Davidson 55, Samford 52
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ? Bryant Barr hit two free throws with 22 seconds left, and the Davidson defense forced a contested three pointer at the buzzer that missed as the Wildcats grinded out a 55-52 SoCon victory over Samford at a packed Pete Hanna Center Saturday afternoon.
It was Davidson's 41st straight regular-season conference victory.
The Bulldogs cut a 10-point second-half deficit down to 47-46 on a Curtis West layup with 4:35 to play. Andrew Lovedale answered with consecutive layups for the Wildcats (18-3, 11-0 SoCon), but the Bulldogs responded with five straight points to trim the margin to 51-50 with 1:26 remaining.
Stephen Curry hit Steve Rossiter with a pass for a layup off a slip screen on Davidson's next possession. Trey Montgomery missed a layup for the Bulldogs (11-10, 6-6 SoCon), but the rebound went off the 'Cats and out of bounds.
Jim Griffin scored a layup off the inbounds play with 32.3 seconds left, bringing the lead back to one point. Davidson was able to run 10 seconds off the clock before Barr was fouled, setting up a one-and-one situation. The junior stepped to the line and calmly made two from the charity stripe.
Montgomery missed a 3-pointer for Samford, but the ball went out of bounds off of the 'Cats with 10.2 seconds left. The Bulldogs got the ball to Josh Bedwell on the inbounds play, but Lovedale jumped out to contest the shot. The three-point attempt came up short off the front of the iron and into the hands of Rossiter as the buzzer sounded to end the game.
Curry finished the contest with 20 points, while Lovedale posted 13 points and 12 rebounds. Rossiter had nine points and six rebounds, and Barr wound up with five points.
West posted 13 points and five rebounds, and Montgomery posted 10 points and six boards for Samford.
Neither team shot the ball well in the raucous environment. Davidson finished the game 32.8 percent from the floor and 19 percent from three-point land. A key for the 'Cats was knocking down 13-of-14 from the charity stripe. Samford shot 34 percent for the game and 27.3 percent from long distance.
Davidson, which never trailed in the contest, jumped out to a 22-5 lead in the game's first 9:42, but the Bulldogs held the 'Cats without a field goal in the last 10:18 of the frame to trim the margin to 27-22 at the break.
Appalachian State 77, Furman 75
BOONE, N.C. ? Donald Sims scored a game-high 20 points, including a pair of free throws with eight seconds left, to help Appalachian State withstand a late Furman rally and edge the Paladins 77-75 in Southern Conference men’s basketball action Saturday afternoon at the Holmes Center in Boone, N.C.
Appalachian State’s victory, just its second in its last eight games, improved the Mountaineers to 8-11 overall and 5-6 in the SoCon. With its 14th straight defeat away from Timmons Arena, Furman fell to 3-17 overall and 1-10 in the league.
The Mountaineers led 74-62 with under 2:30 remaining when Brandon Sebirumbi scored and converted the three-point play at the foul line to cut the lead to nine. Jordan Miller then recorded back-to-back steals to tally four more points before Bryson Barnes turned a third straight Appalachian State miscue into two points at the foul line to trim the margin to 74-71 with 1:14 left.
Appalachian State halted the 9-0 run with a Kellen Brand free throw, but the junior missed his second attempt at the charity strip before Josh Hunter missed two free throws on the next Mountaineer possession.
Furman’s Barnes converted on an assist from Noah States on the other end to cut the lead to 75-73 with 18 seconds left. After a quick foul by the Paladins, Sims sunk two free throws to push the lead back to eight. Tony Anderson answered with a layup in the final seconds, but Appalachian State inbounded the ball and ran out the final three seconds to preserve the win.
Sims connected on 5-of-13 field goals and 6-of-6 attempts at the line to lead the Mountaineers. Center Isaac Butts helped Appalachian control the paint and hold a 39-26 advantage on the boards contributing 16 points and 16 rebounds. Brand and Tyler Webb added nine points apiece.
The Mountaineers shot 45 percent (25-55) from the field, including 8-of-20 beyond the arc. ASU made 15-of-24 second half free throw attempts to finish 19-for-30 at the line for the game.
Miller paced Furman with 17 points while collecting four rebounds, three assists and three steals. Justin Dehm scored 11 points and Barnes chipped in with 13 points, seven rebounds and a career-high four blocked shots.
