Davidson 83, Appalachian State 79
BOONE, N.C. – Sophomore forward De’Mon Brooks scored the last seven points in a decisive 10-0 run late in the game as Davidson topped Appalachian State 83-79 in a Southern Conference men’s basketball contest Saturday afternoon in the Holmes Center.
After Appalachian State (7-9, 3-3 SoCon) took its first lead of the game on an Omar Carter 3-pointer with 4:48 to play, Brooks and the Wildcats responded by scoring 10 straight points over the next 2:48 to open a 79-70 cushion.
Jake Cohen ignited the run with a conventional 3-point play off a baseline inbounds play under the Davidson basket after the Wildcats (12-4, 6-0 SoCon) called a timeout. Cohen slashed to the basket where Tyler Kalinoski hit him with the pass, made the layup, drew the contact and made the free throw.
Brooks took over from there as Davidson got three straight stops on the defensive end. He got the ball in the post on each offensive possession and scored, getting a 3-point play on the last one.
The Mountaineers would not go away as Carter hit a 3-pointer, making the score 79-73 with 1:47 remaining. Cohen answered with a tip-in off a Brooks miss, but Jamaal Trice hit a triple for the Apps, making the margin five points with 28 seconds left.
App was forced to foul JP Kuhlman, who hit 1-of-2, and the Mountaineers got another 3-pointer from Carter to trim the lead to three with 12 seconds left. After an App. State timeout, Davidson got the ball inbounds and was able to run 10 seconds off before Nik Cochran was fouled. Cochran hit the second end of a two-shot foul to put the ‘Cats up four and seal the win.
Brooks finished with 19 points and five rebounds, and Cohen tallied 21 points and seven boards. Chris Czerapowicz collected 13 points and five rebounds, and Cochran scored nine.
Kuhlman finished the contest with six points and six rebounds and scored his 1,000th career point on a free throw with 6:35 left in the first half. Clint Mann scored eight points off the bench, all in the first half.
Carter led Appalachian State with 17 points and added six rebounds, while Trice scored 15. Andre Williamson tallied 14 points and six rebounds, and Isaac Butts recorded 10 points and a game-high nine rebounds.
The Wildcats return home for a pair of SoCon contests next week, beginning with a 7 p.m. contest against College of Charleston Thursday.
Furman 58, Western Carolina 55
Cullowhee, N.C. – Charlie Reddick drained a three-pointer with 1.8 seconds left to lift Furman to a 58-55 victory over Western Carolina in Southern Conference men's basketball action on Saturday afternoon at the Ramsey Center.
After Trey Sumler knotted the game at 55-55 on a driving layup with 8.9 seconds remaining, Furman got the ball into the front court and called timeout with 4.5 seconds to play. Bobby Austin delivered the inbounds pass to Reddick who turned and buried a 23-foot trey, his only field goal of the afternoon, to snap Furman's five-game skid versus Western Carolina and four-game losing streak in Cullowhee.
The victory improved Furman to 8-9 overall and 2-4 in SoCon play while Western Carolina dipped to 8-10 overall and 3-3 inside the league.
Furman built a 32-19 first half lead, but committed 15 second half turnovers, including miscues on each of its first five possessions of the second half as Western Carolina rallied. The Catamounts tied the game for the first time at 47-47 with 4:56 remaining. Furman regained the lead and stretch its advantage to 54-50 with 25 seconds to play after Austin hit 1-of-2 free throws and Bryson Barnes drained a pair at the line.
Keaton Cole answered for the Catamounts with a three-pointer that bounced high off of the rim before dropping through with 21 seconds left to trim the Paladin lead to 54-53. Barnes responded by hitting the first of two free throws, but after a miss on the second attempt, Sumler went coast-to-coast to tie the game with under nine second left. Following the Furman timeout, Reddick set a screen on the inbounds play before rolling free and receiving the pass before burying the game-clinching triple.
Reddick, who scored six points, finished just 1-for-12 from the field and 1-for-8 from three-point range. Senior Brandon Sebirumbi, who poured in 13 first-half points to stake the Paladins to a halftime lead, paced Furman with 19 points and nine rebounds. The Fort Worth, Texas, native connected on 4-of-6 field goal attempts and 11-of-15 trips to the foul line. Jordan Loyd, making his first career start in place of an injured Richard Brown, tallied a career-best 10 points.
