Elon 70, The Citadel 55
CHARLESTON, S.C. - The Elon men's basketball team put together a complete game performance on Thursday night in McAlister Field House to halt a five-game losing skid with a 70-55 victory over the host Citadel Bulldogs in Southern Conference action. Senior Drew Spradlin enjoyed yet another strong performance against the Bulldogs with 21 points to lead all scorers.
Elon (8-7, 3-1) had its best shooting performance since a December 11 contest against Lynchburg, connecting on 46 percent of its field goal attempts. The Phoenix nailed 9-of-19 (47.4 percent) from downtown. The Elon defense limited The Citadel (4-12, 1-4) to 37 percent shooting and has held opponents to under 40 percent from the field in all eight victories.
The Phoenix led by double figures for the entire second half, going up by as many as 19 points after a 7-0 stretch to begin the final 20 minutes of play. Spradlin scored 13 points in the second half, shooting 4-of-5 from the field. Forward Lucas Troutman, who came off the bench for the first time this year, contributed 10 points and seven rebounds.
Rookie point guard Austin Hamilton netted nine points to go along with a career high six assists. He kept a clean slate in the turnover category as Elon had only 10 miscues in the contest.
Bulldog center Mike Groselle dumped in 17 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in the loss.
The Citadel scored the first bucket of the game but that would be its only lead of the contest after Elon scored six of the next seven points to go on top 6-3. A stifling first-half defense held the Bulldogs to only seven field goals and 19 shot attempts.
Elon took advantage of The Citadel's missed shots and 10 first-half turnovers, using a 10-2 run that spanned four minutes to move ahead 27-16 after a Sebastian Koch long ball at the 5:32 mark.
The Bulldogs managed to trim the lead to seven, 27-20, when Ashton Moore connected from downtown with 3:06 to go. Koch answered back from long range and Brett Ervin swished his second triple of the half as the clock expired to put Elon ahead 35-23 at the break.
The Bulldogs would never get closer than 12 in the second half, which was highlighted by a beautiful Spradlin to Troutman lob pass on an inbounds play that resulted in a Troutman slam. The dunk put a stop to a 6-0 Citadel stretch and gave Elon a 54-40 lead with 10:14 on the clock.
The Phoenix finished the half shooting 56 percent (14-25) and knocked down 4-of-5 three-point attempts. Ten different players scored for Elon in the victory.
Georgia Southern 58, Samford 53
STATESBORO, Ga. - Georgia Southern Men's Basketball team played solid defense down the stretch to defeat Samford, 58-53 on Thursday night at Hanner Fieldhouse. The game marked the midway point of the 2011-12 season as the Eagles improved to 6-9 overall and 4-1 in league play, reaching the SoCon mark for the first time since the 2003-04 season. Samford falls to 3-12 and 0-4 in the league.
With the Eagles leading by one point, Jelani Hewitt drove the baseline and scored a deuce with just 30 seconds remaining in the game to give GSU a three-point edge. a defensive stand at the other end allowed Hewitt to get fouled after senior Willie Powers III grabbed the rebound. Hewitt made both free throws to finish the night with a team-high 13 points and cement the 58-53 victory.
Sophomore Eric Ferguson continued his run of good play with his fourth double-double of the season and second in the last three games. Ferguson scored 11 points and pulled 12 rebounds to go with three steals. Powers finished the game with 12 points and five assists.
Samford was led by both Drew Windler and Raijon Kelly at 12 points while Tyler Hood scored 11. The Bulldogs, however, were unable to score in the game's final 2:38 and led by as many as five points late in the first half.
The Eagles trailed by three points at the break (32-29) and withstood a strong shooting first half by the Bulldogs. Samford shot 56 percent from the field in the opening half with five three-pointers.
A three-pointer by Ben Drayton III on the first possession of the second half leveled the scores and ended a drought of over five minutes without a field goal for the Eagles. Georgia Southern logged three offensive rebounds on the first two possessions of the half and forced Samford to burn its first timeout with 18:11 left in the period.
Samford tied the game with 17:24 remaining, but would not lead for the balance of the game. A five minute scoring drought for both teams took the contest inside the final five minutes with the Eagles leading by three. The Bulldogs cut the advantage to one point at both the 4:12 and 2:38 marks, but Hewitt's four points in the final minutes gave GSU the victory.
