Samford 79, Auburn 68
AUBURN, Ala. --- The Samford University basketball team defeated the Auburn Tigers for the first time since Jan. 27, 1940 on Friday as the Bulldogs shot 54.5 percent from beyond the arc in a 79-68 victory held at Auburn Arena. The victory snapped Auburn's 21-game winning streak in the series between the teams.
"I'm extremely proud of our players and this was a good win for us," said Samford head coach Jimmy Tillette. "We improved from where we were last week and it was important for us to come out and compete. As a result, we were able to play longer possessions and we also have more numbers on this team than we've ever had. I was pleased that we only had 10 turnovers and that was a big key for us."
Samford (2-1) defeated Auburn (0-2) for the first time since a 37-33 victory held in Auburn, Ala., on Jan. 27, 1940. Friday's game was the first time that the in-state rivals squared off since Dec. 3, 1963.
The Bulldogs have won two straight games and will continue play in this weekend's Global Sports Hoops Classic on Saturday at 2 p.m. (CST) against Middle Tennessee (1-2). In Friday's opening game of the tournament, Campbell (1-2) defeated Middle Tennessee 97-90.
Samford was paced in scoring against Auburn by seniors Josh Davis and Josh Bedwell. Davis matched a career-high with 30 points on 10-of-12 shooting from the field, while Bedwell tallied a season-high 21 points on a 5-of-7 shooting performance. Down the stretch, Bedwell knocked down all six of his free-throw attempts to help hold off the Tigers.
The Bulldogs' pair of Davis and Bedwell combined to score 51 points on 15-of-19 shooting from the field and a stellar 13-of-17 barrage from 3-point range. Davis opened the game by going 7-of-7 from beyond the arc in the first half, while Bedwell closed out the victory in the second half by scoring 18 of his 21 points down the stretch.
Auburn dropped its second straight game to open the 2010-11 season. Last week, the Tigers fell short in a 70-69 overtime loss to UNC Asheville in the first regular-season contest to be held in the brand-new Auburn Arena.
On Friday, Auburn shot 42.4 percent from the floor and finished with a 42.1 shooting percentage from 3-point range. Sophomore guard Andre Malone paced the Tigers with 28 points on 9-of-21 shooting from the field as he finished as the only Auburn players in double-figure scoring.
Samford held a 38-32 advantage at halftime and pushed its lead to 47-38 with 16:39 left to play. The Tigers then used a jumper from Kenny Gabriel to trim the Bulldogs' advantage to 54-52 with 9:32 remaining on the clock.
Bedwell, Samford's senior sharpshooter from Hartselle, Ala., then took over the game and drained back-to-back 3-pointers to extend the Bulldogs' lead to 60-52. Redshirt freshman Drew Windler added a bucket, Davis connected on a runner and then Bedwell knocked down yet another 3-point basket to give Samford its biggest lead of the night, 67-52, with 6:27 to play.
Down the stretch, Auburn would get no closer than seven points, 71-63, as Bedwell knocked down six straight free throws to ice the game.
Junior Jeffrey Merritt tallied eight points, seven rebounds and six assists for Samford on Friday. He entered the game boasting back-to-back double-doubles and nearly put up triple-double numbers against Auburn.
Windler added eight key points for the Bulldogs and knocked down a pair of crucial 3-point baskets in the second half. He also registered three assists and two rebounds.
Gaby Bermudez finished with five points, four assists and two rebounds in 20 minutes of play, while junior John Peterson and Will Cook both finished with three points apiece.
Samford took a 38-32 lead into halftime behind the stellar shooting performance from Davis. Davis, the Bulldogs' senior from Lubbock, Texas, drained all seven of his 3-point attempts from beyond the arc and led all scorers with 21 points at the half.
Auburn's Malone nearly kept up with Davis in the first half and tallied 18 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the field. Malone was on fired from beyond the arc and knocked down 5-of-7 attempts from downtown in the opening 20 minutes of play.
The Bulldogs jumped out to an early 19-12 lead with 13:12 to play in the first half after Davis knocked down his second consecutive 3-point basket. Josh Bedwell opened the scoring with a 3-pointer of his own, while Bermudez also knocked down a deep 3-point field goal and Merritt dropped in a pair of jumpers in the paint.