The Paladins shot 43.2% from the field, including 57% in the second half on 8-of-14 shooting. Furman managed a 30-23 edge on the boards and grabbed nine offensive rebounds to fashion a 14-7 advantage on second-chance points. Western Carolina forced the Paladins into 21 turnovers, but Furman offset the miscues with a season-best 10 steals.
Sumler led Western Carolina with 18 points while Harouna Mutombo chipped in with 11 points before fouling out. The Catamounts shot just 39.5% from the floor, including 6-of-18 shooting from beyond the arc.
Furman returns home on Thursday when it hosts SoCon South Division foe Georgia Southern at 7 p.m. on YP.com Court at Timmons Arena.
Samford 81, Chattanooga 70
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - In front of the TV cameras, the Samford University basketball team turned in its best performance of the 2011-12 campaign Saturday with a demonstrative 81-70 Southern Conference home victory against the Chattanooga Mocs at the Pete Hanna Center. The matchup was broadcast to a live regional audience on My68, and snapped the Bulldogs' six-game losing streak.
Samford (4-12, 1-4 SoCon) was led offensively Saturday by a sophomore and two freshmen.
Sophomore center Drew Windler scored a career-high 25 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field and knocked down a personal-best five 3-point baskets. The Bulldogs' 6-foot-9 native of South Milwaukee, Wis., also pulled down seven rebounds and finished a perfect 6-of-6 from the free-throw line.
True freshman Raijon Kelly, who has been an immediate spark for the Bulldogs since moving into the starting lineup Jan. 7, scored a career-high 19 points on 5-of-11 shooting from the field Saturday. Kelly also tied his career-high with 36 minutes of game action and finished an unblemished 8-of-8 from the free-throw line.
As a team, Samford registered a season-high free-throw percentage of 91.7 (22-of-24). The Bulldogs' performance from the charity stripe far surpassed its previous season-high of 83.3 percent, which was achieved against Mercer on Dec. 7.
Samford's third player in double figures Saturday was redshirt freshman Tyler Hood who finished with 15 points on a 6-of-12 performance from the floor. Hood, the Bulldogs' 6-foot-6 native of Kingston, Tenn., compiled three assists, a rebound, a block, a steal and a key 3-point basket.
With the loss, Chattanooga (9-10, 3-3 SoCon) had its three-game winning streak snapped. Heading into Saturday's contest, the Mocs were coming off consecutive SoCon victories against Western Carolina 78-62, Appalachian State 65-63 and Wofford 51-48.
Chattanooga turned in one of its worst shooting performances of the season at 33.9 percent. The Mocs attempted 33 shots from beyond the arc and knocked down 11 of them for a 33.3-percent outing.
Senior guard and Georgetown transfer Omar Wattad paced Chattanooga's offensive attack with 17 points, but only connected on 4-of-15 shot attempts. The Mocs' native of Johnson City, Tenn., was 4-of-13 from 3-point range. Chattanooga's Dontay Hampton and Z. Mason both came off the bench to add 11 points.
Samford turned in a 47.1-percent mark from the floor Saturday and finished 11-of-34 from 3-point range. The Bulldogs opened the game hitting on all cylinders and recorded a 57.1 shooting percentage in the first half to take a 44-32 advantage into the locker room. Samford knocked down six of its 11 3-pointers in the opening 20 minutes of play.
During the first eight minutes of the second half, Chattanooga knocked down a barrage of 3-point baskets and used a 13-0 run to take a 49-48 advantage in the game with 12:32 left on the clock. The Mocs' Hampton knocked down three straight 3-pointers to catapult Chattanooga into the lead.
Following Hampton's third 3-pointer and the ensuing Samford timeout, the Bulldogs quickly answered with a 3-point basket from Hood on the right flank. After Hood's shot at the 12:05 mark, Samford never relinquished the lead and eventually extended its decisive advantage to 11 points with the final 81-70 score.
The Bulldogs entered Saturday's game shooting only 60 percent from the free-throw line. That prompted Chattanooga head coach John Shulman to start fouling Samford's Kelly at the 2:11 mark in the second half. Kelly closed out the game by hitting all eight of his free-throw attempts.
