Chattanooga 74, Longwood 70
SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas - Ricky Taylor and Ridge McKeither combined for 40 points in leading Chattanooga (3-3) to a 74-70 win over Longwood (0-7) in the South Padre Island Invitational Saturday afternoon. The Mocs overcame a six-point halftime deficit to stop a three-game losing skid.
Taylor scored a career-high 21 points with a hot shooting hand making six-of-11 from the field and four for six from three-point range. McKeither scored 19 points to go with seven rebounds.
Antwan Carter and Dana Smith each scored 18 points for the Lancers. The duo combined for 14 boards, eight for Carter and six for Smith. The Lancers out-rebounded the Mocs 40-36 including 17 offensive rebounds.
Longwood jumped out to a 9-4 lead early, but the Mocs answered and quickly scoring on four straight possessions, all on three pointers. Josh Odem hit two of the four threes to give the Mocs a 16-14 lead at 13:31.
The Lancers surged back to a 25-17 lead when Chattanooga went on an 11-0 run over the next 2:51. The run started with another four-possession spurt, with seven points coming from McKeither. The run put the Mocs up 28-25 with 6:23 to play in the half.
UTC held the Lancers almost four minutes with a field, but they finished the half with a flurry entering the break up 37-31.
It was a quick start to the second half. Jeremy Saffore scored on the Mocs' first three possessions including a thunderous dunk on a set play to start the half to cut the lead to 40-37.
In what was becoming typical for the game, Longwood answered and pulled back out to a eight-point lead, 47-39, on a Kevin Swecker three-pointer at 16:18. But the Mocs scored the next 10 points, the first seven by Taylor, to take a 49-47 lead on Dontay Hampton's layup at 13:05.
Once again, the Lancers battled back to take the lead as the game swung back-and-forth. A Smith layup with 3:56 made it 66-63. That's when Taylor took over.
The sophomore found his range as he scored nine of the Mocs final 11 points hitting three-pointers at 3:30 and 2:29, the latter giving the Mocs the lead for good, 71-68. The punctuation came on a great drive by Keegan Bell with 30.2 seconds remaining scoring over tight defense to make it 73-70. After two missed three-pointers by Swecker,
Taylor iced the game at 5.1 seconds make the second of two free throws to set the final score of 74-70. He scored 18 of his 21 points in the second half.
Bell notched a career high with 11 assists and made his third steal of the night on the final play of the game. Martiz Washington hit four three-pointers for the Lancers in scoring 12 points on the day.
The Mocs return home tomorrow but are back on the road Tuesday, Dec. 1, heading to nearby Jacksonville State with an 8 p.m. (ET) start. Chattanooga returns home in one week on Saturday, Dec. 5, hosting its Southern Conference opener against Elon at 7 p.m.
Wofford 84, Seattle 83
LAS VEGAS, Nevada - The Wofford men's basketball team built a 17-point lead in the second half but needed two free throws in the last twelve seconds by Jamar Diggs for an 84-83 win over Seattle on Saturday. The game was the final game for Wofford in the HoopTV Las Vegas Invitational, with the last two games held at the Orleans Arena.
Wofford is 4-3 overall, while Seattle is also 4-3 on the season. The Terriers were led by Noah Dahlman with 23 points and ten rebounds for his second double-double of the season. Junior Salters added eleven points as ten different players scored for Wofford. The Redhawks were led by Charles Garcia with 41 points and ten rebounds. He is the first opponent to score more than 40 points on Wofford since 1986.
"Seattle is a very good team," said head coach Mike Young. "Charles Garcia signed with Washington, but came to Seattle with their head coach. He is going to make a lot of money playing this game. Our guys hung in there. I thought that we earned it and we will take it. I know we are looking forward to getting back to the Carolinas. Now the task at hand is what matters most to us, and that is league play. We have two games coming up here in a short period of time. Western was picked to win their half and we are going to have to play well."
The Terriers scored first and then the game was tied at 2. A three by Junior Salters gave Wofford a 5-2 lead. The Terriers pushed the lead to 11-4 after a bucket from Noah Dahlman. The Redhawks pulled to 20-17 at the eleven minute mark, but Wofford answered with a 10-0 run that ended with a three by Jamar Diggs for a 30-17 lead.
