Western Carolina 70, Arkansas-Monticello 44
CULLOWHEE, N.C. - Harouna Mutombo led three Catamounts in double figures with a season-high 17 points as Western Carolina opened sub-regional play of the O'Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic with a 70-44 victory over NCAA Division-II foe Arkansas at Monticello in the Ramsey Center on Monday night. It was the first-ever meeting between the two schools on the hardwood.
Mutombo scored nine of his game-high 17 in the first half, with junior transfer Mike Williams adding his WCU-best 13 points and three steals in the win. Senior Brandon Giles rounded out the trio of Catamounts in double-figures with 10 points, while classmate Brigham Waginger matched a career-high with nine rebounds and dished out four assists to lead the squad.
Jake Robinson just missed double-figures with eight points, knocking down a pair of 3-pointers for his first triples of the season.
Mutombo finished 7-of-11 from the floor including 2-of-3 from beyond the 3-point arc as the Catamounts shot 49.2-percent for the game thanks to a 55.2-percent (16-of-29) in the second half.
Slow out of the gates in the first half, the Catamounts (2-1) built a little breathing room with a 10-0 spurt over a three-minute stretch, taking a 4-2 advantage and ballooning it to 12 at 14-2 midway through the first half
All told, WCU limited Arkansas-Monticello to 17 first half points, 10 of which were scored inside the final five minutes of the frame, to lead 30-17 at halftime.
In the second half, the Catamounts steadily pulled away from UAM, taking a game-high lead of 28 points inside the final minute on a 3-pointer by Antoine Childs to go ahead, 70-42.
The Catamounts forced the Boll Weevils into 24 turnovers, swiping a season-high 15 steals.
Arkansas-Monticello, which counted Monday's game as an exhibition on its schedule, was led by Gil Verner with 14 points on 5-of-12 shooting including three, 3-pointers. Jarrell Turner paced the team with five rebounds as the Catamounts held a slim, 38-34, rebounding edge on the glass.
Action from the Cullowhee Sub-regional continues on Tuesday as the Catamounts host Binghamton in the night cap at 7:30 pm, with Duquense and Arkansas at Monticello opening the double-header at 5:00 pm.
Samford 68, McNeese State 52
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. --- The Samford University basketball team enjoyed its first home-court advantage of the 2009-10 season Monday as the Bulldogs registered a 68-52 non-conference victory against the McNeese State Cowboys in the Pete Hanna Center. The game was Samford's first at home in this season.
"This was a nice win for us," said Samford head coach Jimmy Tillette. "I was proud of how our guys fought and battled the entire game, and that was big because I didn't think that we executed as well as we should have. It was a very physical game and I thought that we really played better at the end. We didn't rebound the ball great, but we came up with some key rebounds when we really needed them."
With Monday's win, Samford (1-4) snapped its four-game losing streak. The Bulldogs opened the season with four tough matchups on the road against Kent State 69-66, Wisconsin-Green Bay 70-68, UAB 55-52 and Texas A&M 68-49.
McNeese State (1-4) was defeated in its second road game of the 2009-10 campaign. Earlier this year, the Cowboys competed in the prestigious Rainbow Classic and dropped a 73-66 decision at Hawaii on Nov. 15. McNeese State also fell to 0-2 all-time against Samford. Last season, the Bulldogs defeated the Cowboys 57-52 in Lake Charles, La.
Samford was buoyed Monday by three players scoring in double figures. Senior forward Bryan Friday led the way with 15 points, four rebounds, two assists and a pair of steals, while Josh Davis and Trey Montgomery both followed with 14 points apiece.
Davis was 4-of-9 from the field, including a 2-for-6 performance from 3-point range, while Montgomery was 3-of-9 from the floor, but knocked down 7-of-8 free-throws attempts. As a team, Samford reached the charity stripe 31 times and connected on 23 shots from the line.
"I thought that we shot the ball better from the free-throw line, especially in the first half," Tillette said. "We were 12-of-15 in the first half and that really helped us to build our big lead. In the second half, we weren't as good as we need to be, but Trey (Montgomery) made some key ones down the stretch."
The Bulldogs shot 50 percent from the field and 50 percent from beyond the arc. McNeese State only tallied a 35.6 shooting percentage and a 22.6 mark from 3-point distance.
The Cowboys were led in scoring by Diego Kapelan's 15 points on 5-of-15 shooting. He was followed by Stephan Martin's 13 points on 5-of-12 shooting from the field. Both of the aforementioned players combined to grab 13 rebounds and connect on six 3-pointers.
"McNeese State played hard and they never gave up," said Tillette. "They have some guys that can really shoot the ball well and they were able to make some deep 3-pointers on us tonight. They were also able to get quite a few offensive rebounds and that really allowed them to hang in the game as well."
Early in the game, Samford played off the momentum of the crowd and streaked to a quick 18-5 lead midway through the first half. McNeese State then used back-to-back 3-point field goals from Martin to trim the Bulldogs' advantage to 18-11 with 8:52 to play in the period.
The teams continued to battle back in forth until Samford exploded for a 15-1 run to end the first half. During the Bulldogs' scoring stretch, Davis hit a 3-pointer, Montgomery made a pair of free throws and a 3-pointer, while Matthew Friday chipped in with a physical rebound and put-back bucket.
The Bulldogs ended the half with another layup from Matthew Friday, a free throw by Montgomery and a buzzer-beating leaner from Jeffrey Merritt.