Samford senior Jeffrey Merritt turned in one of his best all-around performances Saturday as he nearly tallied a triple-double. Merritt, the Bulldogs' 6-foot-6 native of Oklahoma City, Okla., tied his career-high with 12 rebounds and added a career-high nine assists and seven points.
Samford recently reverted back to its matchup zone defense and has limited its opponents to a 37.7-percent mark from the field. Conversely, the Bulldogs have turned in a 45-percent mark during the same
Samford forced 15 turnovers Saturday and outscored Chattanooga 25-13 in points off turnovers.
The Samford University basketball team will next be in action Thursday at 6 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs once again hit the road to embark on a five-day, two-game trip versus Elon and UNCG. Samford will square off against Elon on Thursday at 6 p.m., and then close out the road swing Sunday at 1 p.m., at UNCG.
College of Charleston 63, Elon 44
CHARLESTON, S.C. - Freshman Adjehi Baru registered his first career double-double and sophomore Trent Wiedeman grabbed a career-high 17 rebounds as College of Charleston showed a great defensive effort and stunned Elon, 63-44, in Southern Conference action held Saturday night at TD Arena.
With the win, CofC improved to 12-5 on the season and 4-2 in SoCon play, while Elon fell to 8-8 and 3-2.
Baru played the best game of his career as he set new highs in points (18), rebounds (12), steals (3) and blocks (3). The highly-touted freshman shot an efficient 6-of-11 from the field and an improved 6-of-9 from the charity stripe. Baru did not commit a foul nor turn the ball over in 28 minutes of play.
Wiedeman led the Cougars with 17 rebounds to go with 10 points for his fourth double-double of the season. He also made three blocks and three steals in the team's fourth-straight win in the series with the Phoenix.
Senior Antwaine joined Baru and Wiedeman in double figures as he scored 13 points while grabbing seven rebounds. Junior point guard Andrew Lawrence scored eight points and dished out seven assists while only committing three turnovers.
Playing in their first game without the services of freshman guard Anthony Stitt, who injured his left hand on Thursday night in a loss to UNCG, the Cougars stepped up the defensive intensity by holding Elon to an opponent season-low 16-of-67 shooting (23.9 percent) from the floor. No Phoenix player scored in double figures as Ryley Beaumont, Jack Isenbarger and Ryan Winters only managed a team-high six points.
CofC held a significant edge in the rebounding battle by outboarding Elon, 55-39. The last time the Cougars grabbed 50-or-more rebounds in a single game was a road win at Davidson, led by former star Stephen Curry, in February of 2009.
Sophomore Nori Johnson made his first career start in place of Stitt, scoring six points and tallying three rebounds in 22 minutes. Redshirt junior Matt Sundberg tallied five rebounds and three points, while sophomore guard Jordan Scott contributed three points. Freshman Trevonté Dixon saw a season-high seven minutes of action, while freshman Pat Branin made his first career shot at the 1:02 minute mark off the dish by Johnson.
The Cougars never trailed in the game as Baru scored seven of the team's first nine points of the contest. CofC's largest first half lead came at the 6:58 minute mark when Wiggins converted an offensive putback to make the margin, 22-7.
Free throws from Elon's Kevin Blake capped a 10-3 Phoenix run to make the score 25-17 with 1:01 left in the half, but Lawrence responded with his only three of the game and the Cougars led 29-19 at halftime.
CofC went on an 11-2 run in the early stages of the second half to build a 20-point lead at 14:54, capped by a steal from Lawrence and a three-pointer by Sundberg. Elon was unable to pull closer than 16 points.
The Cougars will return to action next Thursday, Jan. 19, as they travel to undefeated SoCon South Division favorite Davidson (12-4, 6-0) at 7 p.m. (ET) in Davidson, N.C. The game will be televised by the Charleston Sports Network and carried nationally on ESPN3.
Wofford 88, Georgia Southern 63
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - The Wofford men's basketball team took a twenty point lead by halftime and ended with an 88-63 win over Georgia Southern on Saturday night at Benjamin Johnson Arena. The Terriers had four players score in double figures, which included a career-high 18 points by Drew Crowell.
