Furman 77, Utah Valley 69
BERKELEY, Calif. -- Jordan Miller poured in a game-high 24 points and Amu Saaka added 22 points and nine rebounds to lead Furman past Utah Valley 77-69 in the consolation game of the Collier's International Golden Bear Classic at the Haas Pavilion in Berkeley, Calif., on Tuesday night.
With the victory, Furman snapped a five-game losing streak and improved to 6-6 on the season. The Paladins six wins equal their win total from last season. Utah Valley slipped to 6-7.
Tied at 19-19 with under 10 minutes to play in the first half, Furman put together an 11-0 run to open up a 30-19 lead that it would not relinquish. Chris Toler scored in the paint and completed the three-point play at the foul line to start the run before Jordan Miller, 3-for-4 beyond the arc on the night, buried back-to-back treys to up the lead to nine points. Saaka finished the run with a two-point basket to push the cushion to 11 with 5:46 left in the half.
After leading 38-28 at intermission, Furman extended its lead to a game-high 12 points at 47-35 on Saaka's bucket with 15:41 remaining, but Utah Valley reeled off seven straight points to trim the advantage back to five points with 14:11 left.
Furman managed to convert on 16-of-24 trips to the foul line in the second half and shoot 55 percent (11-20) from the floor after intermission to hold off the Wolverines. The Paladins shot 51 percent (25-49) from the floor on the night, including 7-of-14 from three-point range, while netting 20-of-29 free throws.
Miller connected on 5-of-10 shots from the floor and 11-of-12 free throws for a game-high 24 points while Saaka made 7-of-13 field goals and 5-of-7 free throws to score 22 points. Sophomore Brandon Sebirumbi added 11 points on 4-for-5 shooting from the field.
Corey Claitt and Shwn Deadwiler led the way for Utah Valley with 16 points apiece. Justin Baker tallied 14 points and Jourdain Scoubes added 11 for the Wolverines.
Furman rejected a season-high 14 shots and committed just eight turnovers, a season low, against Utah Valley.
The Paladins return to action Saturday when they host NCAA Division II Erskine in their non-conference finale at 4 p.m. on Carolina First Court at Timmons Arena.
Chattanooga 76, Long Island 59
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's basketball team used a solid defensive effort and a balanced attack on the offensive end to score a 76-59 win over Long Island in the second game of the Dr Pepper Classic at the McKenzie Arena tonight. The Mocs improve to 7-6 on the year while LIU falls to 4-7.
It was an exciting opening minutes of the game with both teams shooting well and the Mocs playing aggressive defense. Chattanooga forced LIU into eight turnovers in the first eight minutes of the game while recording five steals.
However, when the Blackbirds got good looks at the rim, they were knocking down shots. They hit six of their first 10 tries, including 4-7 from 3-point range. Michael Culpo came off the bench to nail all five of his shots in the first half, including 4-4 from long range.
Despite missing their first seven shots from behind the 3-point line, the Mocs went up 19-16 on a 3-pointer from Dontay Hampton with 11 minutes left in the half. Junior Jeremy Saffore had three nice moves inside, capped by a jump-hook in the lane to increase the lead to 21-16 a minute later.
Culpo tied it at 24 with his fourth straight long-range bomb, this time finding the seam in the Mocs' zone defense in the far corner. The game went back and forth over the next four minutes in a first half that saw five ties and eight lead changes.
UTC built a 34-28 lead at the 3:30 when freshman Sam Watson, who started his first career game, got an offensive rebound off a missed Safford free throw. Watson found fellow freshman Josh Odem at the top of the key for the 3-pointer. Watson was starting in place of junior Ridge McKeither, who was attending to a death in his family and not at the game tonight.
Saffore got loose for a slam inside to give the Mocs' their largest lead of the half at 36-28. Long Island closed on a 5-2 run to make the halftime margin 38-33. Chattanooga made its last three shots from 3-point range to shoot 3-11 (27.3%) and 15-33 overall (45.5%). The Mocs were 12-22 from inside the arc and outscored the Blackbirds 22-8 in the paint in the opening half.
LIU kept is close by shooting 13-27 (48.1%) from the field and 6-11 (54.5%) from 3-point land in the first 20 minutes.
The Blackbirds closed the gap quickly in the second half, tying the game at 42 on a 3-pointer from Corey Wright less than two minutes into the period. Leading 48-47, the Mocs scored 10 straight points in just over a minute to go up 58-47 with 14:30 on the clock.
Culpo cut the lead to 58-53 on a jumper in the paint at 13:17. From that point on, the UTC defense locked down on Long Island and it went cold from the field. Chattanooga did not allow a field goal and just two points from the free throw line over the next eight minutes. LIU would only score six total points for the rest of the game.
The Mocs held the Blackbirds to 10-31 (32.3%) from the field and 2-11 (18.2%) from 3-pt. range in the second half.
Chattanooga was led by sophomore Ricky Taylor's 21 points on 8-14 shooting, 4-7 from 3-pt. range and 1-1 from the FT line. He also added four assists and no turnovers in the game. Saffore has a solid outing, scoring 12 points on 6-8 shooting to go with a pair of blocks.