The Tigers' Allen Payne added six points in the first half of play as Auburn shot 54.5 percent from 3-point range. Samford was a touch better from beyond the arc in the opening period as the Bulldogs tallied a 55.6 percentage from downtown.
Auburn fought back to tie the score at 32-32 with 1:07 to play in the first half, but Samford closed out the period with a pair dramatic 3-point baskets from Davis, including a last-second heave from the right flank as the buzzer sounded.
The Samford University basketball team will next be in action Saturday at 2 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs continue play in the 2010 Global Sports Hoops Showcase against the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders at Auburn Arena.
Davidson 70, Nebraska 67
SAN JUAN, P.R. - Jake Cohen scored 15 first-half points, and Brendan McKillop netted 15 in the second frame, including four 3-pointers, to lead Davidson to a 70-67 men's basketball victory over Nebraska Friday evening in the Honda Puerto Rico Tip-Off.
Cohen finished the contest with 19 points and five rebounds, and McKillop hit six triples on his way to a game-high 21 points and added five assists. JP Kuhlman posted 11 points, five assists and six rebounds, and De¹Mon Brooks contributed 11 points and nine rebounds off the bench.
Lance Jeter scored 18 points to lead Nebraska (2-2), and Christian Standhardinger scored 14. Jorge Brian Diaz netted 13.
A McKillop triple gave Davidson a seven-point cushion, its largest of the game, with 7:28 to play. The Huskers trimmed the deficit to one point on a Jeter jumper with 1:01 to go.
After Tom Droney and Drake Beranek traded two free throws, Nebraska was forced to foul trailing by a point with 28 seconds left. Cohen made 1-of-2 from the line, and the Wildcats forced a turnover. McKillop then hit a free throw for a 3-point lead and Eshaunte Jones missed a triple on the other end.
JP Kuhlman hit a pair from the charity stripe for a 69-65 cushion with four seconds to go, but Jeter knocked down a long 3-pointer with two seconds left. Droney went 1-for-2 from the line with 0.7 remaining, and the Huskers¹ 70-foot desperation heave to tie the game was wide left.
Nebraska jumped out to an 11-2 cushion over the first six minutes of the game as Davidson started 1-for-6 from the field and committed five turnovers during the stretch. The Wildcats righted the ship, and a McKillop triple ignited a 13-6 spurt. Brooks capped the run with a 3-pointer that made the score 17-15 with 7:04 left.
With the score tied 40-40, McKillop¹s 3-pointer gave the Cats a lead they never relinquished midway through the second half.
Mississippi State 76, Appalachian State 74
STARKVILLE, Miss. - Donald Sims' potential game-winning three-pointer in the game's last possession was blocked by Kodi Augustus as Mississippi State survived against Appalachian State University men's basketball, 76-74, on Friday night at Humphrey Coliseum.
Sims, who finished the game with 40 points on 11-of-31 shooting with seven three-pointers, caught fire on the offensive end as he helped the Mountaineers (2-1) overcome a 13-point deficit to take a nine-point lead with just two minutes remaining in regulation.
The senior came within two points of the arena scoring record and added five assists, three steals and a pair of rebounds in the game. The guard played all 40 minutes of the contest and tallied his second-highest career scoring output, behind only his 44 points at Davidson last January.
After falling behind by 11 points at the intermission, Appalachian quickly rallied to score the first seven points of the second half and pull itself back into the game with a slim 43-39 deficit less than three minutes into the period.
Five minutes later, the Apps tied the contest at 53-53 on a Sims three-pointer. From there, ASU took its first lead of the night on the next possession as Nathan Healy stole the ball and passed it ahead for an easy Sims layup.
Healy entered the game less than two minutes after it began as Petey Hausley picked up a pair of quick fouls. Healy finished with a career-best 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting and added nine rebounds and a pair of steals in 29 minutes.
Hausley scored four points and hauled in a pair of rebounds before fouling out with 7:13 to play. Healy then picked up his fifth foul with 3:48 remaining and the pair was joined on the bench by starting forward Andre Williamson who fouled out with just under two minutes to play. The junior grabbed five boards to accompany three points.
Finding its groove, Appalachian fought off a three-point Bulldog lead and sparked a 14-3 run over the next six minutes to hold a 73-64 advantage at the two-minute mark.
MSU (2-0) then forced turnovers on each of the next two Mountaineer possessions and cut the lead down to 73-70 with 1:18 to play.
