Furman 88, Lees-McRae 49
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Jordan Miller tallied 23 points and Justin Dehm added 17 as Furman rolled past Lees-McRae 88-49 in the Paladins' season opener on Friday evening on Carolina First Court at Timmons Arena.
Furman connected on 13-of-26 attempts from three-point range, including five treys apiece from Miller and Dehm, to down the NCAA Division II Bobcats of Conference Carolinas in the first meeting between the schools on the hardwood.
A 13-0 Furman run, keyed by a pair of Dehm three-pointers, helped turn a 19-16 Paladin lead at the 8:56 mark of the first half into a 32-16 advantage when Chris Toler buried a jumper with 4:56 left in the period. After leading 44-25 at the break, the Paladins shot 50% from the floor in the second half and made 6-of-13 attempts from long range to extend their advantage to the final 39-point margin.
Miller, who added seven rebounds, made 6-of-12 shots from the floor and 5-of-9 beyond the arc while Dehm hit 6-of-14 field goals and 5-of-8 three-point attempts. Brandon Sebirumbi reached double figures with 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting. Junior Amu Saaka chipped in nine points and a game-high 10 rebounds in his first game as a Paladin while Bryson Barnes contributed nine points and eight rebounds.
Daniel Sepokas paced Lees-McRae with 12 points, including a 5-of-6 effort at the foul line. Sam Youse added eight points and five boards.
Furman managed a 42-35 edge on the boards and held the Bobcats to 31% (18-58) shooting from the field. Furman connected on 46.7% (28-60) shots and 19-of-22 trips to the foul line.
The win marked Furman's 27th consecutive victory against non-division I competition and its fifth victory in its last six season openers.
The Paladins continue their three-game homestand on Tuesday night when they host Big South member Presbyterian for the first time since the 1994-95 campaign. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. for the 70th meeting between the upstate rivals.
Chattanooga 107, Virginia Intermont 62
CHATTANOGA, Tenn. --- The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's basketball team opened its 33rd season of Division I play and the defense of its Southern Conference Championship with a 107-62 win over Virginia Intermont tonight. The Mocs scored 62 first-half points on their way to improving to 19-0 when starting the season at home.
Chattanooga opened the game with a 16-0 run while holding the Cobras scoreless for the first 3:40 of the game. UTC forced Virginia Intermont into six turnovers and 0-3 from the floor in the first four minutes of the game.
VIC shot well in the first frame, going 10-22 from the floor for 45.5%. However, the Mocs made as many field goals (22) as the Cobras took in the first 20 minutes, thanks in large part to 24 points on 17 offensive rebounds and 23 points on 16 turnovers.
The second half was much of the same as Chattanooga opened with a 23-4 run, pushing the lead to 86-34 with 14:03 left in the game. The Mocs led by 56 halfway through the second half when junior Jeff Smith hit a jumper to increase the lead to 93-37. Smith finished with a career-high 11 points off the bench as Chattanooga backed off the throttle for the rest of the game.
All five starters were in double figures tonight for the Mocs, led by sophomore Ricky Taylor's career-high 17 points. Junior Jeremy Saffore had career-highs with 15 points and 13 rebounds. The 7-1 center used his height advantage to shoot 6-8 from the floor and post his first career double-double.
Sophomore transfer Keegan Bell was impressive in his debut, posting 12 points, six assists and five steals in just 16 minutes of action. All 11 Mocs that saw action in the game scored tonight. The Cobras were led by Benjamin Mulkey's 17 points off the bench.
Chattanooga returns to "Rock the Roundhouse" on Tuesday, Nov. 17, when they host long-time rival East Tennessee State. UTC is offering $1 ticket to the game that tips at 7:00 p.m. (E.S.T.). Fans can purchase tickets at the game, order over the phone by calling (423) 266-MOCS or online at GoMocs.com. Enter the promo code "beatetsu" when ordering online.
Appalachian State 79, UNC Wilmington 68
BOONE, N.C. - Appalachian State University men's basketball led by as many as 19 points and withstood a late UNC Wilmington charge to secure a 79-68 win in the season opener.
Kellen Brand sank all 14 of his free throw attempts to lead all scorers with 20 points and Donald Sims added 18 in the win.
Brand added three rebounds and a pair of assists, and accounted for the team's final four points while Sims picked up two steals of his own.
For the game, the Mountaineers (1-0) shot 50 percent from the field compared to 39.7 percent for the Seahawks, thanks to a career-best five blocks from Andre Williamson.The sophomore forward added six rebounds and two points.
UNC Wilmington (0-1) certainly had a repeat of last year's comeback in mind when the Seahawks cut a 17-point deficit with 7:36 remaining in the game to just four points at 72-68 in the final minute.
