SoCon Men’s Basketball Recaps for February 14, 2008
THE CITADEL 57, WESTERN CAROLINA 51
CHARLESTON, S.C. ? Cameron Wells’16 points led the Bulldogs to victory Thursday night in front of 1,040 fans in McAlister Field House. The freshman, Wells, knocked down two clutch free throws to give his team the lead with 3:40 left in the game, and the Bulldogs held on to defeat the Catamounts, 57-51.
With the victory, the Bulldogs break a 21 game conference losing streak and improve to 6-18 (1-14 SoCon) while the Catamounts slip to 7-17 (3-11 SoCon).
The Bulldogs gained their first lead at the beginning of the second-half with a jumper by Daniel Eykyn from around the free throw line edging the Catamounts, 33-32. The Catamounts responded with a three-pointer of their own by Arnold Gore, but the Bulldogs struck back with a three-point basket by Tyrell McDowell. Again the Catamounts regained the lead with a layup by Gore, but two layups by Eykyn and a fast-break dunk by Wells put the Dogs up by five at 12:49.
The Catamounts ended up regaining the lead, but with 3:40 left in the game, Wells’ free throws gave the Bulldogs the lead once again. Austin Dahn, who struggled from the field early in the game, connected on two three-point baskets to give the Bulldogs a seven point lead.
The Bulldog win was the first against Western Carolina since Dec. 21, 2004 and the first conference win since defeating Elon in McAlister Field House on Feb. 5, 2007. The Bulldogs also extended their single season three-pointer record to 224.
Wells paced the Bulldogs offensively leading the team with 16 points followed by Dahn with 12 points and Urbanus with 11 points on the night. Wells and Urbanus also led the Dogs in rebound with seven each. Gore led the Catamounts with 15 points and six rebounds.
The Bulldogs shot 41.2 percent from the field, topping the Catamounts’ 34.6 percent shooting effort. The Bulldogs were, however, out rebounded by the Phoenix 45-29.
“The win feels great,” said Citadel Coach Ed Conroy, it didn’t come easy. It was a hard fought win, but our guys certainly deserve it tonight. I am really happy that Cameron (Wells) was able to come out and show our home crowd how he has been playing lately. I think he is one of the toughest guards in the conference. He has dominated basketball games and I couldn’t be happier with the way he has been playing.”
ELON 76, APPALACHIAN STATE 70
ELON, N.C. ? Brett James poured in 22 points and ripped off seven rebounds as Elon turned back Appalachian State for a 76-70 Southern Conference men’s basketball victory ? the Phoenix’s third SoCon win in as many games ? Thursday night at Alumni Gym.
Elon (10-15 overall, 8-9 SoCon) erupted to an early 10-4 lead on a bucket by James with 14:27 left to play in the first half. The Mountaineers (16-9, 11-5) reeled off six-straight points to even the count at 10-10 on a jumper by Eduardo Bermudez with 12:25 remaining in the opening frame.
The Phoenix answered with a 17-7 run to forge a 27-17 advantage on a fast-break lay-up by James with 2:33 to go before the break. Elon settled for a 31-21 halftime edge following a pair of free throws by Brian Waters with 47 seconds left. Waters went on to finish with a 10-for-10 performance at the charity stripe.
Appalachian State opened the second period with an 11-3 surge to draw to within 34-32 on a put-back by Kellen Brand at the 16:51 mark. The Phoenix responded with a 23-11 run to stretch its lead to 57-43 on a pair of charity shots by Montell Watson with 6:52 on the clock.
The Mountaineers went on a 27-17 tear to whittle the deficit to 74-70 on a three-point bomb by Bermudez with five ticks to go, but could inch no closer. Adam Constantine sank a pair of freebies to seal the deal at 76-70 with two seconds left.
Watson (16 points, seven assists), Waters (15 points, eight rebounds) and Ola Atoyebi (12 points, seven rebounds) all turned in key performances for Elon. Donte Minter (20 points, six rebounds), Brand (12 points), Bermudez (12 points), Jeremy Clayton (11 points, 11 rebounds, three blocked shots) and Donald Sims (nine points, four assists) led ASU.
The Mountaineers shot 49.1 percent (26 of 53) from the field ? 55.2 percent (16 of 29) in the second half ? and 59.1 percent (13 of 22) from the free throw line while the Phoenix fired 46.2 percent (24 of 52) from the floor and 71.4 percent (25 of 35) from the charity stripe.
Elon edged Appalachian State on the boards 33-30. The Phoenix committed 10 turnovers to 11 by the Mountaineers.
On Saturday, Appalachian State visits UNC Greensboro at 3 p.m. and Elon visits Georgia Southern at 7:30 p.m.