With five minutes to go in the first half, Wofford had their largest lead at 35-21 after a free throw from Noah Dahlman. Seattle was able to cut the lead to only six points with under a minute to play with a shot by Charles Garcia, but Terry Martin scored the final three points of the half for Wofford to take a 43-34 lead at the break.
In the second half, Seattle scored the first three points, but Junior Salters answered with a three. A bucket and free throw by Kevin Giltner gave Wofford a 53-43 lead at 15:57, then a three from Giltner pushed the lead to 56-44. A lay-up and free throw by Tim Johnson at 13:47 gave Wofford a 63-46 lead, their largest of the game.
Seattle chipped away at the lead over the next six minutes and at 7:43, the Wofford lead was down to ten at 75-65. The 9-0 run by the Redhawks continued and cut the lead to three points with 5:13 on the clock. A bucket and free throw by Corey Godzinski pushed the lead back to six for the Terriers with four minutes remaining. With 1:31 left, Charles Garcia tied the game with a free throw. Noah Dahlman hit one-of-two to get the lead back for the Terriers at 82-81 with 58 seconds remaining.
Ten seconds later, Charles Garcia missed two free throws, but got his own rebound and hit a bucket to give Seattle an 83-82 lead - their first of the game - with 42 seconds left. Jamar Diggs hit two free throws with twelve seconds to regain the lead at 84-83. Seattle had a shot by Charles Garcia miss and Noah Dahlman got the rebound to secure the win for the Terriers.
The Terriers have road games at Western Carolina on Wednesday and at Michigan State on Friday before hosting Appalachian State at Benjamin Johnson Arena on Monday, December 7.
The Citadel 69, Virginia-Wise 37
CHARLESTON, S.C. - Cameron Wells continued his spectacular play at point guard for The Citadel, as the Bulldogs defeated UVA-Wise 69-37 on the first day of the CollegeInsider.com Skip Prosser Invitational. Wells scored 20 points, hitting 9-of-17 from the field, while center Joe Wolfinger chipped in 16 points and six boards to move the Bulldogs to 4-3 on the season.
"The great thing about Cameron is that he is coachable," said Ed Conroy of Wells' performance. "He is a player that is never satisfied and wants to get better. He is someone that would be grateful for his teammates, Wolfinger, Urbanus, Dahn and Matt Clark, because they can knock down the three and open up the lane for him. Overall he continues to get better and a big key was in the first three or four possessions when we put him in the post and took their guards underneath the rim."
Freshman Ben Cherry came off the bench to score six points for The Citadel, marking one of six non-starters to impact the scoring column. Cherry scored all six points from the 3-point line, while grabbing three boards. Fellow freshman Mike Groselle added five points and five rebounds, giving the Bulldogs a 21-4 edge in bench scoring. The backcourt of Zach Urbanus and Austin Dahn combined to score 10 points, five apiece, with Urbanus adding six rebounds. Bryan Streeter joined Urbanus and Wolfinger as a key inside presence, with six caroms.
Individually, Wells moved into 22nd on The Citadel all-time scoring list, passing Steve Fishel (1,068), while notching his 19th career 20-point performance. The Bulldogs converted 23-of-55 shots (41.8%), and 5-of-18 (27.8%) from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, the Highland Cavaliers were held to 15-of-47 shooting (31.9%), converting only 2-of-12 from the 3-point line.
Josh Jordan (14 points) and Pance Kecev (11 points) were the only two UVA-Wise players to reach double figures. Jordan, who added six rebounds to his credit, hit 6-of-11 in the game in 33 minutes of play. Kecev knocked down 4-of-14 shots, only two from 3-point range, and was forced into four turnovers by the Bulldogs defense. Jordan kept the Highland Cavaliers close in the paint, with The Citadel holding a 30-20 edge.
The CollegeInsider.com Skip Prosser winds up on Sunday afternoon at 5 p.m. at McAlister Field House when Savannah State meets UVa.-Wise. In the evening game, which is slated to begin at 7:30 p.m., The Citadel welcomes Central Connecticut State.
Appalachian State 93, Morgan State 92 (OT)
BOONE, N.C. - Jeremi Booth hit a three-pointer with 0.7 seconds remaining in regulation to tie the game at 82-82 and Appalachian State University men's basketball outscored Morgan State 11-10 in overtime to earn a 93-92 win Saturday night at the Holmes Center.
After Booth's clutch shot, Donald Sims hit a three-pointer to give ASU an 85-82 lead just 47 seconds into the extra session. Morgan State's Reggie Holmes then responded with a jumper, as he scored eight of the Bears' 10 points in the extra session.
