The Citadel 57, UNC Greensboro 50
GREENSBORO, N.C. ? Cameron Wells had 12 points and nine rebounds to lead The Citadel past UNC Greensboro, 57-50, in Southern Conference men’s basketball action Thursday night at Fleming Gymnasium.
In the Southern Conference opener for both teams, neither had a field goal in the final 3:18. The Bulldogs knocked down 3-of-4 from the line in the final 27 seconds to hold on for their first win at Fleming since Feb. 17, 1992 ? UNCG’s first season as a Division I member. The Spartans (1-4, 0-1 SoCon) had won eight straight over the Bulldogs.
The Bulldogs came into the game with third-worst three-point field goal defense in the nation, allowing 45 percent in their first seven contests this season. However, the Spartans could not seem to take advantage of the looks that they got from behind the arc, shooting just 5-for-29 from
three-point range.
Demetrius Nelson had 11 points and eight rebounds for the Bulldogs (5-3, 1-0), while Austin Dahn chipped in with 10 points.
The Spartans committed just eight turnovers in the game, but shot 29.7 percent from the floor (19-for-64). The Citadel shot 23-for-49 from the floor to overcome 15 turnovers, including 12 in the first half.
UNCG got off to a slow start, missing 15 of its first 20 from the floor. However, thanks in part to six Citadel turnovers, UNCG found itself down just 15-13 as the clock ticked down to eight minutes left in the opening half. UNCG started to find a rhythm from there, using a 9-4 spurt to tie the game at 22-22 with 2:46 to play in the half. The run was capped off by Mikko Koivisto’s layup, steal on the in-bounds, and an ensuing lay-up by Kendall Toney. But that was the Spartans’ last points of the half.
The Bulldogs came out to open the second half by scoring 10 of the first 12 to take the first double-digit lead of the night for either team, 34-24, with 17 minutes to play. Dahn had back-to-back treys to score six of the 10 points.
UNCG battled back to within five at 41-36 following a strong move down low by Pete Brown. But the Bulldogs ran off seven straight to take the lead back to 12 with nine minutes to play. The Spartans put together another rally, sparked by a Clement three-pointer. Ben Stywall’s putback cut the deficit to 51-47 with 5:32 to play, capping a 7-2 spurt.
Leading by four, 54-50, the Bulldogs were able to run off 64 seconds with a couple of offensive rebounds, but no points. When UNCG did get the ball back, Koivisto missed a three pointer from the top of the arc with 1:42 to go, and The Citadel went back to work on the clock. With six seconds left on the shot clock, Daniel Oliver was whistled for a foul, but it was only the sixth team foul against the Spartans, so The Citadel got a fresh shot clock with 1:24 to play.
With 1:09 left, however, The Citadel turned it over against a half-court trap, leaving the door open for UNCG. But Clement missed a floater in the lane with 42 seconds to go. Zach Urbanus missed the front end of the bonus with 35 seconds left, but Toney had a three-pointer rim out with 28 seconds left. This time Urbanus went back to the foul line and made both ends of the bonus.
College of Charleston 77, Elon 69
Elon, N.C. -- Antwaine Wiggins had a career-high 20 points, including 18 in the first half, and Andrew Goudelock added 19 points as the College of Charleston survived a late Elon rally en route to a 77-69 win over the Phoenix in the Southern Conference opener for both schools before 968 at Alumni Gym on Thursday.
With the win, the Cougars improved to 6-1 overall and 1-0 in SoCon action. The Phoenix fell to 1-4 and 0-1.
Wiggins, whose previous career-high was 17 points on three occasions, hit 6-of-11 from the field in the first half and helped Charleston to a 42-32 lead at intermission. Wiggins hit 6-of-7 from behind the arc in the first stanza.
In the second half, the Phoenix cut the lead to 67-65 on Chris Long's second 3-pointer of the game with 3:08 left. Charleston's Jermaine Johnson hit a pair of free throws, and after another Elon bucket, Tony White, Jr. hit a 14-footer in the lane to give the Cougars a 71-67 lead with 2:22 left. That was a close as the Phoenix would get.
Johnson, who finished with 12 points and a game-high 10 rebounds, enjoyed his second straight double-double and the 21st of his career. White, Jr. finished with eight points and three assists.
Charleston hit 11-of-13 free throw attempts over the final 8:05 to secure its fifth consecutive win. Goudelock connected on a career-high 10 free throws in 11 attempts, including six in a row over the last 46 seconds.
Charleston's Dustin Scott, who scored four points and pulled down six boards, had two critical blocked shots and potential game-saving steal with 1:07 left.
Elon was led by Ola Atoyebi who finished with 15 points and five rebounds. Brett James added 14 points and T.J. Douglas tallied 11 points off the bench for the Phoenix.