Furman shot 23-of-51 (.458) from the floor and 7-of-13 (.535) from three-point range. The Paladins converted on 22-of-27 trips to the foul line and committed just 12 turnovers.
Appalachian State built a 37-26 halftime lead by closing the opening period on a 15-8 run. The Mountaineers increased their lead to as many as 16 points in the second half.
Elon 59, College of Charleston 53
CHARLESTON, S.C. - Ola Atoyebi collected his fourth double-double of the season with 19 points and 10 rebounds and Elon used a stifling first half defensive effort en route to a 59-53 Southern Conference win over College of Charleston before 4,011 at Carolina First Arena on Saturday.
Elon (6-13, 3-8 SoCon) held Charleston to 1-of-19 shooting from the field in the first half and grabbed a 26-2 lead with 2:47 left in the opening half. Brett James had 13 points in the opening stanza as the Phoenix enjoyed a 28-8 lead at intermission. The eight points represents the lowest scoring output for a Charleston team in one half in the shot-clock era. The Cougars hit 3-of-22 field goal attempts in the first half.
Charleston (16-5, 8-3) cut the lead to one twice in the second half, trailing 45-44 with 3:54 left. Chris Long, who finished with nine points and four assists, hit a jumper and a three pointer that extended Elon’s lead to 50-44 with 3:05 remaining. Down the stretch, the Phoenix hit 6-of-7 free throw attempts to secure the win.
James finished with 15 points while Adam Constantine added nine rebounds for Elon. Charleston got 11 points from Donavan Monroe and 10 points from Tony White, Jr. Senior Jermaine Johnson paced the Cougars with a game-high nine rebounds.
For the game, Elon shot 42.9 percent connecting on 21-of-49 from the field. Charleston shot 32.8 percent for the game hitting 19-of-58 from the floor.
The Cougars play at Western Carolina at 7 p.m. on Thursday. Elon travels to Georgia Southern for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff on Thursday.
Chattanooga 100, Georgia Southern 87
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - Five players scored in double figures as the Chattanooga men’s basketball team (10-12, 6-5 SoCon) snapped a two-game losing streak with a 100-87 win over Georgia Southern (7-12, 5-6 SoCon) Saturday afternoon in the McKenzie Arena. Stephen McDowell and Kevin Goffney scored 27 and 21 points, respectively, to pace the Mocs.
In the loss Georgia Southern was led by Antonio Hanson’s 26 points as the Eagles also had five players in double figures.
Despite its 13-point victory, the Mocs found themselves down at the break, 47-46, thanks to an Eagle offense that shot 51.5 percent from the field (17-of-33). Chattanooga remained close in the half thanks to outrebounding Georgia Southern 24-17, including a 10-3 advantage in offensive boards.
After halftime the Eagles’ slim lead lasted a mere 52 seconds thanks to a Keyron Sheard three put the Mocs up 49-47. Georgia Southern would counter though with a 9-1 run to put GSU up 56-50 with 18:03 remaining.
Chattanooga would continue to trail for the next 2:53 before a McDowell three-pointer tied the contest at 60 with 15:10 to go in the contest. The two teams would remain tied at 66 with 10:23 left before the UTC offense surged on a 16-5 run to put the Mocs up 82-71 with six minutes to play.
UTC would not trail again in the game, extending its lead out to as many as 15 en route to the 100-87 victory.
Keyron Sheard set a career-high with 18 points to go with six rebounds and four assists. Nicchaeus Doaks and Ty Patterson chipped in 13 and 11 points, respectively. In addition to his game-high 27 points, McDowell added five rebounds while tying career highs with four assists and three steals.
Goffney had a game-high 11 rebounds to lead the Mocs to a 40-34 advantage on the glass. Despite the fast-paced game, the Mocs had just 10 turnovers.
Antione Johnson had a strong all-around game for the Eagles with 17 points, five rebounds, eight assists and two steals. Tyler Troupe tossed in 13 points, while Julian Allen had 11 points and a team-high eight rebounds.
Western Carolina 77, Wofford 65
CULLOWHEE, N.C. ? The Wofford College men's basketball team was defeated 77-65 by Western Carolina on Saturday night at the Ramsey Center. The Catamounts shot 61 percent from the floor for the night and had an advantage on the glass.