Sims converted 1-of-2 free throws on the next trip down the floor before Mississippi State's Brian Bryant was fouled beyond the arc and converted all three foul shots to pull the home team within 74-73 with 78 ticks remaining on the clock.
With 21 seconds remaining, Twany Beckham nabbed a steal and took it in for a layup to give the Bulldogs the lead for good. ASU's next shot rimmed out, forcing the Apps to foul with eight seconds remaining.
MSU's Ravern Johnson sank the second of two free throws before Sims brought the ball up for the game's final possession. Augustus fought through a hard screen to disrupt the final attempt and secure the win.
Augustus led the Bulldogs with 26 points and 10 rebounds, while Johnson scored 19.
Despite losing all three backcourt players to foul trouble, ASU owned a 44-43 advantage on the glass. ASU shot 37.3 percent from the field and 29 percent from downtown, compared to 43.9 and 36.4 percent for MSU, respectively.
ASU turned the ball over a season-low 10 times and forced seven steals in the contest. Neither team fared well at the charity stripe at 62 percent each.
Appalachian continues its road trip on Tuesday night at Tennessee Tech.
Kent State 78, Furman 74 (OT)
KENT, Ohio - Forward Justin Greene scored a game-high 23 points and Kent State shot 48.2% from the field to hold off Furman in overtime, 78-74, in men's basketball action on Friday evening at the M.A.C. Center in Kent, Ohio.
Amu Saaka scored 21 points, 19 in the second half, and Noah States added 17 as Furman erased a 10-point lead in the final 3:15 to force overtime. Trailing 63-53 after Michael Porrini's tip-in with 3:33 left, Saaka scored seven points to key a 12-2 Paladin run that States capped with a game-tying three-pointer with 12 seconds left in regulation to knot the game at 65-65 and force overtime.
The Golden Flashes (4-1) raced out to a 73-68 lead with 2:51 remaining in the extra period, but States cut the lead to a pair with a three-pointer and Saaka followed a Sherman Rodriguez layup with another trey to trim the margin to 75-74 with only 29 seconds left.
Porrini converted on one of his two trips to the foul line at the other end. Darryl Evans attempted a driving layup for the Paladins that missed, but Justin Greene was whistled for travelling when he slipped to the ground after grabbing the rebound giving Furman one more chance with 15 second to play. States, however, could not convert on a look from three-point range and Greene buried two free throws for the Golden Flashes with four second left for the final four-point margin.
Greene led five Golden Flashes in double figures making 9-of-12 shots from the field and converting on 5-of-6 trips to the foul line to go with five rebounds. Porrini netted 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting and guard Clayton Guyton added 13 points. Justin Manns and Rodriguez contributed 11 and 10, respectively.
Kent State made 27-of-56 field goal attempts, including 5-of-6 in the overtime period while draining 23-of-34 free throw attempts. The Golden Flashes outscored Furman 44-34 in the paint and tallied 23 points off of 19 Paladin turnovers.
Saaka notched his second double-double in three games with 21 points and 11 boards while States made 7-of-10 shots, including 3-of-6 from beyond the arc, to tally his 17 points. Senior Jordan Miller, who stands just 18 points shy of becoming the 38th Paladin in history to score 1,000 career points, added 11 points.
Furman was 30-of-70 (42.9%) from the field and 8-of-12 at the charity stripe. The Paladins, who converted on just 6-of-22 treys, became the first team this season to top Kent State on the boards with a 41-34 rebounding edge.
The win extended Kent State's home winning streak to 11 games while Furman fell for the eighth time in its last nine games away from Timmons Arena.
The Paladins (2-1) will continue their road trip on Tuesday with a 7:30 p.m. contest against South Carolina State in Orangeburg, S.C., before travelling to Penn State on November 28.
Georgetown 74, Wofford 59
CHARLESTON, S.C. - The Wofford men's basketball team was defeated 74-59 by Georgetown in the semifinals of the 2010 Charleston Classic on Friday afternoon. The Terriers cut the Georgetown lead to five points with ten minutes to go, but a 9-0 run by the Hoyas put the game away.