The Mountaineers (3-3) sank three of their next four free throws before a Holmes trey gave MSU a two-point lead with two minutes to play, at 90-88. A pair of Andre Williamson free throws tied the game again before Morgan State (4-2) gained its final advantage of the game with a layup with 1:27 on the clock.
ASU scored the final three points as Sims drained a pair of shots from the line just before the one minute mark to tie the game at 92-92. The next two possessions for the visitors resulted in a turnover and missed three-pointer before Williamson made 1-of-2 free throws with 15 ticks left to give the Apps a 93-92 lead for good.
The final shot of the game belonged to Joe Davis, whose attempted game-winner from the right wing rimmed out.
Sims led the team with 19 points on five three-pointers while Booth reached double figures for the second-straight game at 12. The junior also made his first start of the season and dished out a career-high five assists.
Isaac Butts shouldered the load down low and turned in his first double-double of the season with 14 points and 13 rebounds. The center shot 7-of-10 from the field before fouling out in overtime.
Williamson was 9-of-10 from the free throw line for 13 points to go along with a season-best nine rebounds.
The Mountaineers lost Josh Hunter to an ankle injury in the first half, after the big man picked up two points, two assists and a block in eight minutes on the floor.
Freshman forward Nathan Healy stepped in with six points and a career-best eight rebounds. The forward swatted two of the team's three blocked shots.
Kellen Brand and Ryann Abraham also reached double-digit points with 12 and 10, respecitvely. The senior guards hauled in four rebounds each and combined for eight assists.
Appalachian held a 46-42 advantage on the glass and converted 22 assists compared to a season-low 12 turnovers.
The Apps continue the three-game homestand with a 7 p.m. tipoff against Winthrop on Monday.
Georgia Southern 86, Arkansas-Fort Smith 77 (OT)
STATESBORO, Ga. - With 11 of his career-best 18 points coming in the overtime period, senior guard Antoine Johnson helped carry Georgia Southern to an 86-77 win over Arkansas-Fort Smith in the late game of Saturday's (November 28) Legends Classic. Tied at 68 at the end of regulation, Johnson picked up a steal in the first 15 seconds of overtime and converted a layup at the other end. Johnson had his second steal of the game, scored two more baskets and made five free throws down the stretch to cement the win for the Eagles. Coach Charlton "C.Y." Young had put Johnson in the starting lineup and while his 23 minutes in the final box score reflected solid play, Johnson's last five minutes made the difference in the game.
"A.J. (Antoine Johnson) carried us defensively and offensively during the most critical times in the game," said Young. "Winning a close game like this will help us more in the long run because it challenged us every minute."
Georgia Southern started off slow with Arkansas-Fort Smith building a nine-point margin in the first half and maintaining that lead. Ten points by senior guard Antonio Hanson in the first period helped the Eagles cut the score to 23-26. Hanson followed up with another three to trim the Lions lead to two, 26-28, with 2:53 remaining. Arkansas-Fort Smith took a 31-27 lead into the locker room as junior transfer Chris Williams scored 14 of the Lions' total points.
In the second half, the combination of junior forward Rory Spencer and Ben Drayton III picked up the Eagle offense. Drayton had seven of his 11 total points in the first 2:44 after the break to pull Georgia Southern within one point of Arkansas-Fort Smith, 36-37. The Lions extended the lead to seven off a three-pointer by Josh Simmons before Spencer had a quick layup and went to the line to add another point. Hanson's third trey gave Georgia Southern its first lead since early in the first half. Over the next four minutes both teams traded missed shots before Lion Grant Clark hit the first of his four three-pointers to grab the lead back, 51-49, midway through the period.
The Eagles took their largest lead of the second half at 58-54 off a Spencer layup. Five lead changes over the next three minutes gave the advantage back to the Lions, 64-65, as Arkansas-Fort Smith's Williams scored his 20th point of the night. Georgia Southern's Spencer tipped in a missed layup for a one-point Eagle lead 66-65, and Johnson hit two free throws with 10 seconds remaining for a 68-65 score. With six seconds left in the regulation, Aaron McHenry hit a long three to tie the score at for the fifth time in the game.
