding battle 22-9. The Cougars scored seven second-chance points in the first half.
The Samford University basketball team will next be in action Dec. 30 at 7 p.m., as the Bulldogs remain on the road for a non-conference game against the McNeese State Cowboys in Lake Charles, La. The matchup will be held at McNeese State’s Burton Coliseum (8,000).
Dayton 75, UNC Greensboro 44
DAYTON, Ohio ? A 22-3 run by Dayton in the first half erased a slow start for the Flyers and lifted them past UNC Greensboro, 75-44, in men’s basketball action at UD Arena on Saturday night.
Mikko Koivisto was UNCG’s only player in double figures with 10 points. Koivisto extended his streak of games with a three-pointer to 33 in a row, third longest in the nation currently. Landon Clement added nine points.
Charles Little led Dayton with 15 points, including a perfect 6-for-6 from the floor. He was one of four Flyers in double-figures. Chris Johnson added 12 points and a game-high eight rebounds.
The win was the ninth straight at home for the Flyers (10-1) going back to last season. UNCG (1-8) lost its sixth straight away from home.
Dayton, which came into the game fourth in the nation in field goal defense at 34.1 percent, limited UNCG with a smothering defense. The Flyers held the Spartans to just 28.9 percent shooting from the field for the night. UNCG also committed 21 turnovers.
Neither team got off to a great start offensively as both were shooting below 30 percent in the first 10 minutes of the contest. UNCG’s offense took a hit when Mikko Koivisto picked up two offensive fouls on consecutive possessions with nine minutes left in the half.
Despite missing nine of their first 11 attempts from three-point range, the Flyers began to get some separation late in the first half. Dayton held UNCG to just two points over a nine-minute span. That allowed Dayton to slowly extend its lead to double-figures. Mickey Perry’s conventional three-point play with 4:54 left in the half gave the Flyers a 20-9 lead.
That was part of the 22-3 run by the Flyers in which UNCG went eight minutes without a field goal. Landon Clement’s three-pointer in the closing seconds of the half was UNCG’s first bucket in a span of 8:17 as Dayton took a 37-15 lead into the intermission.
Dayton missed seven of its first eight field goal attempts to open the second half and UNCG chipped away with an 8-3 spurt. The Flyers got back on track, however, shortly thereafter and the Spartans never got closer than 17 after that.
UNCG returns to action on December 31 when it hosts Akron in a 2 pm tip at Fleming Gymnasium.
South Carolina 80, The Citadel 66
COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Devan Downey scored 17 points and South Carolina defeated The Citadel 80-66 on Saturday.
Downey led six Gamecocks (8-1) in double figures as Zam Fredrick and Mike Holmes notched 14 apiece, Dominique Archie chipped in 13, Brandis Raley-Ross scored 12 and Evaldas Baniulis added 10. It was the second time this season South Carolina had six players in double figures.
South Carolina (8-1) missed nine of its first ten shots and went 1-for-5 from behind the 3-point line in the first 9:30 before getting on track offensively. After trailing 15-5 with 14:24 remaining in the first half, the Gamecocks went on a 22-8 run to take the lead for good.
Demetrius Nelson led the Bulldogs (5-7) with 21 points and Austin Dahn added 10 points as The Citadel dropped their fourth straight.
Chattanooga 65, Mississippi Valley State 61
ITTA BENA, Miss. --- The Chattanooga men’s basketball team snapped a two-game losing skid with a 65-61 win over Mississippi Valley State Saturday night. With the victory the Mocs improve to 2-7 on the season while MVSU drops to 0-13.
In the game Chattanooga was able to hold the Delta Devils to only four free throw attempts as UTC went 23-of-30 from the line. The Mocs also used a second half surge to shut down the MVSU offense to come away with the victory. The Delta Devils shot only 33 percent from the field and 25 percent from the three point line in the second half while the Mocs shot 55.6 percent from the field and were 3-of-6 from the land of three.
Nicchaeus Doaks led the Mocs in the contest with a season-high 21 points in the win. The senior went 7-of-9 from the field and also brought down six rebounds. Doaks also tied a career-high in blocks with three.
Khailil Hartwell also provided a big defensive presence for the Mocs in the game with 10 rebounds and two blocks. Stephen McDowell and Ty Patterson were the other two Mocs to score in double figures for UTC with 19 and 14 respectively.
In the first half Doaks led all scorers with 13 points as both teams were tied 32-apiece at the break. In the period the Mocs were 9-of-22 from the field while MVSU was 12-of-29. Mississippi Valley State was solid from behind the three-point line as MVSU went 7-of-17 from the behind the arc compared to the Mocs going only 1-of-6.
A major factor in the half came from the free throw line as the Mocs were 13-of-18 from the charity stripe while the Delta Devils were only 1-of-3.
The Mocs will now head to Tuscaloosa, Ala. for a contest with the University of Alabama on Monday. The game will wrap up the team’s four-game road trip as the squad will begin preparing for the Dr. Pepper Classic. The game is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. ET and will be televised regionally by CSS.