Davidson 78, Fredonia State 37
DAVIDSON, N.C. - Will Archambault recorded 22 points and eight rebounds, and Davidson¹s defense allowed just 14 field goals in a 78-37 home-opening men's basketball victory over Fredonia State Wednesday night at Belk Arena.
Archambault was 8-of-15 from the field and added three assists, a blocked shot and a steal for Davidson (1-4), while Jake Cohen collected 18 points and eight rebounds.
JP Kuhlman tallied 11 points, five assists and three steals, and Steve Rossiter posted nine points, five rebounds, three steals and two blocked shots.
Brad Cooper led Fredonia State (0-1) with 10 points, and Julius Bryant scored seven.
Davidson broke open a 32-20 halftime lead by outscoring the Blue Devils 24-3 over the first 9:56 of the second half. The OCats allowed just one Fredonia State basket and forced six Blue Devil turnovers during the stretch, which
gave Davidson a 56-23 cushion. The margin grew to as many as 41 points on a pair of Ben Allison free throws with 1:15 remaining.
A 15-4 run in the first half broke a 12-12 tie and gave the Wildcats a 27-16 advantage with 2:19 left. Archambault ignited the run with consecutive 3-pointers and scored 10 points during the spurt, while Kuhlman netted the
other five.
The Wildcats hit 14-of-29 from 3-point range with five different players hitting a trey. Davidson also had 20 assists on 26 made baskets and outrebounded the Blue Devils 45-24.
Davidson returns to action at home Saturday as the 'Cats host Rhode Island in John M. Belk Arena. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m.
Western Carolina 83, Duquesne 77
CULLOWHEE, N.C. - Western Carolina matched its school-record for 3-pointers made in a single game with over 10 minutes remaining on the clock Wednesday night against Duquesne. The Catamounts would drain two more triples to establish a new program benchmark at 17.
But it wasn't until an offensive rebound after a missed free throw, and a subsequent exchange of turnover, steal and lay-up that the Catamounts could begin to savor the accomplishment in the record books and the team's third-straight victory.
Senior Jake Robinson led Western Carolina with a career-high 25 points, matching his career-best with seven of the record 17 treys as the host Catamounts rallied to upend previously unbeaten Duquesne, 83-77, in the final game of the O'Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic in the Ramsey Center.
After trailing by as many as 13 in the first half, Western Carolina closed the opening stanza on a 10-0 run to pull to within three, 43-40, at intermission. The Catamounts claimed their first lead since the opening minute of the game at the 17:22 mark of the second half on a Mike Williams 3-pointer.
The Catamounts then went on to build their largest lead of the game at 14 in the second half only to see the Dukes chip away at the advantage with a 19-to-5 run, scoring six of the 19 from the free throw line.
Tied at 77 with 90 seconds to play, WCU's Harouna Mutombo sliced through the lane and drained a jumper, drawing a foul for an old-fashioned, three-point play opportunity. The Toronto, Ontario native could not connect from the charity stripe, but managed to corral the missed shot. Mutombo then had the ball stripped by Duquesne's Eric Evans only to have the sly Canadian take it back in transition and lay it in for his 10th point of the night and a four-point, 81-77 lead.
Richie Gordon slammed home a long, coast-to-coast pass inside the final 30 seconds to provide the final tally, 83-77, and give the Catamounts their third-straight win this season.
WCU has won seven-straight games inside the friendly confines of the Ramsey Center, and has been victorious in 17 of its last 19 home games dating back to the 2007-08 season.
Between the 10-0 spurt to end the first half and the opening five minutes of the second half, the Catamounts outscored Duquesne 23-to-2, while forcing three turnovers and 1-for-7 shooting from the floor.
In addition to Robinson's 25 points and team-high eight rebounds, three other Catamounts recorded double-digit efforts as senior Brigham Waginger added 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting beyond the 3-point arc, with Mike Williams scoring a dozen to complement Mutombo's 10. Waginger dished out a career-high tying seven assists and swiped three steals, while Mutombo passed out six helpers, also with a trio of takeaways.
Duquesne (4-1), which knocked off Big Ten foe Iowa on the road in the opening round of the CBE Classic, put five of the seven players it played into double figures. Sub-regional All-tournament team selection, Bill Clark, led with a game-high tying 25 points, including 12-of-13 from the free throw line. B.J. Monteiro scored 15 points, with Eric Evans, Jason Duty and Damian Saunders each scoring 11 points in the loss.
Saunders tallied his fifth double-double of the season, including third of the sub-regional, with 11 points and 15 rebounds, adding five assists and four steals.
The Dukes raced out to an early lead, pushing their advantage into double digits four minutes into the game at 15-3. WCU composed itself to close the game to within three, 23-20, by outscoring Duquesne, 17-8, over the next seven minutes. The visitors then responded with an 11-2 spurt to balloon their advantage to 12 and eventually a game-high 13 on a trey by B.J. Monteiro.
However, following Monteiro's triple, the Catamounts finished the opening 20 minutes by reeling off 10-unanswered points including Robinson's fourth and fifth 3-pointers of the half, a pair of free throws by Williams and a lay-up in traffic by Blake Gallagher.
The Catamounts got 24 points off its bench in the first half including 15 by Robinson, who was named to the Cullowhee Sub-regional All-tournament team.
WCU finished 17-of-35 from the 3-point arc in becoming the first team to shoot better than 40 percent from the field against the Dukes this season (45.5%).
Western Carolina, off to its best start since the 2006-07 season when it also opened up 4-1 through its first five games, will try for its first road win on Saturday, Nov. 28, as it travels to Boiling Springs, N.C., to face the Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs at 7:00 pm.
East Tennessee State 77, College of Charleston 71
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. - Justin Tubbs scored a career-high 29 points and Tommy Hubbard pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds leading East Tennessee State to a 77-71 win over College of Charleston before 3,105 at Memorial Center on Wednesday.
The Bucs, who outscored Charleston 46-24 in the paint, improved to 2-3 on the season. The Cougars fell to 1-2. The Cougars play at Tennessee at 7 p.m. on Friday.
Charleston was led by Andrew Goudelock's 23 points and a career-high tying 18 points from Jeremy Simmons. Casaan Breeden added 15 points.
Tubbs had 18 of the first 27 points for the Buccaneers, who took a 27-16 lead with 6:38 left in the first half and led 40-30 at halftime.
ETSU stayed in front by five points or more until a layup and free throw by Goudelock with 3:18 remaining brought the Cougars within three, 68-65.
After the Buccaneers rebuilt their lead to six points, 74-68, with 1:15 left, a 3-pointer by Breeden, who finished with 15 points, cut it to 74-71 with 1:02 remaining.
After a Charleston timeout, Breeden made a steal but Goudelock missed a 3-pointer. ETSU secured the game as Tommy Hubbard made 1-of-2 free throws and Sheldon Cooley made a pair.