The Apps sank those hopes by sinking 5-of-6 free throws down the stretch to accompany a fast-break layup by Brand in the waning seconds of the game.
Isaac Butts sank 4-of-5 attempts in the first half and finished the game with 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting and seven boards. The big man added an assist and one of ASU's seven blocks on the night.
Senior guard Ryann Abraham scored nine points off the bench and led the Apps with four assists. He frustrated the UNCW backcourt for most of the night and came away with three of Appalachian's nine steals.
Coastal Carolina 70, College of Charleston 59
CONWAY, S.C. -- Joseph Harris scored 21 points and pulled down 17 rebounds, while Chad Gray added 17 points as Coastal Carolina knocked off the College of Charleston, 70-59, in the season opener for both school's before 1,062 at Kimbel Arena on Friday.
Charleston (0-1) plays host to Winthrop at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at Carolina First Arena. Coastal Carolina (1-0) snapped a 10-game losing streak to the Cougars. The Chants won for the first time since the 1992-93 season.
The Cougars, who built a 29-28 lead at intermission, got a team-high 19 points from Andrew Goudelock and the first career double-double for freshman Willis Hall who scored 10 points and pulled down 11 rebounds.
"I thought we came out of gates pretty well," said Cougar coach Bobby Cremins, whose team built a 27-20 first half advantage. "We lost our poise late in the half and in the beginning of the second half. However, our kids responded with a nice run, but we could keep it going. "Coastal (Carolina) has a very nice team, very athletic and they'll be very tough, particularly in this building."
The Cougars also got 10 points each from Tony White, Jr. and Donavan Monroe The Chanticleers, who shot 41.8 percent from the floor, outrebounded the Cougars 49-30. Charleston shot 41.4 percent from the floor connecting on 24-of-58 attempts.
Duke 96, UNC Greensboro 62
DURHAM, N.C. - Ben Stywall scored all 19 of his points in the second half, but it wasn't enough to offset four Blue Devils in double figures as No. 9 Duke defeated UNC Greensboro, 96-62, in men's basketball action Friday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Stywall made 7-of-11 from the field in the second half after going 0-for-5 in the first 20 minutes. The senior from Charlotte, N.C. also added eight rebounds.
Duke (1-0) got 20 points from Kyle Singler and 18 points and four assists from Jon Scheyer. Lance Thomas added 12 points and seven rebounds.
The Spartans (0-1) got solid play from three freshmen making their collegiate debut in one of the toughest venues in the nation. Kyle Randall had nine points and four assists, while Brian Cole added eight points on 4-of-8 shooting from the floor. Korey Van Dussen also added a solid 20
minutes off the bench, scoring two points.
"They're big and that caused some problems for us -- with their size," said UNCG coach Mike Dement. "We battled in there and that was good. When we missed and tried to put it back, we've got to deal with their size. But they were able to put theirs back against our smaller guys. I liked the way we battled though. Our guards did some good things and Ben Stywall came along in the second half, being very aggressive, and we need that from him for a full 40 minutes."
The Spartans scored the first two points of the game on a Pete Brown tip dunk, before the Blue Devils scored eight straight. That began a 17-4 run for the Blue Devils that opened up the first double-digit lead of the night for either squad, 17-6, with 14 minutes left in the half.
After trailing 23-8, the Spartans began to chip away. A trey by Mikko Koivisto got things started, extending his streak to 12 consecutive games with a three-pointer. A bucket by Brown made it 32-20 with seven minutes left in the opening half.
The Blue Devils ran off seven straight, though, to regain control. Duke shot 60 percent from the floor for the opening half to take a 48-27 lead into the locker room.
The Spartans chipped it down under 20 a couple of times in the second half. Duke gradually pulled away late, though. With the Spartans hanging around at 64-45 with 11:51 to play, Duke scored 13 of the next 18 points, beginning with a three-pointer by Scheyer, to extend the lead to 77-50 with 7:50 to play.
The Spartans return to action on Tuesday when they visit Virginia Tech for a 7 p.m. tip.
The Citadel 64, Kenyon College 46
Georgia Southern 108, Reinhardt College 69
STATESBORO, Ga. - The Georgia Southern men's basketball team gave Charlton "C.Y." Young the best gift for his official homecoming - a 108-59 victory for his first-ever win as a head coach. The 1994 alum and Eagle Hall of Fame point guard accepted congratulations from well-wishers after the final buzzer and then stood on the sidelines for a while.
"I am proud of all the guys, and I am happy with our effort and willingness to defend," said Young. "We have to take the next step, do some things better and work on some other things. We are getting very close to playing as a team," said Young. "We improved the way we moved the ball, but we need to work on our transition defense and rebounding."