GEORGIA SOUTHERN 77, WOFFORD 66
SPARTANBURG. S.C. ? The Wofford College men’s basketball team was defeated 77-66 by Georgia Southern on Thursday night at Benjamin Johnson Arena. The Terriers were only 2-19 from three on the night and Louis Graham scored 29 for the Eagles.
Wofford is 14-12 overall and 7-9 in SoCon play. Georgia Southern is 18-8 overall and 11-5 in conference play. The Terriers were led by Noah Dahlman with 13 points and Drew Gibson with eleven points. Tyler Whatley had seven rebounds for Wofford. Georgia Southern was led by Louis Graham with 29 points, including 4-of-4 from three. Matthew Fields led the Eagles with nine rebounds.
“The flow was not good on offense for us tonight,” said Wofford head coach Mike Young. “We had some good shots, just did not connect. It was a battle tonight and we did not have the pop to beat a good Georgia Southern team. We played better in the second half, but just could not get the wind under our sails to go out front. We have got to play harder and play better to win on Monday night.”
The Terriers had their biggest lead of the night at 6-2 just 3:45 into the game. Wofford took the lead at 12-9 at 13:34 after two free throws by Tyler Whatley. The Eagles then went on a 9-0 run, which included two three-pointers by Louis Graham, to take an 18-12 lead less than two minutes later.
After cutting the lead to four points at 20-16, Georgia Southern went on an 8-0 run to take their largest lead of the game at 28-16. Three foul shots by Shane Nichols cut the lead to 32-26 with 1:49 left in the half, but the Eagles were able to go into the locker room with a 36-26 lead.
In the second half, the Terriers were able to close within six points on four occasions in the first seven minutes, but the Eagles always answered. Tim Johnson made a lay-up with 12:13 left in the game to make it a 48-43 lead, then the Terriers’ first three-pointer of the game at 11:08 gave the Eagles a 51-46 lead.
With 8:53 left, Noah Dahlman made a lay-up to cut the lead to three points at 53-50, but Louis Graham answered with a three pointer. The Eagles built an eleven-point lead at 5:33. The Terriers continued to battle and got as close as six points with 3:42 on the clock, but a quick 6-0 spurt by the Eagles put the game away for good and a 77-66 final.
Wofford shot 39.0% from the floor and a season-low 10.5% from three. The Terriers were 69.2% from the line. The Eagles were 48.3% from the floor and 40.0% from behind the arc and 56.5% from the free throw line. The rebounds were even at 38.
The Terriers have now dropped their last three conference games and have only their second three-game losing streak of the season. Noah Dahlman fouled out with 1:04 remaining in the game. Marcus Jackson did not dress for the game due to injury.
Shane Nichols reached the 300 career three-point mark with a basket at 11:03 in the second half. He now has 301 career three-pointers. His 231 three-pointers at Wofford have moved him into third place all-time in school history.
COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON 79, CHATTANOOGA 73
CHARLESTON, S.C. -- Tony White, Jr. and Andrew Goudelock led five Cougars in double figures with 17 points each as the College of Charleston hung on for a 79-73 Southern Conference win over Chattanooga before 2,136 at John Kresse Arena on Thursday.
Charleston, which improved to 12-13 overall and 7-8 in league play, hit 7-of-10 free throws over the final 1:36 to secure the win. Chattanooga fell to 15-11 and 10-6. Both teams play league games on Saturday. Charleston plays host to Western Carolina at 6:00 while the Mocs play at The Citadel at 2:05.
The first half was a battle of runs. Charleston opened the game with a 9-0 run before UTC answered with a 18-2 spurt to grab an 18-11 lead with 9:56 left. Charleston closed the first half on a 24-12 run to take a 35-30 lead at intermission.
Goudelock, who scored 15 points in the second half, scored eight points to key a 13-4 run that gave Charleston a 48-34 lead with 16:55 remaining. UTC battled back and eventually closed the margin to 72-69 on a layup by Marcus Watts with 2:04 left before the Cougars closed out the game at the free throw line.
Jermaine Johnson recorded his 11th double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds, while teammates Dustin Scott and Donavan Monroe added 11 and 10 points each, respectively. White, Jr. hit three 3-pointers on the night including all eight of his free throw opportunities.
Chattanooga was led by Nicchaeus Doaks who finished with 20 points and game-high 16 rebounds. Kevin Bridgewaters added a game-high 21 points off the bench.
For the game, Charleston shot 44.4 percent from the floor connecting on 24-of-54 attempts. UTC hit on 28-of-82 field goal tries for 34.1 percent.