Davidson 86, College of Charleston 71
DAVIDSON, N.C. - Will Archambault's 24 points led four Davidson scorers in double-figures as the Wildcats used a late run to take an 86-71 win over South Division leader College of Charleston in Southern Conference men's basketball action Thursday night in Belk Arena.
Archambault scored a season-high 24 points for Davidson (10-11, 5-4 SoCon) on 8-of-9 shooting from the field, including 4-of-5 3-point attempts and 4-of-5 free throw attempts, while adding five rebounds, three assists and a block. Freshman JP Kuhlman matched his career-best scoring total of 19 points by going 8-for-14 from the field and 3-of-5 from behind the arc, while adding three rebounds and three assists.
Steve Rossiter recorded his second double-double of the season with 11 points and 10 boards to go along with three assists and two blocks. Jake Cohen scored 15 points and five rebounds. As a team Davidson, shot 50 percent (28-of-56) from the field and hit 21-of-26 free throw attempts.
After seeing the lead change seven times in the second half, Davidson held just a slim 68-67 lead with 7:32 to go. The 'Cats took control from there though, outscoring the Cougars (13-8, 8-2 SoCon) 18-4 throughout the remainder of the game to secure the win.
Andrew Goudelock and Tony White, Jr. led College of Charleston offensively with 22 points and four rebounds each. Donavan Monroe scored 10 points and pulled in two boards.
Brendan McKillop led the 'Cats with seven assists and no turnovers to go along with nine points and five rebounds. He hit four free throws in the final stretch.
CofC improved from the field in the second half, shooting 51.9 percent, but only hit 5-of-10 free throw attempts as Davidson avoided foul trouble. They finished shooting 45.8-percent, including 7-of-19 3-point attempts.
The score was even at 36 at the end of the first half. The 'Cats used a 12-2 run to come within three of Charleston at the 7:22 mark after falling behind by as much as 14 points. CofC had gone on a 21-4 run early in the game to open a 23-9 lead.
CofC held a slim margin until Kuhlman closed the half with a pair of buckets to even the score.
UNC Greensboro 62, Elon 55
GREENSBORO, N.C. - Senior Mikko Koivisto scored a season-high 17 points and fellow classmate Ben Stywall notched 14 points and pulled nine rebounds to help UNC Greensboro survive a second-half run and defeat Elon, 62-55, on Thursday night in the Greensboro Coliseum.
Kyle Randall also finished in double figures for the Spartans (5-16, 4-6 Southern Conference) with 11 points. Pete Brown finished with a career-high six blocked shots, one shy of the school record. Brown now has 19 blocked shots in the last five games.
Koivisto, a native of Vantaa, Finland who spent most of the first two months of the season banged up, knocked down 5-of-11 from three-point range to show signs of his old-self. He also had four assists.
Drew Spradlin led the Phoenix (4-16, 2-7 SoCon) with 18 points and Adam Constantine chipped in 13 points and 11 rebounds in the losing effort. Spradlin was in double digits for the fifth consecutive game and ninth time in the last 12 outings.
UNCG led wire-to-wire, but the Phoenix rallied in the second half to make things interesting. Trailing by 15 at the half, Elon opened the second half on a 9-0 run to pull within six at 31-25 on a layup by Constantine. The Phoenix continued to chip away at the Spartan lead throughout the second half before making it a one-point game on a Spradlin three-pointer with 6:18 to play, 48-47.
With 5:31 left, Josh Bonney cut the margin to one again with the first of two free throws, but he missed his second free throw, which would've tied the game at 50-all. Koivisto ran down the court after the miss and hit a three-pointer from the right wing to spark a 10-2 Spartan run that put the game away.
The win was UNCG's seventh straight over their backyard rivals. It was also UNCG's third consecutive win at the Coliseum.
The Spartans controlled the opening half from the tip as they jumped out to an 11-3 in the first seven minutes of the contest. The Phoenix responded with a run of their own to pull within three at 19-16 on a 3-pointer by Chris Long.
A jumper and 3-pointer by Brandon Evans, sandwiched around a Stywall jumper, sparked a 12-0 run by UNCG over the final five minutes of the half to give the Spartans a 31-16 lead at the break.
UNCG held Elon to 22.6 percent shooting in the first half, which was the Phoenix's worst percentage in any half this season. A slow starting team for much of the season, the 16 points were the fewest UNCG has allowed in an opening half this year. For the season, UNCG's opponents were averaging 35.2 points in the first half, shooting 46.1 percent from the floor, prior to Thursday night.
Chattanooga 80, Western Carolina 67
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. --- Ridge McKeither and Ty Patterson scored a combined 23 second half points to lead the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's basketball team over Western Carolina 80-67 Thursday night at McKenzie Arena. The Mocs came back from a seven-point halftime deficit to improve to 12-10 overall and 4-5 in the Southern Conference. The Catamounts fall to 16-5 and 6-3.
The Catamounts came into the night leading the Southern Conference North Division, but could not handle the second half post play of Chattanooga. McKeither posted 12 points and four rebounds in a second half surge that saw the Mocs take the period 51-31.