Wofford is 9-10 overall and 5-5 in the conference, while Western Carolina is 11-9 overall and 6-4 in the SoCon. The Terriers were led by Noah Dahlman with 18 points, while Junior Salters had 14 points. Terry Martin had eight rebounds. For the Catamounts, Brandon Giles scored 16 points, Harouna Mutombo scored 14 and Jake Robinson added twelve. Brigham Waginger had six rebounds to lead Western.
The Catamounts took an early 7-5 lead at the first timeout with 14:45 on the clock. Junior Salters hit a three to make it a 13-12 advantage for Western Carolina two minutes later. The Catamounts built a nine point lead at 23-14, but four straight points by Noah Dahlman cut it to 23-18 at 8:27. Greg Avery hit a three for Western to push it to an eight point lead.
Wofford was able to cut the lead to two points with a three from Junior Salters at 4:35 for a 30-28 score. Western then ran off a 9-0 run over the next two minutes to take a 39-28 lead. At the half, the Catamounts had a 43-34 advantage.
After the first four minutes of the second half, the Catamounts still had a nine point lead at 49-40. Wofford pulled it to a seven-point game at 51-44 with 14:29 on the clock, but then Western went on a 8-0 run for a 59-44 advantage. The run ended with three free throws from Kevin Giltner, who then added a lay-up to cut the lead back to ten at 59-49 at 10:38.
The lead for Western remained at ten points until two free throws from Kevin Giltner and a three from Junior Salters cut the lead to 63-58 at 7:25. The Catamounts scored the next five points to push the lead back to ten at 68-58. A three by Salters cut it back to a seven point lead, but a three by Jake Robinson gave the Catamounts a 73-61 lead with just 2:17 left in the game. Western did not allow the Terriers to get any closer and had the 77-65 win.
The Citadel 66, UNC Greensboro 60
CHARLESTON, S.C. - The Citadel scored the final 10 points of the game, holding UNC Greensboro scoreless in the final 3:52, to come away with a 66-60 win in Southern Conference men’s basketball action Saturday night at McAlister Field House.
Zach Urbanus had 20 points to lead the Bulldogs (13-10, 8-4 SoCon). Demetrius Nelson had 19 points including 13-of-14 at the free throw line, to go with eight rebounds.
Damian Eargle had 18 points, seven rebounds and four blocks to lead the Spartans (3-17, 2-9 SoCon). Mikko Koivisto added 14 points, while Ben Stywall chipped in with 11 points and seven rebounds and Kendall Toney had 10 points.
Cameron Wells’ jumper with 2:13 left broke a 60-60 tie. UNCG’s Damian Eargle missed the front end of a one-and-one and Citadel had a chance to extend its lead. But the Bulldogs missed twice to give UNCG the ball back with a minute to play.
Following a UNCG timeout, Montel Smith’s three-pointer back-rimmed and the rebound went out off the Spartans with 31.9 seconds left. Smith fouled Urbanus with 27.9 to go, who made both free throws to make it a four-point game.
UNCG’s Sean Spooner was fouled on a drive to the basket with 17.9 remaining. He missed both, although the rebound was tapped out to Koivisto. His three-pointer was off target, however, and UNCG had to foul again.
The Spartans held a 42-32 advantage on the glass, including 15 offensive rebounds. But the Bulldogs were 25-of-30 from the foul line compared to UNCG’s 12-of-16. The Spartans missed their final six shots from the field and two free throws over the decisive 3-minute, 52-second span.
Neither team got much separation early on. The Citadel had held the lead for the first 11 minutes until a 6-0 spurt by the Spartans gave them their first lead of the night. Stywall capped off the spurt with a put back to make it 20-18.
The Spartans continued to hang close thanks in a big part to their offensive rebounding. UNCG had nine offensive rebounds in the first half for a 21-12 overall margin on the boards. The Bulldogs, however, clung to a 31-30 lead going into the intermission.
An 11-2 run by the Spartans midway through the second half turned a four-point deficit into a five-point lead. A trey by Toney got it started and then Koivisto scored eight straight on a pair of trey and two free throws to give UNCG a 46-41 lead with 11:34 to play.
The Spartans couldn’t stretch the lead to more than six, though, and The Citadel came back to tie it up at 54-54 on Zach Urbanus’ three-pointer with 6:29 to play.
Koivisto created his own run again, this time scoring six straight to give UNCG a 60-56 lead with 3:30 to play. But four straight free throws by Nelson knotted the game again with 2:53 on the clock.