Elon 70, Columbia 69

NEW YORK, N.Y. - It was a performance only suitable for Broadway as Elon senior Chris Long's fade-away jumper swished through the net with 0.1 seconds on the clock to lift the visiting Phoenix to a 70-69 victory over Columbia University in men's basketball non-conference action from Levien Gymnasium. Long, who scored a game-high 22 points, scored 11 of Elon's final 13 points including two three-pointers in the face of Lion defenders. The Phoenix (6-7) won its second straight road game and handed Columbia (7-5) its first home loss of the season, ending a four-game Lion winning streak.
 
"I'm not saying a fade-away, fall-to-the-ground shot was the plan, but it felt good leaving my hands and went in," noted Long. "We definitely took steps as a team today. We have learned to keep working and chipping away when we are down."
 
An 8-0 Columbia run gave the Lions their biggest lead of the night at 61-49 with 6:14 remaining in the contest. Elon answered as Sebastian Koch knocked down a trey and then followed with three free throws after getting fouled on his next long ball attempt. A Lucas Troutman layup trimmed the advantage to four, 61-57, with 4:21 glowing on the clock.
 
Columbia's Brian Barbour ended the Phoenix run with a free throw, but then the Long show started. The point guard converted an old-fashioned three-point play to pull Elon within two, 62-60. After a defensive stop, Long confidently nailed a well-defended three-pointer to give the Phoenix its first lead of the second half at 63-62. Columbia regained the advantage after back-to-back foul shots from Asenso Ampin.
 
Elon came up empty on its next possession and the Lions' John Daniels drove in for a bucket and a three-point Columbia lead, 66-63, with 1:52 on the clock. Scott Grable and Daniels traded buckets on the ensuing possessions and Elon was still down three with 1:01 remaining.
 
Columbia couldn't find an answer for Long as the newly-nicknamed "Mr. Broadway" dropped another trey through the net over the outstretched hands of a defender, tying the game at 68 with 42 seconds to play. Offensive rebounding by the Lions eventually put Ampin at the charity stripe with eight ticks on the clock. After hitting one-of-two, Columbia called a timeout as it prepared for a final defensive stand.
 
Elon's Ryley Beaumont inbounded the ball to Long who dribbled up the floor and to the right side of the lane. With little hesitation despite the sea of white uniforms, Long pulled up and sank the final bucket of the game as he fell to the ground, giving Elon its first-ever win over an Ivy League opponent.
 
"We could not be happier walking out of here with a win," commented Elon head coach Matt Matheny. "There is no bigger stage than Broadway. One of the biggest statistics of the game is the fact that we held Columbia to 34 percent shooting in the second half. Columbia is a very good team. We fought hard and battled and the guys in that locker room deserve a lot of credit for not throwing in the towel tonight."
 
Long was just one assist shy of a double-double, dishing off a season-high nine assists to go with 22 points and four rebounds. Drew Spradlin knocked down 4-of-6 field goals for 12 points and Troutman dumped in 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting. Beaumont had a career-high eight boards to lead the Phoenix. For Columbia, Barbour netted 21 points, including 14 in the first 20 minutes of action.
 
Elon shot an impressive 63.6 percent in the final stanza, shooting 52.3 percent for the game. The normally three-point happy Phoenix only attempted 12 three-pointers in the contest, connecting on five triples. Elon cleaned up its play in the second half as well, turning the ball over only five times compared to 12 miscues in the opening period.
 
Columbia held the edge for much of the first half as Elon found itself down 18-16 with 11:32 to go before the half. The home team took advantage of six Phoenix turnovers over the next five minutes and used a 10-2 stretch to go ahead, 28-18, at the 6:45 mark.
 
An Isenbarger three-pointer finally stopped the run and help start a quick 7-0 stretch by the Phoenix, closing the gap to 28-25 with 4:26 remaining in the period. The Lions would push their lead back to as many as eight on two occasions before the break and Columbia headed to the locker room up 36-30.  
 
Columbia outrebounded the Phoenix 20-15 in the first half, including a 7-1 advantage on the offensive glass. The Lions netted 15 points off Phoenix turnovers and scored 18 points in the paint through 20 minutes of play.
 
Elon scored seven of the first eight points in the final half to close within one, 38-37, at 16:27. Nine unanswered Columbia points capped by a Barbour long ball put the Lions back up 10, 47-37, with 13:51 remaining. Again, the Phoenix would trim the lead to four at three different times over the next five minutes, but Columbia always seemed to have an answer, including an 8-0 run that pushed the lead to 61-49.  
 
The Phoenix will return to its home state to host the North Carolina State Wolfpack on Wednesday, January 5 at historic Greensboro Coliseum at 7 p.m.


Morehead State 69, College of Charleston 49

MOREHEAD, Ky. - Kenneth Faried and Demonte Harper each registered a double-double to lead Morehead State to a 69-49 victory over College of Charleston to extend the Eagles' home-court winning streak to 22 consecutive games on Sunday afternoon at Johnson Arena.