Merritt, Samford's sophomore guard from Oklahoma City, Okla., finished Monday's game with eight points, five rebounds and a steal.
Late in the second half of play, McNeese State rallied back to cut Samford's lead to 52-48 with only 4:43 remaining in the game. The Bulldogs then fed off the resounding din of the crowd and scored 16 of the game's final 20 points to earn the 68-52 victory.
Down the stretch, Montgomery poured in six points, Bryan Friday added five and Andy King nailed a critical 3-pointer from the top of the key.
Samford turned in its best defensive performance of the season and only allowed a season-low 52 points.
"This was a great win," Tillette said. "We really needed this win and now we go to Texas Tech to play Saturday and then we come back for two very important home conference games. We've played five tough games and good teams this season and I think that we've built on each one and we're continuing to get better as the year goes on."
The Samford University basketball team will next be in action Saturday at 3:30 p.m., as the Bulldogs return to the road for a non-conference matchup against the Texas Tech Red Raiders. The game will be held at United Spirit Arena (15,098) in Lubbock, Texas.
Hofstra 70, Elon 46
HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. - The Elon men's basketball team suffered a 70-46 loss to the host Hofstra Pride at Mack Sports Complex in the consolation round of the Dick's Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off Tournament on Monday night. The Pride saw three players score in double figures as Hofstra improved to 3-2 on the season. Elon dropped to 2-3 overall and will play its final contest in the NIT tomorrow against Yale at 4:30 p.m.
Senior Devan Carter was the lone Phoenix in double figures, scoring 10 points on 4-of-8 from the floor. Senior TJ Douglas added nine points on three long-range shots. Sophomore Josh Bonney was held to seven points, marking the first time this season he did not score at least 10.
Hofstra's Cornelius Vines led all scorers with 17 points on 6-of-14 shooting. Greg Washington and Nathaniel Lester each added 12 for the home team, with Washington leading the way on the glass with seven rebounds.
The Pride struck early, scoring eight quick points before the Phoenix could get on the board. A Bonney free throw finally ended the streak, but Hofstra would stretch the score to 13-1 before Elon managed its first field goal. Another 11-2 run by the home team gave Hofstra a 19-point advantage, 24-5, with just five minutes gone by in the contest.
A three-pointer by Douglas at the 14:14 mark sparked a 9-2 Elon stretch that cut lead to 12, 26-14, at the 12-minute media timeout. The Phoenix would not get any closer and Hofstra extended its advantage to as many as 21 before the half. The score was 42-21 in favor of the Pride after 20 minutes of play.
Elon's scoring woes continued as Hofstra outscored the Phoenix 15-3 over the first nine minutes of the second half. With the help of a couple triples and an Adam Constantine dunk off an inbounds play, Elon netted 12 unanswered points to make it a 19-point game at 57-38 with nine minutes to play. Hofstra was quick to answer with back-to-back three balls, quieting any hopes of a Phoenix comeback.
Hofstra shot 49.1 percent from the floor, getting high percentage shots as evidenced by its 32-14 points in the paint advantage. Elon was 18-of-52 (34.6) on the night, 5-of-23 (21.7) from long range. The Pride also won the battle on the boards, outrebounding the Phoenix 39-26.
Elon will have a final chance at a win in the NIT when it challenges the Yale Bulldogs at Mack Sports Complex tomorrow afternoon at 4:30 p.m. Yale is coming off an 88-74 loss to Charlotte this evening.
#16 Louisville 80, Appalachian State 53
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Donald Sims was hot from downtown with five treys in 10 attempts, but it was not enough to power Appalachian State University men's basketball past No. 16 Louisville, as the Mountaineers fell 80-53 on Monday evening at Freedom Hall.
The junior guard tallied a season-best 19 points on 7-of-15 shooting to accompany four rebounds and a pair of assists as the Mountaineers sought their first road win of the season.
Louisville applied full-court pressure early and often, but the Apps were able to consistently battle through the press to work into the offense. Shots began falling at both ends of the court and the Cardinals worked up a 23-11 advantage.
The Apps (2-3) fired back with a 12-2 run to close within a bucket at 25-23, but were unable to challenge the Cardinals (4-0) any further.
ASU trailed by a manageable nine points at the intermission, 39-30, but the home squad scored the first six points in the second half and never looked back. The Cardinals stretched the lead to as many as 28 points in the waning minutes to secure the win.
Jeremi Booth made 4-of-6 field goal attempts and all four foul shots to score a season-best 14 points, while Sims and Kellen Brand hauled in four rebounds each to lead Appalachian.
Brand had his first off-night and made just 1-of-7 attempts for two points, but contributed to the effort with three assists and four steals.
It was the first time the Apps were outrebounded by an opponent, as Louisville finished with a 37-26 advantage on the glass. The 26 boards were easily the lowest total of the season for Appalachian.
Conversely, ASU sank a season-best 42 percent of its longball attempts, as Sims, Booth, Webb and Ryann Abraham connected on a combined 11-of-21 from beyond the arc.
It was the first time all season that Abraham did not lead the team in both assists and steals, but the senior point guard matched a season high with nine points to go along with a pair of rebounds.
Samardo Samuels scored 16 points to lead UL in the game while Rakeem Buckles secured 10 rebounds.
ASU returns home for a three-game homestand, beginning with Morgan State on Saturday at 7 p.m.