Appalachian State 77, Wofford 76
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - Donald Sims sank four late free throws to fend off a barrage of 11 Wofford points in the final 46 seconds as Appalachian State University men's basketball secured a 77-76 win on Monday night.
Ryann Abraham's jumper opened up a comfortable eight-point ASU advantage at 71-63 with 1:37 remaining, but Wofford made five of its final seven attempts from the floor, including two three-pointers and a three-point play to stay in the game.
With 12 ticks on the clock, Sims sank two foul shots to give the Mountaineers (5-4, 1-1 SoCon) a 77-71 advantage before Cameron Rundles knocked down a trey to halve the lead on the next trip down the floor.
Wofford (4-6, 0-2) then stole the ball to earn a chance to tie. As the Apps covered the guards, forward Corey Godzinski stepped out to the perimeter to take the shot. The big man launched the potential game-tying shot, but had one foot on the line, bringing the score to 77-76 with 1.4 seconds to play.
Abraham was immediately fouled, and after missing his first attempt at the charity stripe, the senior intentionally missed the second one and the Terriers were unable to put up a last-gasp bomb.
Sims led ASU with a season-high 25 points on 7-of-9 shooting, including 3-of-4 from long distance. The junior improved to 39-of-41 at the free throw line on the season with an 8-of-9 performance. He added an assist and two rebounds.
Isaac Butts picked up his third double-double in four games with 11 points and 13 rebounds. The center made all five field goal attempts on the night.
Marcus Wright scored a season-best 11 points, including nine in the first half. The sophomore had success slashing through the lane and converting passes from the post players. Wright sank 4-of-5 attempts from the field as the Mountaineers shot a season-best 64.3 percent from the field, compared to 45.3 percent for the home squad.
Jeremi Booth scored nine points on three treys while Kellen Brand dished out three of the Apps' eight assists. Andre Williamson had ASU's lone block and the team was not credited with any steals.
Williamson added seven points, five rebounds and an assist, while Brand contributed five points and a season-best five boards.
Wofford's Noah Dahlman showed why he is the Southern Conference's leading scorer as the forward poured in 25 points on 10-of-12 field goals. Tim Johnson led WC with nine rebounds but ASU held a 34-23 advantage on the glass.
College of Charleston 67, UNC Greensboro 64
GREENSBORO, N.C. - College of Charleston's Andrew Goudelock scored a season-high 28 points and UNCG missed a pair of possible game-tying three-pointers in the final 20 seconds as UNC Greensboro fell to College of Charleston, 67-64, in Southern Conference men's basketball action Monday night at the Greensboro Coliseum.
The Spartans rallied to have a pair of potential game-tying shots in the final minute, but weren't able to convert on either. Kendall Toney missed a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 13 seconds remaining. After the Cougars missed the front end of a one-and-one, the Spartans had one last chance with 5.4 seconds to go. But freshman Kyle Randall's shot was long at the buzzer.
The Spartans (2-4, 1-1 SoCon) were led by senior Ben Stywall who had a season-high 21 points and 14 rebounds for his 14th double-double of his career. It was the second straight double-double for Stywall, who had 11 points and 15 rebounds in a win at Samford on Saturday. Junior guard Brandon Evans also chipped in 10 points for UNCG.
Goudelock's 28 points paced the Cougars (4-3, 3-0 SoCon) and were just five shy of his career-high 33 that he set last season against Appalachian State. Casaan Breeden was also in double figures with 14 points and Jeremy
Simmons added 10.
The Spartans held an unbelievable advantage on the boards, outrebounding the Cougars, 49-29. Eleven of Stywall's 14 boards were on the offensive glass. UNCG's 49 rebounds were the most since December 30, 2006, when they had 50 at Georgia Southern.
Trailing by as many as 11 points late in the second half, it appeared as if the Cougars would cruise to victory. With just under eight minutes remaining in the game, UNCG trailed 59-48 after a ridiculous three-pointer by Goudelock that bounced off the rim, hit the top of the backboard twice, and hit the back of the rim two more times before going in.
A layup by Stywall helped spark a 14-5 run over a five and a half minute span that got UNCG back in it. The run was closed out by a Randall baseline drive that pulled the Spartans within 64-62 with 1:30 to play.
Breeden answered with a three-pointer with 1:13 left and it looked like the Cougars were back in control up by five. But Randall knocked down a jumper with 54 seconds left to make it a one possession game.
The Cougars turned the ball over on their next possession. But Toney's three was off the mark and UNCG was forced to foul with eight seconds left. Tony White, Jr. left the door open, though, when he missed the front end of a one-and-one and Brian Cole grabbed the rebound. Randall's shot was long at the buzzer, however.
After Stywall buried the first basket of the game, the Cougars went on a 9-0 run to take an early lead. The Spartans responded with a 9-2 to tie the game at 11 on a Cole jumper.
On the night, the Spartans had 15 more field goal attempts, thanks to their 25 offensive rebounds. UNCG had a 29-8 advantage in second chance points. However, College of Charleston shot 49 percent from the floor, compared to UNCG's 36 percent.