The 20-point loss came two days after the Cougars (9-5) had dismantled SEC powerhouse Tennessee on Dec. 31 in Knoxville, Tenn. It was a reversal of fortune as the Eagles (9-6) shot the lights out in the 6,500-capacity gym behind Faried and Harper. MSU made 56.6 percent of its field goals in the game including 64 percent (16-of-25) in the second half.

The Eagles forced three early CofC turnovers and sprinted out to a 10-3 run. They never relinquished the lead as Faried, an NBA prospect and the nation's leading rebounder, controlled the paint with 20 points and 13 rebounds, followed by Harper with a game-high 28 points and 10 rebounds.

After knocking down a season-high 14 three-pointers versus the Volunteers, the Cougars managed only 1-of-12 in the first half of play. They also shot only 23.1 percent from the floor against MSU's zone defense and a season-low 35.2 percent for the game.

Coming out of halftime, CofC created turnovers and made hustle plays in a 15-6 run which cut the lead down to as few as eight points, 39-31, with 12:43 remaining in regulation. The momentum shift was short lived as the Eagles maintained their composure, despite being called for nine personal fouls, to push it back out to double figures the rest of the way.

Sophomore Willis Hall led all CofC scorers with 12 points followed by nine from senior Jeremy Simmons.

The Cougars, who are already off to a perfect 2-0 start to Southern Conference play, will pick up where they last started with a Thursday, Jan. 6 road tilt at league foe Furman in Greenville, S.C. Tipoff against the Paladins is set for 7 p.m.  

Clemson 69, The Citadel 54

CLEMSON, S.C. - The senior backcourt of Austin Dahn, Zach Urbanus and Cameron Wells scored 26 points in the second half, but critical points down the stretch allowed Clemson to emerge victorious 59-54 at Littlejohn Coliseum. Urbanus led all Citadel scorers with 17 points, including 14 in the second half, while Wells finished with 12. Teammate Mike Groselle notched his second double-double of the season with 14 points and 10 rebounds. The Tigers have now won 13 straight games in the series with the Cadets dating back to the 1980-81 campaign.

The Citadel's second half resurgence was due in large part to its post presence that finished with a 47-32 edge on the glass. It marks the seventh time this season, and fourth in as many games, that the Dogs topped the 40 rebound plateau. Combining Groselle's 10 rebounds (five offensive) with nine by Matt Clark and seven from Bryan Streeter the Bulldogs finished 12-of-31 (38.7%) from the floor in the second half. The Citadel converted 5-of-10 from beyond the arc, including two each by Urbanus and Dahn to gain ground on the Tigers. The Bulldogs head into Southern Conference play 5-9 overall.

Clemson, who wins their fifth game against SoCon competition, improves to 11-4 on the season. Four players reached double-digit scoring led by Demontez Stitt (16 points), Devin Booker (13 points), Jerai Grant (13 points) and Milton Jennings (10 points). Jennings cleared the boards with 10 rebounds while Grant was also a low post presence with seven rebounds to go along with seven blocked shots. The Tigers finished 25-of-54 (46.3%) from field goal range and behind a perfect 3-for-3 performance by Booker had a 7-for-16 (43.8%) outing from 3-point range.

Dahn drained two quick 3-pointers to cut the Clemson lead to 38-25 within the first two minutes following the intermission. Three minutes and five Urbanus points later the Bulldogs trailed 42-30 before a Groselle tip-in sliced the lead to 10 points at the 14:39 mark of the second half.

The Tigers answered with a 10-4 run behind a pair of Stitt 3-pointers and stretched the lead to 52-36 with 11:01 remaining. The chess match continued as Wells hit his second 3-pointer of the game followed quickly by a Groselle layup to move back within 13 of the lead. Just under two minutes later Urbanus followed through on a trey to make the score 54-44.

Continuing to trade baskets the Tigers defense forced a steal and pushed the advantage to 60-46 on a pair of free throws by Stitt; The Citadel finished with six of their next eight points from the charity stripe as Clemson emerged with the 69-54 victory.

The Bulldogs extended their current streak of 30 points or more in the second half with 35 against the Tigers. Individually, Dahn has now hit at least one 3-pointer in each of the last 13 games.

Groselle led the way with eight points for the Bulldogs followed by Wells who added six points to close out the first half, however Clemson took a 34-19 lead into the locker room. The Citadel struggled to find its offensive rhythm, converting 7-of-26 (26.9%) attempts from the field. Meanwhile their counterparts finished 13-for-30 (43.3%) from the floor, including 5-of-9 (55.6%) from 3-point range. The tandem of Booker (nine points) and Grant (seven points) led seven Tigers in scoring. The bright spot for the Cadets came on the offensive boards, as they finished with a 21-19 edge, keyed by six rebounds by Streeter and four off the bench from Clark.