Wofford is 1-3 on the season and Georgetown is 4-0. The Terriers were led by Noah Dahlman with 19 points and Brad Loesing with 14 points. The 20th ranked Hoyas were led by Chris Wright with 18 points and Julian Vaughn with 12 points and 10 rebounds for the double-double. On Sunday, Wofford will play in the third place game at 5:30 pm in a contest to be televised on ESPNU.
"I thought we were a little quick on some shots," said head coach Mike Young. "We are still a work in progress. I thought we got some pretty good looks at it and we are a very unselfish team. We got beat by a really good team and they were better than I thought they would be. You hate to have one get away from you on a neutral floor, but the Hoyas were better than us today."
The Hoyas took an early 9-0 lead as the Terriers missed their first six shots from the floor. Wofford got on the board with a three by Brad Loesing at 16:30 to make it a 9-3 game. Georgetown pushed the advantage to 15-6 with 14:22 on the clock. Wofford added a three by Jamar Diggs at 10:55 to make it a 17-9 score.
A three by Brad Loesing with 5:42 left in the half cut the lead to 23-14 and Noah Dahlman added two free throws to make it a seven point game. The Hoyas scored the next four points for a 27-16 edge. The lead was ten points for Georgetown after two free throws by Noah Dahlman with ninety seconds left in the half. The Hoyas added a three pointer with two seconds left in the half for a 37-24 lead at the break. The Terriers shot only 23.1% (6-26) in the first half while Georgetown hit 58.3%, including 3-of-5 from three.
Georgetown hit their first shot of the second half to take a 15 points lead. Wofford was able to cut the lead to ten early and back-to-back threes by Brad Loesing made it a 43-37 game at the 15:43 mark when the Hoyas called timeout. Two free throws by Noah Dahlman cut the lead to only five at 46-41, but the Hoyas answered with a three by Chris Wright to make it an eight-point lead with 12:35 left in the second half.
After Wofford cut the lead to five at 50-45, the Hoyas responded with a 9-0 run to push the lead back to 59-45 with 7:30 left in the game. Georgetown had a 67-52 advantage with 3:52 on the clock. Late in the game the Terriers were not able to get any closer to the Hoyas and the final score was 74-59.
Wofford shot only 34.0% from the floor and were 38.1% from three. From the free throw line, the Terriers were 77.3%. Georgetown was 57.1% overall and were 62.5% from behind the arc. They were 77.8% from the line. The Hoyas had a 36 to 20 advantage on the boards.
The Charleston Classic will conclude on Sunday against either N.C. State or George Mason at 5:30 pm in a game to be broadcast on ESPNU and ESPN3.com. Wofford will open the home slate on November 24 against Air Force in Benjamin Johnson Arena.
Rhode Island 75, College of Charleston 66
TOLEDO, Ohio - Preseason Southern Conference Player of the Year Andrew Goudelock scored 21 of his game-high 23 points in the second half of play, but it wasn't enough as College of Charleston fell to Rhode Island, 75-66, in the Toledo Subregional round of the 2K Sports Classic benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer held Friday night at Savage Arena.
Goudelock may have had a 9-of-29 shooting night from the floor, but rattled off 19 of the team's final 24 points of the ballgame, including a pair of three-pointers in a 13-consecutive-point stretch, to put the Cougars (2-2) within three of the Rams (2-1) at the 9:22 and 7:04 minute marks.
CofC would later trail by as few as six points, 70-64, with 1:19 left to go, but two free throws from senior Jeremy Simmons were the team's only points the rest of the way. Simmons tied a career-high with 22 points, while sophomore Andrew Lawrence dished out a career-high six assists and freshman Trent Wiedeman added a career-high nine boards.
Rhode Island made all 10 of its free throw attempts in the final three minutes of regulation to seal its second all-time victory in the series. Both programs last met in the second round of the Postseason NIT in 1996.
The Rams were led by Delroy James who had 20 points and 12 rebounds followed by Nikola Malesevic with 17 points going 3-for-3 from three-point range.
URI held CofC to 33.3 percent shooting (10-of-30) and Goudelock to two points in the first half to take a 29-25 lead into halftime. The Cougars led only once in the opening minutes of the contest on a dunk by Simmons courtesy of Goudelock.
They will face Illinois-Chicago (2-1) tomorrow at 4:30 p.m. (ET) in the second of three-straight games of the Toledo Subregional. UIC denied host Toledo (0-3) its first win of the season with a 55-51 victory on its own home court on Friday night.