Samford 82, Lindsey Wilson 56
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. --- In its best offensive performance of the 2011-12 campaign, the Samford University basketball team shot its way to a decisive 82-56 victory over the Lindsey Wilson Blue Raiders in a nonconference matchup held at the Pete Hanna Center.
Samford (2-6) scored a season-high 82 points Saturday and finished with season-highs in field goals (34), field-goal percentage (59.6), assists (21) and 3-point field-goal percentage (52.4). The Bulldogs knocked down 34-of-57 attempts from the field and 11-of-21 shots from beyond the arc.
Defensively, Samford limited Lindsey Wilson (7-3) to its lowest scoring total of the season with 56 points. The Bulldogs also forced the Blue Raiders to finish with shooting percentages of 36.4 percent from the field and 26.3 percent from 3-point range.
For a consecutive game, Samford finished with four players scoring in double figures. Redshirt freshman Tyler Hood led the way with 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field, while sophomore center Drew Windler followed closely with 15 points on a 6-of-8 performance from the floor. The pair combined to knock down four 3-point baskets Saturday as Hood also chipped in with a career-high five assists.
Senior Jeffrey Merritt registered his second double-double of the season Monday as the Bulldogs' 6-foot-6 native of Oklahoma City, Okla., compiled 11 points, 10 rebounds and three assists. He also finished 4-of-6 from the field and 3-for-4 from 3-point range.
True freshman Brandon Hayman turned in the best game of his young collegiate career against Lindsey Wilson as he tallied 10 points, four rebounds and an assist. The Bulldogs' native of Braselton, Ga., logged a career-high 10 minutes of playing time and shot 5-of-8 from the floor.
Lindsey Wilson, the No. 16-ranked team in NAIA, was paced offensively by senior guard Justin Archie's 15 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the field. The Blue Raiders' native of Los Angeles, Calif., also finished with four rebounds, three assists and a pair of steals.
Guard Kalen Kimberland, Lindsey Wilson's speedy junior from Columbia, Ky., scored 10 points on 3-of-7 shooting and added four rebounds in a game-high 36 minutes of playing time.
Both teams were a bit sluggish in the first half of play as the game was tied 23-23 with 6:43 remaining in the opening period.
Samford then used four straight points from Windler, back-to-back 3-pointers from Merritt, a key long range shot from Matthew Friday and a jumper from Raijon Kelly to end the half on a momentum-shifting 15-2 run. The Bulldogs went into the half with a 38-25 advantage and since then the game was never any closer than a 15-point lead.
Friday, Samford's senior center from Grapevine, Texas, scored a career-high nine points Saturday as he finished 4-of-7 from the field, 1-for-1 from 3-point range and added three steals, two rebounds and a pair of assists.
The Bulldogs' Kelly also turned in a solid all-around performance with nine points on 4-of-4 shooting from the floor. Samford's agile 6-foot-4 guard from St. Paul, Minn., handed out four assists, grabbed two rebounds and blocked a shot.
Samford outscored Lindsey Wilson 28-14 in the paint and cashed in for 19 points off turnovers. The Bulldogs' bench also outscored the Blue Raiders' reserves 36-15.
Wofford 69, UVA-Wise 66
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - The Wofford men's basketball team defeated UVa.-Wise 69-66 on Saturday night at Benjamin Johnson Arena. The Cavaliers were within one point with 14 seconds remaining, but two free throws from Kevin Giltner sealed the victory. Four Terriers scored in double figures in the contest.
With the win, the Terriers improve to 6-4 overall. The contest was an exhibition game for the 3-6 Highland Cavaliers. Wofford was led by Kevin Giltner with 17 points. Brad Loesing and Aerris Smith had 14 points each, while Drew Crowell added 13 points. Karl Cochran led all rebounders with a career-high ten. The Cavaliers were led by Travis Berry with 27 points, which included 5-of-9 from three.