Trailing 13-4, Groselle tipped in a Wells miss off the offensive glass to pull the Bulldogs within six points at the 13:32 mark. Clemson answered with a 12-3 run over the next 5:32 of the contest that included a pair of long range 3-pointers by Booker, pushing the lead to 25-9.

Streeter followed a media timeout with a pair of free throws to spark a quick six point run by The Citadel, including a transition basket by Urbanus and a Wells turnaround jumper off the glass. Clemson's Cory Stanton responded with a long range 3-pointer as they rattled off the next seven consecutive points, taking a 32-15 lead. Wells broke a four minute drought for both teams, hitting the lone Citadel 3-pointer of the half, as the Dogs scored four points in the final 1:20 of play.

The Citadel returns to Southern Conference action this week with a pair of games at Wofford and Furman. They meet the defending SoCon Champion Terriers on Thursday at 7 p.m. before heading to Furman on Saturday for a 4 p.m. start against the Paladins.


Vanderbilt 80, Davidson 52

NASHVILLE, Tenn. ­- Jeffrey Taylor led four Vanderbilt players in double figures in the scoring column with 22 points, and the Commodores held Davidson to 29 percent shooting from the field to earn an 80-52 men's basketball win over the Wildcats in Memorial Gymnasium Sunday afternoon.

Chris Czerapowicz led the Wildcats (7-6) with 16 points and seven rebounds, and Nik Cochran posted 11 points, three rebounds and three assists. JP Kuhlman added nine points and four rebounds.

Taylor was 6-for-10 from the floor and 9-for-10 from the charity stripe for Vanderbilt (11-2). Brad Tinsley collected 14 points, 10 rebounds and four assists, and Steve Tchiengang scored 14. Festus Ezeli added 12 points and four blocked shots.

The Commodores were the aggressors from the outset and by attacking the basket early and often, earned 23 free throws in the first half, making 21. The Wildcats, on the other hand, did not shoot a free throw and had a tough time trying to score inside.

Davidson wound up shooting a lot of jump shots and struggled, shooting 29 percent from the field, while Vanderbilt shot 52 percent on its way to a 52-24 halftime lead.

Vanderbilt jumped out to an 8-2 cushion early, but Davidson responded with a 6-0 run, capped by an athletic reverse layup by Tom Droney.

It was all Commodores from there as they went on a 23-2 run to open a 31-8 cushion with 7:48 left in the first half.  The margin grew to as many as 31 points with 2:24 left in the frame, following a Taylor 3-pointer.

The Wildcats couldn't cut into the advantage in the second half, despite playing much better defensively and holding Vanderbilt to 35.7 percent shooting from the floor.

The Wildcats return to action Wednesday, Jan. 5, when they host conference foe Appalachian State in Belk Arena. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.


Eastern Kentucky 79, Georgia Southern 73

STATESBORO, Ga. - The Georgia Southern Men's Basketball team pulled within five points of Eastern Kentucky with three minutes left in the game but two field goals and 83.3 percent (10-12) shooting from the free throw line over three minutes secured the Colonels win, 79-73. Georgia Southern shot 61.3 percent and scored 52 points in the second half, but Eastern Kentucky escaped with the victory.

Eastern Kentucky's Josh Daniel led all scorers with a career-best 24 points while Spencer Perrin paired a career-high 10 rebounds with 18 points for a double-double. Junior guard Ben Drayton III led Georgia Southern with 18 points while senior forward Rory Spencer brought down a team-high six rebounds. Eastern Kentucky moved to 6-8 overall while Georgia Southern fell to 4-11 on the season.

Down 38-21 at the half, both the Eagles and Colonels swapped field goals to start the second period. Over the next six minutes, Georgia Southern went on a 15-0 run to pull within one point of EKU. Eastern Kentucky responded with a 15-4 run in a three-and-a-half-minute span to pull out to 56-43 with nine minutes left. Eight unanswered points, five from Drayton and a trey from freshman guard Jelani Hewitt, would slice the lead to five, 56-51.

Eastern Kentucky would build its lead to double-figures at the foul line when a quick 7-2 run by the Eagles cut the lead to five at the 3:41mark. Georgia Southern would stay within single digits of the lead for the remainder of the game but the Colonels took advantage of free throw opportunities over the last two minutes to maintain the margin until time expired.

Three other Eagles joined Drayton in double figures as freshman forward Eric Ferguson and sophomore guard Zuri James scored 13 points each while Hewitt finished with 11.

Eastern Kentucky shot 56.5 percent in the first half and had an early 12-6 lead. A three-pointer and layup by Hewitt and Ferguson would put GS within two, 13-11, but costly turnovers by the Eagles would help the Colonels go on a 17-8 run to a 30-19 advantage with four minutes left. Eastern Kentucky would go into the locker room up 17 points. The Eagles committed 16 turnovers in the first half, which resulted in 22 of EKU's 38 points.

Georgia Southern resumes league play as it plays host to Western Carolina Wednesday, January 5th at 7 p.m.