Sophomore Chris Early also had a strong presence inside, scoring a season-high nine points and grabbing a team and season-high eight boards to go with two steals in the game.
Senior Ty Patterson struggled from the field, going 2-9 and 1-6 from behind the arc. However, he got his teammates involved with a career-high nine assists, no turnovers and five boards. Chattanooga had the most assists (25) and the fewest turnovers (9) in a game this season.
The Mocs will face Eastern Kentucky in the championship game of the Dr Pepper Classic tomorrow following the consolation game between Morgan State and LIU at 6:00 p.m. (E.S.T.). EKU defeated Morgan State 76-52 in the first game tonight.
Ohio 71, Elon 59
ATHENS, OHIO - Drew Spradlin posted his first career double-double and Adam Constantine added 19 points and 14 rebounds, but it wasn't enough as the Elon men's basketball team dropped a 71-59 decision to the Ohio Bobcats at The Convo in Elon's final contest of 2009 on Tuesday night. Ohio's Armon Bassett scored 17 of his 20 points in the second half as the Bobcats overcame a one-point halftime deficit and improved to 8-4 on the season. Elon dropped to 3-9 overall.
"I sit here encouraged - disappointed, frustrated and tired of being on the wrong end of the scoreboard - but encouraged by the effort we gave," said Elon head coach Matt Matheny. "We didn't shoot well tonight, but we competed and defended well and as a result we were still in the game."
Spradlin, playing in front of a crowd of hometown supporters, scored 20 points and pulled down a career-high 10 rebounds to lead the Phoenix. Constantine's double-double was his second straight and third in the last four games. Despite the team's poor shooting night, Terrance Birdette was a bright spot, hitting 4-of-8 from downtown for 12 points. As a team, Elon managed only 21-of-68 (30.9) field goals, including 5-of-23 (21.7) from long range.
Bassett led four Bobcats in double figures, while also contributing eight boards and dishing off seven assists. D.J. Cooper scored 15 and Tommy Freeman and Jay Kinney netted 10 apiece.
The lead changed hands 11 times and the score was tied on eight occasions in the opening 20 minutes of action. Constantine was a beast in the first half, hitting on 5-of-6 from the field for 13 points and grabbing seven boards. The forward scored nine of Elon's 11 points during a six-minute stretch as the Phoenix took a 26-24 advantage with 3:33 to play. The Bobcats scored five straight, but Elon answered with four points from the free throw line to head into the locker room with a 30-29 advantage.
TJ Douglas hit a three-pointer to open the second half, giving Elon the upper hand at 33-29. Again the teams traded the lead over the first six minutes of the final period. With Elon holding a 41-40 edge, a Bassett three ball at the 13:35 mark sparked the guard. Bassett hit four triples and converted an old-fashioned three-point play as he scored 15 of Ohio's next 24 points and the Bobcats took their biggest lead of the night, 64-51, with 6:48 on the clock.
Elon didn't go down easy and with 1:24 remaining, Spradlin converted an and-one to cut the Ohio advantage to eight, 67-59. The home team finished from the charity stripe and improved to 7-1 at The Convo this season.
The Phoenix played a relatively clean game, turning the ball over just 10 times compared to 18 miscues by Ohio. The Bobcats held the edge on the glass, holding a 50-38 rebounding advantage. Ohio also connected on 11-of-27 from long range, aided by Bassett's 5-of-8 three-point showing.
Elon will play its fifth consecutive road game when it challenges Navy on Saturday, January 2 at 7 p.m.
Coastal Carolina 76, Georgia Southern 64
CONWAY, S.C. - Ben Drayton III scored 17 points, all in the second half, and Colby Wohlleb set a career-high with 15 points, but the combined effort from the sophomores could not lead Georgia Southern past Coastal Carolina Tuesday night (December 29). The Chanticleers came away with a 76-64 win in Kimbel Arena and improved their record to 12-2, surpassing their win total for 2008-09.
Trailing by 13 points, 51-36, in the second half, Drayton erupted for Georgia Southern draining back-to-back treys before Wohlleb hit his fourth of the contest, bringing the score to 53-45. Drayton pushed his offensive run to 10 points on two jumpers, to slash the Coastal lead to five, 54-49. A quick 6-0 Chanticleer run reversed Drayton's effort and widened Coastal Carolina's lead to 60-49. CCU maintained a steady advantage with the Eagles cutting the deficit to single digits at 68-60 with 3:56 left. But CCU went 6-of-9 down the stretch from the charity stripe to finish out a 76-64 win in Kimbel Arena.
"Coastal Carolina is a very good team and they are at the point right now where they believe they are going to win every game," said head coach Charlton Young, a former assistant at Auburn under current Coastal Carolina head coach Cliff Ellis. "We made a couple pushes against them and they cracked a little. I am very proud of the team for their will and competitiveness and we will continue to get better as we get further into conference play."