The Terriers scored first and had a 5-0 lead after a three by Kevin Giltner. The Cavaliers cut the lead to 9-8 five minutes into the game. A 6-0 run by Wofford extended the advantage to 15-8 before UVa.-Wise answered with a 7-0 run of their own to tie the game at 15 with 11:42 on the clock. At the ten-minute mark, UVa.-Wise took a 17-16 lead before two free throws by Lee Skinner began a 7-0 run for Wofford to lead 23-17 with eight minutes left in the first half.
With six minutes to go in the opening half, the Cavaliers cut the lead to 25-22. The Terriers lead was only one point after a jumper by Josh Jordan with 5:37 on the clock. Wofford answered with a 9-0 run for a 34-24 advantage with three minutes left in the half. UVa.-Wise responded by scoring the next seven points to cut the lead back to 34-31 at the break. Wofford shot only 38.7 percent in the first half, while the Cavaliers were at 47.6 percent.
To open the second half, Drew Crowell hit two jumpers for Wofford and a 38-31 lead. Back-to-back three pointers by the Cavaliers cut the lead to 38-37 three minutes into play. The Terriers then had four straight points by Aerris Smith to take a 42-37 advantage. UVa.-Wise then took a 45-43 lead on a jumper and free throw by Norris Gaskins at 12:59.
The Cavaliers had a 48-43 advantage with 10:56 left in the second half. Wofford ended the 7-0 run by UVa.-Wise with a pair of free throws by Drew Crowell. The Terriers tied the game at 49 after a lay-up by Aerris Smith with nine minutes on the clock and a lay-up by Drew Crowell regained the lead. A three by Travis Berry gave the Cavaliers a 54-51 advantage. A three by Brad Loesing tied the game at 56 with six minutes to play.
Wofford had a 7-2 run for a 63-58 lead with ninety seconds remaining. Travis Berry hit a three with 36 seconds on the clock to cut the Wofford lead to 65-63. After two free throws by Brad Loesing made it a 67-63 game, a jumper and free throw by Travis Berry cut the lead to 67-66 with 13 seconds left. Kevin Giltner added two more free throws for a 69-66 final score.
The Terriers shot 41.1 percent from the floor for the evening, while UVa.-Wise shot 46.8 percent overall. Wofford finished 4-14 from behind the arc, while the Cavaliers went 6-11 from three. Wofford was 19-25 from the free throw line, while UVa.-Wise went 16-25 from the charity stripe. The Terriers out-rebounded UVa.-Wise by a 37-26 margin.
Kent State 58, Western Carolina 56
CULLOWHEE, N.C. - Harouna Mutombo led all scorers with a season-high tying 21 points and Trey Sumler chipped in a season-best 19, but it was not enough as Kent State slipped past Western Carolina, 58-56, Saturday afternoon in nonconference action at the Ramsey Center.
Kent State (7-1) won its sixth-straight game to improve to 7-1 on the year while the Catamounts suffered their second-consecutive setback to drop to 5-6 overall.
Tom Tankelewicz drained a 3-pointer with 2:36 to play to cap a 14-to-4 WCU run that erased a six-point deficit and handed the Catamounts a four-point edge, 55-51 - its largest lead of the second half. However, Kent State guard Michael Porrini, who began his collegiate career at WCU, scored five of the final seven Golden Flashes points in earning the victory.
Porrini put three on the board the old-fashioned way with a lay-up and free throw to pull Kent State back within one, 55-54. On the ensuing possession, the Catamounts were called for an offensive foul, turning the ball back over to the visitors where Justin Greene scored two of his dozen points on a lay-up to put the Golden Flashes back on top, 56-55.
The lead was stretched to three, 58-55, after two additional Porrini free throws. On the ensuing possession, Sumler misfired on a long 3-point attempt to tie the game, but a turnover on the defensive rebound gave the ball back to WCU with three seconds to play. With fouls to give and a three-point lead, Kent State put Mutombo on the line where he made the first free throw and missed the second looking for a tip at the buzzer, but it was not to be as the Golden Flashes held on for the two-point win.