Junior Johntavious Rucker tied Rory Spencer for the team lead with 16 points as five Eagles scored in double figures. Rucker added 10 rebounds and narrowly missed a triple-double, but set the school record with eight steals. Freshman Cameron Baskerville led Georgia Southern on the boards with 12 in his first collegiate game and had nine total points. Willie Powers III had 15 points with six assists in his first action back since missing 19 games in 2008-09 with a knee injury. Senior Antoine Johnson and sophomore Ben Drayton III came off the bench with 14 and 12 points, respectively.
The Eagles took a commanding 35-11 lead with just over nine minutes remaining in first half and extended the lead to 36 points, 58-22, just before the break. Rucker scored 10 of his 16 points in the second half and the Eagles brought the lead to its largest at 103-50 late in the game. Georgia Southern hit 23-40 from the field for 57.5 percent for the first half and 55.4 percent for the game (41-74). Georgia Southern distributed the ball well, with 28 assists on the 41 baskets. All 11 Eagles who played scored.
Reinhardt's Quinton Spivey had 16 points off 7-12 shooting to tie Rucker and Spencer for the game lead. Reinhardt's leading scorer Kordel Alexander was held to three points.
The Eagles focus on defense during preseason showed in the box score as they scored 43 of their total points off Reinhardt turnovers (27) and recorded 17 steals overall to go along with 25 rebounds on the defensive glass. Georgia Southern held Reinhardt to 33 percent shooting in the first half and 43 percent overall. Spencer had three of the team's four blocks.
Offensively for Georgia Southern, the 108 point-total was the highest since a Nov. 12, 2006 game vs. UC Davis (116) and the most at Hanner Fieldhouse since a 111-73 win over Webber International on Jan. 3, 2006.
Georgia Southern heads to Columbia, S.C. for its first road game of the season at South Carolina. The 7 p.m. game will be televised by SportSouth.
Pittsburg 63, Wofford 60
PITTSBURGH, Pa. - The Wofford College men's basketball team opened the season with a 63-60 loss at Pittsburgh on Friday night at the Peterson Events Center. The Terriers had a ten point lead with ten minutes remaining in the game, but the Panthers took the lead after an 8-0 run with 1:33 left.
Wofford is 0-1 overall, while Pittsburgh opens at 1-0 a season after advancing to the NCAA Elite Eight. The Terriers were led by Noah Dahlman with 20 points and seven rebounds while Brad Loesing added 13 points. The Panthers were led by Brad Wannamaker with 15 points, Dante Taylor with 13 points and Gary McGhee with eight rebounds.
"The game went along pretty true to form," said head coach Mike Young. "We could not handle some things at about the nine minute mark and we gave up a couple easy baskets. We missed a couple of lay-ups as well. What an unbelievable atmosphere and it is tough to come in here and win. We had our crack and I am disappointed that we did not finish the deal, but this team will be just fine."
The Panthers scored first, but back-to-back threes from Brad Loesing and Cameron Rundles gave Wofford a 6-2 lead four minutes into the game. After a tie at 8-8, Pittsburgh took a 11-10 lead after a three by Chase Adams at 10:32. Wofford regained the lead after a basket from Noah Dahlman at 9:28 for a 12-11 lead.
Wofford was able to keep the lead the rest of the first half and pushed the advantage to ten points on four occasions. A three-pointer by Travon Woodall as time expired in the first half cut the Terrier lead to 31-24.
To open the second half, Junior Salters hit a three for a 34-24 lead. A three from Brad Loesing pushed the lead to 39-26 at 16:24. Another basket by Loesing at 15:49 kept it a 13-point lead, but the momentum shifted to the Panthers as they chipped away at the lead. A three-pointer from Nasir Robinson cut the Terrier lead to 41-38 with 12:21 left on the clock.
A quick 7-0 run by Wofford that included another three from Brad Loesing pushed the lead back to ten at 48-38 with 10:34 remaining. The Terriers had a nine-point advantage at 54-45 with six minutes left, but five straight points by the Panthers reduced the lead to four.
After a bucket by Noah Dahlman with 3:49 left, Wofford had a 58-53 lead. The Panthers would score the next eight points to regain the lead at 61-58 with 1:33 remaining on the clock. Noah Dahlman cut the lead to one with 28 seconds left, but Ashton Gibbs hit two free throws with 17 left to make it a three-point game. Junior Salters missed a three with 15 seconds left to end the game.
Wofford shot 42.3% from the floor and 36.8% from three. The Terriers were 100% from the line. The Panthers shot 47.1% from the floor and 26.7% from behind the arc. Pittsburgh was 57.9% from the free throw line. Rebounds were tied at 30 each. Wofford had ten turnovers, while Pittsburgh had nine.