The Eagles shot just 42.6 percent from the field and were 5-of-18 from three-point range. Samford finished the game marginally better from the field (.429) and was 7-of-26 from downtown. The Eagles made 12-of-20 from the free throw line while Samford was 4-of-6 at the line. Georgia Southern matched its season-low by committing 13 fouls.
Appalachian State 56, Furman 50
BOONE, N.C. - Appalachian State used a 20-5 run to erase an early Furman lead and grab a 30-25 advantage on its way to a 56-50 victory over the Paladins in Southern Conference men's basketball action on Thursday evening at the Holmes Convocation Center.
Mike Neal scored a team-high 15 points, including eight during the key Appalachian State spurt in the first half, to help the Mountaineers improve to 7-8 overall and 3-2 in SoCon play. Furman fell to 7-9 overall and 1-4 in league play despite 18 points from senior Brandon Sebirumbi.
A pair of Jordan Loyd free throws and a Sebirumbi jumper trimmed Appalachian's lead to 52-50 with 2:35 to play before Charlie Reddick registered a steal. Loyd missed an open look from three-point range that would have given Furman the lead, and after an Appalachian State miss on the other end, Dominic Early got a look from three-point range but could not connect. Nathan Healy found a slashing Jamaal Trice for a dunk on Appalachian's next possession and Omar Carter converted a pair of free throws after a Paladin miss to cap the scoring.
Neal connected on 5-of-9 shots to lead the Mountaineers while Healy and Andre Williamson notched double figures with 12 and 10 points, respectively. Appalachian State shot 44.7 percent from the floor and out-rebounded the Paladins 30-26.
Charlie Reddick buried a pair of treys during a 12-2 first-half run that staked Furman to a 20-10 lead on Reddick's triple with 11:03 to play in the half. The Paladins led 23-14 after Richard Brown drained a three with 8:43 left in the half, but Appalachian held Furman to just one basket the remainder of the period while reeling off a 16-2 run to carry a 30-25 edge into the locker room.
Appalachian State extended its lead to as many as nine points in the second half before an 11-4 Paladin run pulled Furman within two points in the final minutes.
Furman, which made nine of its first 15 field goal attempts, connected on only 9-of-31 shots the remainder of the way. The Paladins shot 39 percent from the floor and made only 6-of-18 three-point attempts while committing 15 turnovers.
Sebirumbi made good on 7-of-11 shot for his game-high 18 points while Reddick added 14 points and six rebounds.
Davidson 88, Western Carolina 67
DAVIDSON, N.C. - Davidson forward Jake Cohen scored 26 points to go over 1,000 for his career and lead the Wildcats to an 88-67 Southern Conference men's basketball victory over Western Carolina Thursday night.
Cohen, who came into the game with 987 career points, took care of the milestone early as the junior scored the Wildcats' first 13 points of the game. His 13th point came on a 3-pointer from the top of the key just 3:56 into the contest and gave Davidson a 13-5 lead.
He finished the night 8-for-13 from the floor and 4-for-4 from 3-point range while registering six rebounds, three assists and four blocked shots. Chris Czerapowicz posted 13 points, five rebounds and two blocked shots for the Wildcats (11-4, 5-0 SoCon), and Clint Mann scored 11.
JP Kuhlman, Cohen's roommate had 12 points, five rebounds and five assists. The fellow junior now needs three points to reach 1,000 for his career. Nik Cochran and De'Mon Brooks each scored eight, and Cochran added a game-high seven assists.
The Wildcats had 18 assists on 24 made baskets and committed just four turnovers. Davidson also blocked a season-high seven shots on the defensive end and held the Catamounts to 38 percent shooting from the field, including 29 percent in the second half.
Harouna Mutombo led Western Carolina (8-9, 3-2 SoCon) with 17 points and posted eight rebounds. Brandon Boggs scored 13 points, and Tawaski King collected nine points and eight rebounds.
Davidson used a 12-2 run midway through the first half to open a 37-22 cushion. Trailing by 14, the Catamounts went on an 11-3 run totrim the margin to six with 1:48 left in the period. James Sinclair scored four points, and Boggs capped the run with a triple.
But Davidson responded by scoring the last six points of the half as Kuhlman made a 3-pointer, and Czerapowicz got a layup. A 15-2 spurt midway through the second frame opened a 73-49 cushion for Davidson. Tyler Kalinoski and Kuhlman capped the run with consecutive triples.