Getting the ball into the post was a clear priority in the second half as McKeither and Jeremy Saffore scored 12 of the team's first 16 points to start the half. And when they weren't scoring, they were getting the Catamounts into foul trouble. It was a three-point play from McKeither that gave the Mocs a 48-47 lead at the 12:32 mark. That play capped seven straight points from McKeither.
The Catamounts would not go quietly. A Brigham Waginger three-pointer at 8:03 gave the Cats the lead again, 55-53. But the Mocs, led by Patterson down the stretch would not be denied.
The inside play opened things up on the perimeter and Patterson hit two key three-pointers to help Chattanooga open up a 10-point lead, 75-65, with 2:29 to play. Patterson finished the game with 19 points and 10 rebounds for his second career double-double. McKeither had 15 points to go with five boards.
Mike Williams scored a game-high 20 points for the Catamounts, while Brandon Giles added 10 points and seven rebounds. Waginger chipped in 12 points and six rebounds.
The first half started well for the Mocs as a Jasper Williams three-pointer gave them a five-point lead at 15:13. The Catamounts roared back with a 15-0 run capped by a Kendall Russell layup at 11:39 off the fast break.
A Dante Harvey three-pointer at 8:51 ended a 6:22 second stretch without a point for the Mocs. UTC's
defense tightened up from there holding Western Carolina without a field goal for 8:22, closing within three points (26-23) before WCU took a 36-29 lead into the locker room.
Keegan Bell tossed in 10 points for the Mocs to go with six assists. Ricky Taylor scored 12 for his seventh straight game in double digits to go with a career-high three steals.
Appalachian State 68, Samford 55
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Behind solid shooting and rebounding, Appalachian State University men's basketball built an early lead against Samford and held off a late rally for a 68-55 win on Thursday evening.
Donald Sims scored 13 points, including five in the final minutes, to lead the Mountaineers, while Kellen Brand and Ryann Abraham also reached double figures with 11 each.
Andre Williamson hauled in a game-high seven rebounds as the Apps (12-8, 6-3 SoCon) owned a 37-23 advantage on the glass.
Appalachian opened an 11-point lead early on at 14-3 and held Samford to just five first-half field goals, including three three-pointers and a pair of layups.
A Williamson dunk in the final minute before halftime increased the lead to 20 points, at 38-18. The 18 first-half points were the second-fewest allowed by ASU this season.
Samford (9-12, 3-6) heated up coming out of the intermission and scored the first 13 points of the second half in the first four minutes, behind the hot hand of Josh Davis, who sank seven three-pointers and finished with a game-high 25 points.
The Apps regrouped with a 5-0 run before the Bulldogs responded by cutting their deficit to just six points with 10:45 remaining in regulation.
The game would never get any closer as Appalachian wrapped up the game with eight of the game's final 13 points, including five free throws and a three-point play from Sims.
The Mountaineers shot 51.1 percent from the floor compared to 39.5 for Samford. ASU sank 8-of-18 three-pointers, while the Bulldogs attempted 31 treys and just 12 two-pointers. SU converted 12 of the long attempts for 38.7 percent.
Jeremi Booth scored all eight of his points in the first 10 minutes of the game and Isaac Butts added seven points, six rebounds and a team-best two steals.
The win was ASU's first against Samford in three all-time meetings.
Georgia Southern 61, The Citadel 58
STATESBORO, Ga - In the largest comeback in Georgia Southern basketball history, the Eagles went on a 16-4 run over 7:33 to close out the game and record a 61-58 win over The Citadel. Willie Powers III scored 12 points in the second half, including the final six to secure the victory at Hanner Fieldhouse. Powers hit the 26th and 27th free throw of the contest for the final score. Antonio Hanson added 11 and Ben Drayton III had 10 off the bench.
Bulldog guard Cameron Wells was the only player for The Citadel in double figures with a game-high 25 points. The Eagles' Rory Spencer had a game high seven rebounds, even though Georgia Southern was outrebounded in the game 26-21. Spencer also had four blocks and was 6-6 from the free throw line.
Powers hit 4-5 from the field, including a three pointer and had a perfect10-10 from the free throw line. Powers hit the first two of his four straight free throws at 8:24 to cut The Citadel lead to single digits, nine, for the first time in the second half. He hit Hanson for a three and then Hanson stole a pass and scored a layup to bring the score to 47-51, The Citadel.
Wells hit a jumper and then Harrison DuPont brought the lead back up to seven with a layup, 48-55 with 4:07 left in the game. Drayton nailed his only three-pointer of the night and the Eagles outscored The Citadel 13-3 with the Bulldogs going 1-7 from the field after DuPont's basket. Urbanus hit a three with 1:17 left to finish the scoring for the Bulldogs.
The Citadel took a 9-0 lead in the first five minutes of the game and the Eagles didn't score their first basket until the 9:30 mark when Drayton hit a jumper. The Eagles trailed 17-6 with six straight free throws from Troupe, Cameron Baskerville and Drayton. Georgia Southern (6-16, 3-6 SoCon) shot only 27.8 percent in the first half with five baskets and found itself down 32-21 at the half with 10 points coming off free throws. In the second half, the Eagles connected on 52.6 percent and held The Citadel (10-11, 4-5) to the tune of 40 percent shooting in the second half. With the disruptive nature of the defense, GSU forced the Bulldogs into their season high turnovers with 21.