The season will continue on Tuesday night at 7:00 pm at the University of Georgia before returning home on Thursday, November 19 to host Lees-McRae.
Kent State 69, Samford 66
KENT, Ohio --- The Samford basketball team mounted a late rally against the Kent State Golden Flashes on Friday, but eventually came up short in a 69-66 season-opening loss on the first day of the 2009 Hispanic College Funds Classic being held at the Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center.
The Bulldogs led the hard-fought contest 34-31 at halftime, but couldn't overcome the Golden Flashes' 20-1 run to begin the second period. Despite trailing by as many as 16 points in the second half, Samford (0-1) rallied late in the period to trim Kent State's lead to a three-point deficit.
The Bulldogs scored seven of the game's last eight points, but ran out of time in the first all-time meeting between the teams to finish up just short, 69-66.
"We allowed way too many offensive rebounds and they used that to go on a 20-1 run to open the second half," said Samford head coach Jimmy Tillette. "We were able to stay in the game late and we made some threes down the stretch, but it just wasn't enough. I thought we took care of the ball better late in the game, but we ultimately lost because they just crushed us on the glass and we couldn't score at the beginning of the second half."
Samford outshot Kent State (1-0) 54 percent to 41 percent Friday, but the Golden Flashes won the battle of the boards, 41-31. The Bulldogs also allowed 19 offensive rebounds, 12 of which occurred in the second half.
Kent State capitalized on its second-chance opportunities and finished the game with a 26-4 scoring advantage in the category. In the first half, the Golden Flashes' lead in second-chance points was only 9-2.
"They were able to rebound the ball and just shove us around," Tillette said. "They were able to get a ton of offensive rebounds and it seemed like they were scoring all of their points in the paint. Rebounding is always going to be our weakness, but I thought that we showed up a lot better in the first half."
Samford out-rebounded Kent State 18-16 in the first half. The Bulldogs scored the first nine points of the game and took a 34-31 lead into halftime. The Bulldogs shot 59.1 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes of play and were led in scoring by Trey Montgomery with nine points on 3-of-5 shooting from the field.
During the Bulldogs' 9-0 run to start the game, Bryan Friday scored on a running layup in the lane and Josh Davis knocked down a deep 3-pointer from the left flank. Montgomery then added the next four points with a steal and a layup, as well as a back-door cut and basket from the baseline.
Kent State answered Samford's early momentum with a 15-5 run beginning at the 17:03 mark in the game. The Golden Flashes used a pair of 3-point plays from Tyree Evans and Justin Greene to take a 15-14 advantage with 11:29 remaining in the period.
Samford's Andy King was held scoreless in the first half, but bounced back to tally a team-high 14 points in the second half. The Bulldogs' junior center from Omaha, Neb., played a key role in Samford's second-half comeback and scored all 14 of his points in the final 6:32 of the game. King accounted for 14 of the team's final 18 points.
"I have to give our team credit for not giving up and for coming back late in the game," said Tillette. "This was a tough learning curve for us, because Kent State is a very well-coached team and this is a tough place to play. They play in a very good league and it was a hard first game for us."
Kent State finished Friday's season-opener with three players scoring in double figures. Senior guard Chris Singletary led all scorers with 19 points on 5-of-12 shooting from the field, while Evans and Greene both finished with 11 points apiece. As a team, the Golden Flashes shot 14-of-27 from the free-throw line, but Singletary knocked down 9-of-10 from the charity stripe.
Samford also struggled from the free-throw line and finished the game with a 10-of-19 mark. King finished 4-of-5, while Montgomery was 5-of-10.
"We can't go 10-for-19 from the free-throw line and expect to win," Tillette said. "That's a fact for our team, especially when we're playing on the road against a tough team. This was only the first game of a three-game tournament and we face another good team in Wisconsin-Green Bay tomorrow."
Samford's Montgomery finished with 11 points against Kent State and Bryan Friday added 10. Montgomery was also the Bulldogs' leading rebounder with six.
Juniors Josh Bedwell and Davis both finished with eight points apiece, while John Peterson and Kaylin Johnson came off the bench to tally six and five, respectively. Jeffrey Merritt rounded out Samford's scoring with four points. He also grabbed three rebounds.
The Bulldogs shot 43.5 percent from beyond the arc, but committed 14 turnovers.
The Samford University basketball team will next be in action Saturday at 4 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs continue play in the 2009 Hispanic College Fund Classic with a day two matchup against the Green Bay Phoenix. Green Bay lost to UAB in Friday's opening game by a score of 68-56.