With three assists but no points in the first half, Drayton was the leading scorer for the Eagles finishing with 17 points going 6-of-10 from the floor and 3-of-5 from three-point land. Wohlleb added a career-high in points and career-best five treys to finish with 15 points. Tyler Troupe led the Eagles with seven rebounds, but GS was edged out on the boards 32-33.
CCU picked up 38 points in the paint led by Chad Gray who finished with a game-high 24. Mario Edwards contributed 13 in the winning effort. The Chanticleers turned 14 Eagle turnovers into 21 points, while committing only eight errors.
Georgia Southern allowed Coastal Carolina to shoot 50.9 percent from the floor and 47.1 percent from three-point range. Coastal Carolina went to the line 26 times for 14 points off 28 GS personal fouls while the Eagles had only 10 attempts at the free throw line, converting seven. CCU was whistled for only 12 fouls, five in the first half.
Coastal Carolina jumped out of the gate strong, taking an early 12-4 lead with three treys, but the Eagles were hard pressed, chipping away at the deficit. GS used a three-point basket from Wohlleb to come within one point, 12-11 and tied the game at 12-all with a free throw by Cameron Baskerville (Marietta, Ga.). A 9-0 response from the Chanticleers widened the home court advantage back to 21-12 with 9:20 remaining. The Eagles would cut the lead to seven, the closest they would come in the first half before Coastal Carolina went to the locker room carrying a double-digit lead at 35-25.
Georgia Southern (3-11, 0-2 SoCon) will enter the new year playing Auburn at 2 p.m. Eastern time at Beard-Eaves Memorial Colesium on Saturday, January 2nd. The Eagles will then return home to play host to Chattanooga on Wednesday, January 6th at 7 p.m.
Kent State 73, Wofford 66
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - In the first round of the Cable Car Classic, the Wofford men's basketball team was defeated 73-66 by Kent State at the Leavey Center on Tuesday night. The Terriers were down 16 in the second half, but pulled within one possession with under a minute to go.
Wofford is 7-7 overall, while Kent State is 8-4. The Terriers were led by Jamar Diggs with 18 points and he added nine rebounds. Noah Dahlman had 17 points and eleven rebounds, his fourth double-double of the season. The Golden Flashes were led by Justin Greene with 26 points and ten rebounds.
"They went at us in the second half," said head coach Mike Young. "This is a great tournament for our team. That bunch is a good basketball team. We have a good basketball team If we played them ten times, it probably would be an even split. They are going to win a lot of games in their league, which is a pretty good one. They outplayed us. They went into the post with Greene and Singletary and those guys are good players. I don't think there is anything they did or we did not do, they just played better than us and deserved to win the game."
The Golden Flashes opened with two three pointers for a 6-0 lead, but Jamar Diggs answered with a three and a lay-up to make it a 6-5 game two minutes in. Wofford took an 8-7 lead after a bucket from Noah Dahlman. The Terriers extended the lead to 16-11 after a lay-up by Noah Dahlman at 11:08 in the first half.
Kent State regained the lead at 17-16 after a 6-0 run with 9:50 on the clock. Wofford answered and tied the game at 19 before going on an 11-3 run that was capped by a dunk by Tim Johnson for a 30-22 lead with 3:51 left in the half. However the Golden Flashes ended the half with an 11-1 run to take a 33-31 lead at the break.
Wofford tied the game on their first possession of the second half with a bucket by Noah Dahlman and the game was also tied at 35. Kent State then went on an 8-0 run for a 43-35 lead at 15:24. The Golden Flashes continued to extend the lead and were up 54-38 with 11:18 on the clock as the Terrier offense went cold.
Noah Dahlman scored for the Terriers to end a ten-minute span without a field goal as Kent State had a 54-40 lead. Wofford made a run with back-to-back threes from Jason Dawson and Junior Salters to cut the lead to 59-50 with 5:26 left in the game. Wofford pulled to within eight at 64-56 with 1:48 on the clock. Two free throws by Jamar Diggs with 1:40 left cut it to six points.
After trading pairs of free throws, Wofford cut the lead to 67-63 after a three by Jason Dawson with 47 seconds on the clock. After the Golden Flashes hit a pair of free throws for a 69-63 lead, Jason Dawson hit another three to cut it to 69-66 with 25 seconds remaining. Kent State hit two more free throws, but Wofford missed several shots and the Golden Flashes hit two more free throws to end the game with a 73-68 score.
Wofford shot 41.1 percent from the floor and 28.6 percent from behind the arc. Kent State shot 45.1 percent overall and were 33.3 percent from beyond the arc. Wofford held a 37-33 advantage in rebounds.
Noah Dahlman reached 1,000 career points on his second bucket of the second half at 18:50. He is the 41st player in Wofford history to reach the 1,000 point mark and the second this season as Junior Salters reached that mark earlier this season.
In the first game of the night, Northeastern defeated host Santa Clara 62-50. The Terriers will play Santa Clara to complete the 43rd Annual Cable Car Classic on Wednesday night at 6:00 pm Pacific Time.