#14 Michigan State 69, The Citadel 56
CHARLESTON, S.C. - The Citadel Basketball team responded to the challenge of the first ranked team at McAlister Field House in 10 years, hitting 12 three-pointers to remain close in a 69-56 loss to Michigan State. In front of 5,194 in attendance, the Bulldogs were led by the duo of Cameron Wells (16 pts.) and Zach Urbanus (14 pts.). Kalin Lucas responded with 17 points to lead all scorers, while Raymar Morgan added 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Spartans.
"I was really proud of our effort" said head coach Ed Conroy following the game. "They came out in the first half and played with confidence, were aggressive and accomplished the things that we talked about. They did a great job of knocking the shots down.
The Citadel (6-5), who have converted double figures in three-pointers in three of their last four contests, missed their season-high of 13 (vs. Central Connecticut State) by the slimmest of margins. Urbanus led the team by knocking down 4-of-7, all but one coming in the first half, while Austin Dahn, Joe Wolfinger and Cosmo Morabbi each hit a pair. The 12-for-20 (.600) from beyond the arc marks the best conversion percentage of the season. Wells, who hit 5-of-13 from the field, dished out five assists in 39 minutes of action. Urbanus grabbed a team-best six rebounds, all defensive.
Drawing as close as three points on two occasions in the second half, the latter with 12:17 remaining, The Citadel battled hard with its Big Ten counterpart. However, a 10-4 run that spanned 5:17 of the half, separated the Spartans by a 61-51 margin.
The Spartans (7-2) have now won a pair of game against Southern Conference opposition. Lucas, who hit 6-of-9 against the Bulldogs, found his teammates for six assists and grabbed three caroms. He finished a perfect 4-of-4 from the charity stripe. Morgan proved to be an anchor for Michigan State in the post, lead the team with 10 boards, providing a 36-19 edge in rebounds. The trio of Chris Allen, Delvon Roe and Draymond Green each scored nine points. Offensively Green converted 7-of-8 trips to the line for a bulk of his points. The tandem of Roe and Green crashed the boards for seven rebounds apiece.
In an offense highlighted by 3-pointers The Citadel finished 19-of-49 (.388) as a unit. The Spartans countered with 23-of-42 (.548) shooting from the field, including 5-of-11 from downtown. The Bulldogs forced 12 Michigan State turnovers and managed to finished tied (15-15) in points off turnovers in the contest.
After a back-and-forth game over the first 4:14 a Wolfinger 3-pointer gave The Citadel a 10-9 lead. Following a Lucas miss, Wells found Urbanus who knocked down a quick three-pointer to send the arena into a frenzy. On the ensuing possession, Dahn knocked down a 3-pointer to give The Citadel its largest lead of the game 16-11. Michigan State responded with a 13-7 run over the next 5:42 of the contest before Bryan Streeter hit a jumper in the lane to give the Bulldogs a 25-24 advantage.
Following a 28-28 tie with 5:56 remaining in the half, the Spartans closed on a 12-8 run highlighted by Allen's five points. Michigan State took a 40-36 lead into halftime.
Western Carolina 75, Bradley 67
PEORIA, Ill. - Senior Jake Robinson scored a game-high 21 points to help lead Western Carolina back from a 10-point second half deficit as the Catamounts rallied to upend the Bradley Braves, 75-67, Monday night in non-conference action from the Carver Arena.
Robinson was joined in double-figure scoring by classmate Brigham Waginger with 14 points, adding seven rebounds while also tying a career-best by dishing out seven assists and swiping three steals. Harouna Mutombo posted his third career double-double with 14 points and a career-high tying 10 rebounds.
Keaton Cole scored nine points off the bench including burying a pair of 3-pointers while Richie Gordon scored eight points and recorded six rebounds in the winning effort.
"I am really, really happy for our guys; this has been a tremendous road trip for us," said fifth-year head coach Larry Hunter during post-game comments on the Catamount Sports Network. "I am really proud of our guys for the way they hung tough, made some big plays and got some big stops - this was a tremendous win for us."
The win for WCU was its seventh-straight, matching the program's longest consecutive win streak since the 1995-96 season when the Catamounts won the final four regular season games and three-straight in the Southern Conference tournament to win the title. The Catamounts also improved to 8-1 on the year, matching the best start since also beginning both the 1962-63 and 1963-64 seasons with eight win through nine games.
Trialing by 10, 56-46, with 10 and a half minutes remaining in regulation, Western Carolina (8-1) embarked on a 23-to-4 run to erase the deficit and take a nine-point, 69-60, lead at the four minute mark. The Braves would not go away, however, scoring six-unanswered points to trim the gap to three, 69-66.
It was as close as Bradley would get, though, as Mutombo hit two free throws and Robinson canned 4-of-4 to stretch the advantage back to eight and provide the final tally, 75-67.
All told, WCU outscored Bradley by a count of 29-to-11 over the final 10 minutes of the game to pull out the victory.
WCU erased a nine-point first half deficit with a 14-to-4 run to end the opening stanza to take a one-point, 38-37, advantage into the halftime locker room.
The Braves (5-3) also put three players in double figures as Taylor Brown led the way with 18 points on 8-of-10 shooting. Andrew Warren scored eight of his 14 points from the free throw line, with Sam Maniscalco chipping in 10 points in the loss.
Amidst a stretch with four-of-five games away from home, Western Carolina returns to the friendly confines of the Ramsey Center on Thursday, Dec. 10 to host the Campbell Camels. Tip-off is set for 7:00 pm.