Georgia Southern outscored Arkansas-Fort Smith 18-9 in the extra five minutes, taking the early lead off Johnson's layup and never looking back. Senior guard Willie Powers III had five of his 18 points during overtime, including three free throws to seal the win. Johnson and Hanson also had 18 points with Spencer contributing 16 and Drayton 11. Johntavious Rucker had the game-high with nine rebounds and Powers had a career-best eight boards on the night. Spencer and the Lions Dean Neville each blocked five shots, a career-best for Spencer. Williams had 20 points to lead the Lions with McHenry adding 18, Clark 14 and Simmons 10.
The final two games of the Legends Classic are Sunday, Nov. 29, with Arkansas-Fort Smith and Valparaiso squaring off at 1 p.m. and Troy and Georgia Southern meeting at 3:30 p.m. at Hanner Fieldhouse. Tickets are $8 for adults and $4 for youth (ages 3-12) and are good for both games. The Athletics Ticket windows at Hanner Fieldhouse will open at noon.
Rhode Island 75, Davidson 65
DAVIDSON, N.C. - Keith Cothran netted 19 points to lead Rhode Island to a 75-65 men's basketball victory over Davidson in John M. Belk Arena Saturday afternoon.
Jake Cohen led the Wildcats (1-5) with 16 points to go along with seven rebounds, while Brendan McKillop and JP Kuhlman each scored 12 points.
Lamonte Ulmer tallied 12 points and seven rebounds for the Rams (4-0), and Akeem Richmond scored 11 off the bench.
The Wildcats, who entered the game shooting 77 percent from the free-throw line, got to the charity stripe a season-high 28 times but only converted half of the opportunities. The Rams' pressing, trapping defense also forced 18 turnovers, and Davidson shot 39 percent from the field.
Cohen helped chip into a nine-point Ram lead early in the second half by scoring six straight points to cut the margin to 39-36.
After Cothran hit two free throws to make the score 41-36 with 15:24 remaining, the 'Cats got stops on four of five defensive possessions but went 1-for-6 from the free-throw line after drawing fouls on the offensive end.
The Rams pushed the lead to 10 points on a Richmond 3-pointer midway through the frame. Leading 51-41, Rhode Island used a 9-3 spurt, capped by a Cothran trey, to open a 60-44 cushion with 6:59 to go. Davidson got the margin to nine points on a McKillop 3-pointer with 4:06 remaining but would get no closer.
The Wildcats came out shooting the ball well early and connected on three straight 3-pointers to start the game with two coming from Bryant Barr. The Rams used an 11-4 run, capped by a Cothran layup, to open a 27-19 lead with 8:06 to go in the half.
Davidson responded with a 9-2 run with the help of 3-pointers by McKillop and Will Archambault to make the score 29-28, but the Rams finished the frame on an 8-2 spurt, keyed by six points from Ulmer, leaving the margin at 37-30 at halftime.
Davidson opens Southern Conference action at The Citadel Thursday Dec. 3 at 7 p.m.
East Carolina 82, UNC Greensboro 61
GREENSBORO, N.C. - East Carolina used a 14-4 run to begin the game and a 14-2 streak midway through the second half after UNC Greensboro cut it to one as the Pirates went on for an 82-61 victory in men's basketball action Saturday afternoon in the Greensboro Coliseum.
The Spartans (1-4), who were held to a season-low 31.7 percent shooting, were led by Kendal Toney's 19 points. It was the highest scoring output for the senior from Charlotte, N.C. since a 24-point effort against USC Upstate on Nov. 24, 2007. Freshmen Kyle Randall and Korey Van Dussen each added 13
points for the Spartans.
The Pirates (3-4) were led by a quartet of players in double figures. Darrius Morrow had a game-high 22 points for the visiting squad, while Brock Young and Jamar Abrams each added 15. Chad Wynn rounded out the Pirates in double figures with 10 points.
Leading 37-23 at the break, it appeared as if the Pirates might have things in hand. However, the Spartans used a 17-6 run to open the second half and pull within 43-40. A three-pointer by Randall moved UNCG within one at 46-45 with 13 minutes to play. The Pirates responded with a three-pointer
from Young, however, that sparked a 14-2 run to extend the lead to double digits again, 60-47.
The Spartans were never able to recover as they were only able to narrow the Pirate lead to 11 points the rest of the way.
UNCG began the game missing its first seven shots from the field and East Carolina opened took a 14-4 lead to begin the game. The Pirates went on to lead by 14 at the half after UNCG failed to score over the final 4:18 of the first half. The Spartans shot just 23.5 percent from the field in the opening half (8-for-34).