All told, the Catamounts were outscored 7-to-1 over the final two and a half minutes after building the four-point edge following the triple by Tankelewicz.
Mutombo finished 7-of-11 from the floor with a pair of 3-pointers to post his third 20-point scoring performance of the season - and the 11th of his Catamount career. Sumler also made seven field goals, adding a team-best eight rebounds and five assists. Senior Keaton Cole added nine points on three made 3-pointers while freshman Kenneth Hall blocked a career-best four shots.
Kent State's Carlton Guyton scored 13 with Greene and Porrini finishing with 12 and 11 points, respectively. Greene added a team-best nine rebounds for the Golden Flashes.
A 6-0 spurt by Western Carolina capped by an offensive rebound and put-back by Sam Smithson gave the Catamounts an early six-point advantage midway through the opening 20 minutes. Kent State rallied back to knot the game at 21 at the six-minute mark of the first half. Following a 3-pointer by Mutombo to knot the game for a fourth-time in the first, Justin Manns converted a lay-up inside the final minute to give Kent State a two-point, 28-26-lead at intermission.
In the second half, Kent State broke the game's sixth tie with eight-straight points to pull ahead, 41-33, at the 13:52 mark. But the Catamounts were able to whittle away at the advantage, rallying to tie it for a seventh time at 47 with 8:24 showing on the clock. From there, the game went back-and-forth with neither team able to get away by more than four points, that coming on the Tankelewicz 3-pointer.
Saturday's game was tied seven times and saw 14 lead changes including eight in the second half alone. Neither team was able to build more than an eight-point lead, held by Kent State midway through the second stanza.
East Tennessee State 65, Appalachian State 48
BOONE, N.C. - East Tennessee State flexed its muscle in the interior on Saturday afternoon, scoring 38 points in the paint and grabbing 13 offensive rebounds to hand Appalachian State University men's basketball a 65-48 defeat at the Holmes Center.
ETSU (4-5) did the majority of its damage in the first half, shooting 56.7 percent from the field and outscoring Appalachian (4-5) 26-4 in the paint and 16-0 off turnovers to take a commanding 43-24 halftime lead. Everything appeared to be going the Bucs' way in the half, as Jarvis Jones sank a three-pointer as the clock expired.
ASU head coach Jason Capel shook up the lineup after the break, sitting starters Omar Carter, G.J. Vilarino and Isaac Butts in favor of Rodney Milum, Mike Neal and Brian Okam to open the frame. The Mountaineers responded by cutting the 19-point halftime deficit to 11 on two occasions. However, Appalachian could never get within single digits and ETSU, which made just 15-of-31 free throws on the game, hit 8-of-9 foul shots down the stretch to pull away.
Milum and Jamaal Trice led the Mountaineers with 12 points apiece. Milum's success came on 4-of-7 shooting from three-point range and Trice was aggressive on the offensive end of the floor to sink 5-of-10 attempts.
Okam had his best game to date in the Black and Gold, scoring four points and leading the Apps with seven rebounds. He swatted one of the team's eight blocks as well in 17 minutes.
Andre Williamson blocked three shots to accompany his four points, four rebounds, two assists and a steal. Butts was less effective against the ETSU defense as the senior fouled out without scoring. He hauled in two boards and blocked a shot in 20 minutes.
Immediately after Butts' early departure from the game, Milum sank a three-pointer off of a pass from Williamson with a little more than eight minutes left in regulation. Neal then brought down a rebound on the other end and found the junior open for a second-straight trey to slice the lead down to 11 points. The Mountaineers then regained possession with a chance to cut the deficit to single digits, but were unable to capitalize.
Neal's four assists led Appalachian and tied his season best. The freshman added four rebounds, two points and a steal in a season-high 22 minutes.
