Men's Basketball Southern Conference

Thursday's Men's Basketball Recaps

Furman 53, Elon 48

ELON, N.C. -- Furman held Elon to 33.9 percent shooting from the floor and converted on 13-of-17 second half free throw attempts to down the Phoenix 53-48 in Southern Conference men's basketball action on Thursday evening at Alumni Gym.  The win, Furman's third consecutive victory and second straight SoCon road win, improved the Paladins to 8-6 overall and 2-1 in league play.  Elon, who has dropped nine of its last 10 games, fell to 3-11 overall and 1-2 in the SoCon.

With the Paladins trailing 45-44, Jordan Miller drew a three-shot foul and made all three free throws to put Furman in front 47-45 with 5:12 remaining in the game.  After Devan Carter tied the game on a jumper with under four minutes to go, Darryl Evans answered with a jumper of his own to give the Paladins the lead for good at 49-47 with 3:22 left.  

Furman forced the Phoenix to miss their final five field goal attempts and Bryson Barnes and Amu Saaka each buried a pair of free throws to secure the five-point victory for the Paladins.

Miller, a junior from Memphis, Tenn., led the way for Furman with 11 points to go with five rebounds while Barnes contributed 10 points, nine rebounds and two blocked shots.  Freshman Colin Reddick grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds and Saaka added eight points and 10 boards.

Furman converted on 18-of-52 (.346) field goal attempts and made just 4-of-20 three-point tries, but held a commanding 47-33 edge on the glass and reached the foul line 17 times in the second half.

Elon's Drew Spradlin led all scorers with 12 points.  Carter and Chris Long scored 11 and 10 points, respectively.  Furman held the Phoenix to 20-of-59 (.339) shooting from the floor, including just 2-of-16 from three-point range.  The Phoenix also made only 6-of-13 free throws.

Furman held Elon without a basket for the opening 6:25 while building up an 8-0 lead before the Phoenix recovered to claim a 25-24 halftime advantage.  The two teams traded runs early in the second half.  Furman used another 8-0 spurt to take a 34-27 lead, but Elon countered with a 9-0 outburst to pull back ahead at 36-34 with 9:50 left in the game.  Neither team would lead by more than four points the rest of the way until Saaka's free throws with under one second left gave Furman the final five-point margin.


Wofford 79, UNC Greensboro 62

GREENSBORO, N.C. - The Wofford men's basketball team won 79-62 over UNC Greensboro at the Greensboro Coliseum in a Southern Conference match-up. The Terriers built an 18-point lead at the half and Junior Salters hit five three pointers in the second half to secure the win.

Wofford is 9-7 on the season and 1-2 in the SoCon, while UNC Greensboro is 2-12 overall and 1-2 in the conference. The Terriers were led by Junior Salters with 18 points. Noah Dahlman added 13 points and Kevin Giltner had twelve points, while Tim Johnson had 13 rebounds. The Spartans were led by Ben Stywall with 21 points and 12 rebounds.

Tim Johnson scored the first four points of the game for the Terriers. After back-to-back lay-ups from Noah Dahlman, Wofford had a 13-4 lead at the 16:09 mark. A three by Kevin Giltner gave the Terriers a 18-9 lead, which was pushed to 20-10 after a bucket from Noah Dahlman.

With eight minutes left in the first half, buckets from Noah Dahlman and Terry Martin extended the lead to 28-14. Junior Salters' first three of the game gave Wofford a 31-16 lead with seven minutes left. The Terriers were able to take an 18-point lead into the half after a lay-up by Nathan Parker.

To open the second half, the Spartans went on an 8-0 run that included six points by Ben Stywall to cut the lead to 44-34 three minutes into the half. A three by Kevin Giltner and two free throws by Terry Martin gave the Terriers a 36-52 advantage. Junior Salters then opened up from behind the arc and scored four three pointers in a span of three minutes to give Wofford a 66-44 lead at the eight minute mark. The Spartans were able to cut the lead to 13 points with four minutes remaining, but were unable to get any closer.

Wofford shot 49.1 percent from the floor and 50 percent from behind the arc. UNC Greensboro shot 41 percent overall and were 15.4 percent from three-point range. Wofford had a 38-34 lead on the boards, but turned the ball over 19 times.