The margin grew to as many as 27 points on a Czerapowicz 3-pointer with 7:26 remaining.
Chattanooga 51, Wofford 48
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. --- Z. Mason led the Chattanooga Mocs (9-9/3-2) to a 51-48 Southern Conference win over visiting Wofford (9-8/2-3) Thursday night in McKenzie Arena. Mason had his first collegiate double-double with 17 points and 13 rebounds.
His effort in reserve helped UTC to a 24-1 advantage in bench points. The 13 boards paced a 45-40 advantage on the glass.
Mason's jumper at 12:36 gave the Mocs a 38-32 advantage nearing the mid-point of the second half. The Terriers scored six straight to tie the game at 38 and then again at 40-all on a jumper by Brad Loesing with 7:05 to play.
Chattanooga weathered a storm scoring just one basket in more than nine minutes of clock time before Mason scored with 3:06 remaining to give the Mocs a three-point advantage, 43-40.
Drew Crowell tied the game for the fourth time with just over a minute left on the clock, 44-44. It was a free throw game from there on. Mason made two followed by two more from Ricky Taylor inside 30 seconds making it 48-44.
Loesing's layup made it a two-point game, 48-46, as the clock ticked inside 20 seconds. Keegan Bell made one of two charity tosses (49-46) before Kevin Giltner was fouled taking a three-pointer just eight seconds later. He missed the first, but made the next two to get within one.
Bell drained two free throws with just over six seconds left for a three-point cushion. Loesing's three was errant as the horn sounded on the 51-48 win.
Taylor had 11 points and seven rebounds, while Drazen Zlovaric chipped in 10 points and five rebounds. Wofford was paced by Loesing's 21 points and five assists.
It was defensive game throughout as Chattanooga never trailed. UTC held the Terriers to just 28.4 percent (19-67) from the floor including 17.1 percent (6-35). The Mocs shot just 39.6 percent (19-48) with an 11.1 percent (2-18) performance from beyond the arc.
UNCG 73, College of Charleston 66
CHARLESTON, S.C. - UNCG overcame a six-point second-half deficit to defeat College of Charleston, 73-66, in Southern Conference action on Thursday night at TD Arena.
The Spartans (3-14, 1-4) snapped an 11-game losing streak and won their first league game of the season, while the Cougars (11-5, 3-2) lost their second SoCon game in the last three outings.
UNCG was led by Trevis Simpson's 16 points and five rebounds, while Derrell Armstrong also netted 16 points for the Spartans.
CofC had three players in double figures as sophomore Trent Wiedeman scored 15 points and senior Antwaine Wiggins and junior Andrew Lawrence each contributed 14. Wiedeman also grabbed nine rebounds in the seven-point loss.
After a strong shooting performance in the first half, the Cougars went cold in the second stanza, hitting just 9-of-31 shots (29 percent) from the field. CofC went 6-of-26 from three-point land, hitting just 23.1 percent from long range. The Cougars also struggled from the free throw line shooting 57.1 percent (16-of-28).
After an early injury to starting freshman guard Anthony Stitt, bench players Nori Johnson and Matt Sundberg each registered career highs in minutes played, 28 and 30 respectively, but combined to shoot just 3-of-13 from the floor.
The Cougars opened the game on a tear building a 16-6 lead with 14:49 to go in the first half after a three-pointer from Wiggins. Wiedeman dominated the Spartan interior defense, scoring 10 first-half points on 4-of-5 shooting, most of which came in the lane on turnaround hook shots.
UNCG responded with a 14-2 run, including seven points from Nicholas Paulos, to grab a two-point lead at 20-18.
The Cougars regained the lead with another Wiggins' trey, and led until the very end of the first half when Armstrong hit a layup and was fouled with three seconds to go, giving UNCG a 36-35 halftime lead.
CofC led by six points with 11:24 to go in the game, when UNCG's Drew Parker hit a three-pointer and got a steal to quickly cut the lead to 55-54. Armstrong helped the Spartans regain the lead at the 4:31 minute mark as he hit a jumper from the paint.
An offensive putback from Wiedeman tied the game on the next possession, but Simpson scored and was fouled to give the Spartans a lead they did not relinquish. The Cougars missed several jumpers in the final three minutes as UNCG emerged with the upset victory.