Adam Sollazzo (23 points, nine rebounds) and Isiah Brown (16 points, eight rebounds) paced ETSU.
For the game, Appalachian was outscored 38-12 in the paint and 21-5 off turnovers. The Mountaineers committed 18 miscues compared to just seven for the Bucs. Overall, ASU connected on 42.5 percent of its attempts from the field and 8-of-20 three-pointers. ETSU shot 47.1 percent from the field, including 2-of-3 longballs.
The Apps won the second half by a 24-22 scoring margin. The Bucs' 22 points after the break were the fewest allowed in any second half by Appalachian on the season. ASU's eight blocks marked the most by the team since swatting a program-record 12 against Lees-McRae in the season opener.
Appalachian was outrebounded by its opponent for a third-straight game by a slim 32-30 clip.
ASU uses the upcoming week to take final exams and prepare for a battle at North Carolina. Tipoff for the Dec. 17 game is set for 6 p.m. and will be televised nationally on ESPNU.
Charlotte 84, Davidson 61
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - The Charlotte 49ers put four players in double figures, led by Chris Braswell's 19 points, and shot 69.2 percent in the second half in breaking open a close contest for an 84-61 victory over Davidson on Saturday night at Halton Arena.
The 49ers (6-2) used a 21-8 run in the first nine minutes of the second half to turn a 31-30 halftime deficit into a 51-39 lead with a little less than 12 minutes remaining in the game. Javarris Barnett led the charge with three triples during the run, and the 49ers hit four as a team.
Davidson (6-3) also put four players in double figures, led by JP Kuhlman's 13 points to go with seven boards. Nik Cochran chipped in with 12, and Tyler Kalinoski and Clint Mann each had 10 off the bench.
Barnett finished with 15 points, all from behind the arc. Besides his 19 points, Braswell added 10 boards for a double-double. Pierria Henry and Victor Nickerson rounded out the quartet of double-figure scorers with 10 points apiece.
The Wildcats were held to just 35.6 percent shooting for the game and turned the ball over 19 times, which helped Charlotte score 19 fast-break points.
Up 31-30 after rattling off a 10-4 run to close the first half, Davidson saw Charlotte use a quick 9-0 spurt to open the new stanza to regain the lead at 39-31. Seven of those points came from the charity stripe.
Cochran got the 'Cats on the board with a trey, but Barnett continued the big run to open the new period with three triples. The 49ers hit four of their first five shots from behind the arc and finished the game 9-for-23.
The lead grew to 67-51 on a three-point play from Nickerson with under five minutes to go. Davidson got no closer than 12 (71-59) on a triple from Kalinoski with 2:40 left, before Charlotte finished off the game on a 13-2 run.
The first half was a back-and-forth struggle for both squads. The first four minutes saw the teams combined to shoot just 3-for-16 with seven turnover.
The 'Cats missed nine of their first 10 shots until Kuhlman hit back-to-back jumpers, including a triple, to make it 9-5 in Charlotte's favor.
Davidson continued to battle, tying the score four ties throughout the half at 11, 15, 21 and 26. Down 26-21, the Wildcats used a 10-4 run to close the half up one at 31-30. They took their first lead at 28-27 on a pair of free throws from Clint Mann at the 1:24 mark.
Eastern Kentucky 63, Georgia Southern 59
RICHMOND, Ky. - Georgia Southern Men's Basketball erased an eight-point halftime deficit to lead with less than three minutes remaining, but a 10-6 run down the stretch gave Eastern Kentucky a 63-59 win on Saturday night. Eric Ferguson scored 19 points on the night as the Eagles forced the Colonels to play inside the perimeter for the first time this season. EKU scored just two three-pointers, six off its season average.
Ferguson's 19 points went with four rebounds, finishing the night a perfect 9-for-9 from the field. Georgia Southern (3-5, 2-0 SoCon) shot 61.5 percent from the field in the second half to finish 24-for-50 from the field. Willie Powers III paired six assists with 13 points to will the Eagles back into the game.