The Pirates also held Mikko Koivisto scoreless for the first time at home since his freshman season against Furman on Jan. 27, 2007. Koivisto lost his streak of 15 consecutive games with at least one three-pointer.
East Carolina shot 58.2 percent from the floor, which was a season-high. The Pirates also had a commanding 44-16 edge in points in the paint for the game. Morrow was a big part of that, going 9-for-11 from the floor and also grabbing nine rebounds.
The Spartans will kick off the Southern Conference portion of their schedule next Saturday, Dec. 5, as they travel to Birmingham, Ala. to face Samford at 2 p.m. eastern time (1 p.m. local).
Texas Tech 74, Samford 53
LUBBOCK, Texas --- With 11:52 remaining in Saturday's game against the Texas Tech Red Raiders, Samford only trailed its second Big 12 opponent of the season 49-43 in front of 7,930 fans at United Spirit Arena. Despite a career-high 26 points from the Bulldogs' Josh Davis, Texas Tech rallied late to score 25 of the final 35 points en route to a 74-53 victory.
Davis, Samford's junior guard from Lubbock, Texas, finished 9-of-17 from the field and 6-of-12 from 3-point range for his career-high total. In front of a number of local friends and family, Davis surpassed his previous personal-best of 23 points, which he tallied against Reinhardt College on Dec. 15, 2007.
"I thought that we played well in spurts and we hung in with them well until midway through the second half," said Samford head coach Jimmy Tillette. "Then, late in the game, we just seemed to lose focus and played out of rhythm. We definitely didn't play tough enough today, especially on the defensive side of the ball and in rebounding. That's something we need to work on.
With Saturday's loss, Samford (1-5) dropped to 0-5 on the road this season, including two-straight setbacks against Big 12 opponents. In their most recent road game on Nov. 20, the Bulldogs fell short in a 68-49 loss at Texas A&M.
Texas Tech (7-0) remained undefeated on the season and improved to 6-0 at home. The Red Raiders have not been beaten in United Spirit Arena since a 78-63 loss to Oklahoma on Feb. 28.
After Samford's breakaway layup from Matthew Friday to trim the Red Raiders' lead to 49-43 midway through the second half, Texas Tech took a timeout to regroup. Following the break, John Roberson, David Tairu and Brad Reese took over to score the next nine points to extend Texas Tech's lead to 58-43.
Roberson knocked down one of his team-high four 3-pointers during the stretch, while Tairu finished with a pair of layups and Reese added an old-fashioned 3-point play.
The Red Raiders outscored the Bulldogs 38-25 in the second half, including 25 of the last 35 points of the game. Samford only shot 37.2 percent from the field in the final period, while Texas Tech knocked down 53.1 percent of its attempts.
"We gave them too many wide-open looks," Tillette said. "Heading into the game, they were only shooting 33 percent from 3-point range, but it seemed like they made every shot against us today. There were two or three of their shooters that we didn't 'star' in our scouting report, but they definitely looked good out there today."
Texas Tech continued its balanced scoring Saturday and finished the game with four players tallying double figures. Roberson led the way with 16 points on 6-of-13 shooting from the field, while Tairu followed closely with a 15-point performance. Roberson also finished with a game-high nine assists and was 4-for-8 from beyond the arc.
Also scoring in double figures for the Red Raiders were Nick Okorie and Mike Singletary. Okorie tallied 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field and added five rebounds and a pair of assists. Singletary, whose father is the legendary linebacker for the Chicago Bears and current head coach of the San Francisco 49ers, added 11 points on a perfect 4-for-4 shooting performance from the floor.
Samford was paced by Davis' career-high points Saturday, but nobody else reached double figures. Senior point guard Trey Montgomery was the closest with nine points. He also finished with five rebounds, three assists and a trio of steals.
The Bulldogs only shot 36.7 percent from the field against Texas Tech. The Red Raiders tallied a 54.7 percent mark from the floor. Texas Tech also out-rebounded Samford 35-20 and recorded 14 second-chance points.
At halftime, Samford trailed Texas Tech 36-28. The Bulldogs opened the game with a quick 7-0 lead, but the Red Raiders bounced back with an 11-0 run of their own. Midway through the first half, Davis led Samford on another spurt as he knocked down his second and third 3-point field goals of the opening period.
Following Davis' third 3-pointer of the first half, the Bulldogs held a 20-18 advantage with 10:34 to play in the stanza. Davis, a native of Lubbock, Texas, connected on 4-of-6 three-point field-goal attempts in the first half and led all scorers with 12 points at the intermission.
Samford's Bryan Friday and Montgomery both followed with four first-half points.
Late in the opening period, Texas Tech strung together a 10-0 run and was paced by Okorie's 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting. The Red Raiders scored 18 of the final 26 points of the half and Roberson added eight points, four assists and two steals in the opening stanza.
Texas Tech shot 55.6 percent from the field in the first half, while Samford turned in a 41.7 clip.
The Samford University basketball team will next be in action Thursday at 7:30 p.m., as the Bulldogs begin their Southern Conference schedule against the Elon Phoenix at the Pete Hanna Center. The matchup will be the first of a two-game conference homestand for Samford. The Bulldogs will also play host to the UNC Greensboro Spartans on Dec. 5 at 1 p.m.
Western Carolina 75, Gardner-Webb 59
BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. - Brandon Giles sparked the Catamount offense with a game-high 24 points as Western Carolina put three players in double figures to race past Gardner-Webb, 75-59, Saturday night in non-conference play at the Paul Porter Arena.
Giles made four of WCU's seven 3-pointers in the win, scoring his season-high to pace the squad. The Auburndale, Fla., native added six rebounds and a game-high six steals. He was joined in double figures by classmates Brigham Waginger with 12 and Jake Robinson with 11 points off the bench in the win.
Robinson boarded a game-high eight as the Catamounts turned a 25-to-14 rebounding deficit at halftime into a 22-to-15 edge in the second. Mike Williams added nine points and five steals
"Brandon Giles had a great ball game tonight. He was really huge for us, and our depth was a big factor," said Western Carolina head coach Larry Hunter during post-game comments on the Catamount Sports Network. "We talked about it at halftime about how we are getting everyone's best shot; that comes with expectations. (Gardner-Webb) was winning all of the loose ball and hustle stats in the first half. I felt that we got after it in the second half."
Saturday night's win snaps WCU's three-game slide in the overall series and is the Catamounts' first in Boiling Springs since 1970. Western also matched its best start to a season since the 1990-91 Catamounts which also went 5-1 through its first six contests.
Western Carolina - which won its fourth-straight overall and first road contest of the season - took an early five-point, 7-2, lead before the Runnin' Bulldogs rattled off a 13-to-2 run to claim a six-point advantage, 15-9. The Catamounts were able to stem the turn of momentum, tying the game at 17 on a Waginger 3-pointer, and eventually took the lead for what proved to be for good on a Giles triple with two and a half minutes remaining before the break.
WCU scored the final six points of the opening 20 minutes to stake itself to a six-point, 29-23, lead at halftime.
In the second half, Giles scored seven of WCU's first nine points, making one of two free throws to push Catamount lead to double-digits at 10 with 16:34 showing on the Porter Arena clock. The lead would not dip into single digits the remainder of the game though Gardner-Webb (3-2) managed to close to within 11 points on two occasions including the latter at 55-44.
But the Catamounts responded with an 8-0 spurt, capped by a jumper by Blake Gallagher, who played 10 critical minutes off the bench as three post players were in foul trouble, to go ahead by 19, 63-44. WCU would work the margin to 20 twice inside the game's final four minutes en route to the 16-point victory.
All told, the Catamounts converted 30 Gardner-Webb turnovers into 31 points, and despite being out-rebounded 40-to-36, Western Carolina recorded 23 second chance points to just 10 by the Bulldogs.
Gardner-Webb also had a trio of players reach double digits as Auryn MacMillan who scored 12 points in just 18 minutes of action, missing a bulk of the second half due to foul trouble. Grayson Flittner, who averaged 16 points per game in the three previous meetings with the Catamounts including 31 in Cullowhee a year ago, was held to 11 points with three, 3-pointers, while C.J. Hailey added 10 points in the losing effort.
Western Carolina returns to action on Wednesday night in the second half of a Catamount basketball twin bill. The women's squad hosts mountain-rival, UNC Asheville, at 5:00 pm with the men opening Southern Conference play by entertaining Wofford at 7:30 pm. The Terriers (4-3) recorded an impressive, 60-57, win over Georgia and battled Pittsburgh to a three-point game in the season opener.