Ben Drayton III scored 10 points with three rebounds. Georgia Southern's lone junior, Cameron Baskerville had a solid night with eight points, four rebounds, and a block. Baskerville led the Eagles at the free throw line, shooting 4-for-4.
Eastern Kentucky (6-5, 0-0 OVC) was led by a game-high 20 points from Jaron Jones. The Colonels shot just 18 percent from beyond the arc and posted a 58 percent mark in the first half before shooting 41 percent in the second half.
The Eagles trailed by 30-22 at the halftime interval, but cut the lead to four out of the break. The lead gradually grew to eight points with 6:50 remaining, but the Eagles went on a 10-2 run to tie the game, 53-53 with 3:40 left in the contest.
Georgia Southern took its first lead of the game with 2:43 remaining, but saw EKU roar back to out-score the Eagles, 10-6, over the final two and a half minutes.
The Eagles struggled from the free throw line, shooting 9-of-18 to EKU's 13-of-16. Georgia Southern made just two three-pointers in the game, the lowest total this year for the Eagles.
Georgia Southern returns to action following finals week for a trip to South Alabama on Monday, December 19th. The game from Mobile, Ala. starts at 8:05 p.m. (ET).
Mercer 67, Chattanooga 56
MACON, Ga. --- The Chattanooga Mocs (2-7) struggled in the second half in dropping a 67-56 decision at Mercer (7-3) Saturday night. UTC led 30-29 at halftime but did not record a field goal until the 12:08 mark of the second half helping key the loss.
Omar Wattad had a game-high 20 points to pace the Mocs effort. Ricky Taylor added 11 points and five rebounds.
Langston Hall led the Bears with 15 points. Jakob Gollon chipped in 14 points, while tying for team-high honors with five rebounds.
Mercer went on a 16-0 run over the Mocs' scoreless streak to start the second half. Kevin Canevari's three-pointer right at 13 minutes to play gave the Bears a 45-30 lead. UTC came out of the break shooting 0-10 from the floor (0-2 from 3pt range) and 0-2 at the free throw line while making four turnovers.
The skid stopped at 12:08 on a basket by Drazen Zlovaric. Zlovaric's score came on a pass from Keegan Bell after Bell kept the possession alive with an offensive rebound.
Bud Thomas put the Bears up by 17, 59-42, on a layup with 5:11 left in the game. Despite the deficit, the Mocs battled on.
UTC scored on four straight possessions to cut the lead to nine, 61-52, on Dontay Hampton's trey at 2:21. Just 30 seconds later, Bell made it a seven-point game, 61-54, on two free throws, but that's as close as it would get.
Bell reached a milestone to brighten a disappointing evening. He recorded his 400th career assist with his fourth of eight on the night. He now has 404, which is third-best in school history behind Tim Brooks (1992-93) and Wes Moore (1996-99) who each tallied 414. His 400th came on an entry pass in the post to Chris Early at 10:29 of the first half.
The free throw line was a major culprit. After shooting 5-6 in the first half, UTC shot a dismal 35.7 percent in the second half, 5-14, as Mercer managed a 16 of 20 performance (80.0%). That an 11-point difference which includes three misses on the front end of one-and-bonus opportunities.
The Mocs came out hot making six of their first nine shots and five of six from three-point range before cooling off building a 13-point lead, 17-4, on a Wattad trey at 14:19.. The remainder of the half, UTC hit just four of 14 shot attempts missing all seven threes.
Mercer started as cold as the Mocs were hot. It was three for 13 as UTC built its lead before making 10 of 16 down the stretch to make it a one-point game, 30-29 at intermission.
Chattanooga returns home Tuesday to host Spalding University from Louisville, Ky. Spalding is coached by former Mocs star player and assistant coach Kevin Gray. Gray played four seasons, 1973-76, helping lead the 1976 UTC squad to the national final.