Wofford is now 10-8 on the season and 3-3 in the Southern Conference, while Georgia Southern is 6-10 overall and 4-2 in conference play. The Terriers were led by Kevin Giltner with 23 points, including 4-of-5 from three. Drew Crowell added 18 points and a team-high seven rebounds. Brad Loesing added 16 points and Karl Cochran had ten points. The Eagles were led by Eric Ferguson with 26 points and eight rebounds.
The Terriers scored first with a bucket by Drew Crowell, but the Eagles tied it at two. Wofford then put together a 10-0 run to take a 12-2 lead in the game after six minutes. Back-to-back three pointers by Kevin Giltner and Brad Loesing pushed the advantage to 22-6 with eleven minutes on the clock in the first half. With eight minutes left, a technical foul was called on the Georgia Southern bench. Brad Loesing hit the two free throws for a 27-9 lead.
Wofford was able to take a 21 point lead with five minutes remaining in the first half at 32-11 after a shot by Kevin Giltner. The Eagles would trim the lead to 36-20, but the Terriers responded with a quick 7-0 run that included a three by Kevin Giltner for a 43-20 lead with one minute left in the half. Georgia Southern scored three points before the horn for a 43-23 score at the break. Wofford was 62.1% from the floor in the opening half.
Karl Cochran hit a three early in the second half for a 47-23 lead for the Terriers and Brad Loesing added a three to push the lead to 50-25. Drew Crowell added a jumper for a 27 point lead just two minutes into play. Wofford was able to hold either a 25 or 27 point lead for the next five minutes. At the ten minute mark, Domas Rinksalis dunked and Drew Crowell had a jumper for a 69-42 lead. The Eagles would pull within 22 points, but a three by Kevin Giltner pushed the advantage back to 74-47 with seven minutes to play. In the final two minutes, Matt Steelman hit two three pointers for the Terriers, resulting in the 88-63 final score.
The Terriers shot a season-high 61.5% from the floor for the evening, while Georgia Southern shot 48.1% overall. Wofford finished 9-20 from behind the arc. The Eagles went 1-of-9 from three. Wofford was 15-of-19 from the free throw line, while Georgia Southern went 10-of-16 from the charity stripe. The Terriers had a 31 to 22 lead on the glass and had only eight turnovers.
Kevin Giltner has hit a three pointer in the last thirteen games and has scored twenty or more points in four games this season. Wofford is one of only three teams in the Southern Conference to have a winning record, along with Davidson and the College of Charleston.
Wofford's next home game will be Thursday, January 19 against Appalachian State at 7:00 p.m. at Benjamin Johnson Arena. The Terriers return to the road on Saturday, January 21 at Furman for a 4:00 p.m. contest.
UNCG 67, The Citadel 66
CHARLESTON, S.C. - Trevis Simpson's alley-oop dunk with two-tenths of a second remaining lifted UNCG to a wild 67-66 win over Southern Conference foe The Citadel, Saturday at McAlister Fieldhouse.
Simpson's game-winner capped a furious end to a nip-and-tuck game which featured six ties and 12 lead changes.
After leading by as many as eight points in the second half, the Spartans (4-14 overall, 2-4 SoCon) found themselves trailing 64-63 after The Citadel's Mike Groselle made a layup with 18 seconds left.
UNCG regained the lead when Derrell Armstrong hit a runner with eight seconds remaining, giving the Spartans a 65-64 advantage. But the Bulldogs' Devontae Wright took the inbounds pass and raced the length of the court for an 18-foot jumper to make it 66-65 as the clock apparently expired.
After reviewing the play, officials put nine-tenths of a second back on the clock. Following a timeout, UNCG's Nicholas Paulos threw a length-of-the-court pass which was intercepted by Groselle. But instead of holding on to the ball, Groselle batted it out of bounds with time still remaining.
Another officials' review followed and the clock was reset to :0.5, but the Spartans were awarded the ball in front of their own bench. Drew Parker threw a perfect pass to Simpson, who rose above all defenders for a two-handed slam.
More reviews ensued and the basket was deemed good. The Citadel was give one last chance with :0.2 on the clock, but their full-court pass was intercepted by UNCG's David Williams, sealing the win for the Spartans.
The victory not only gave UNCG back-to-back victories for the first time all season, the Spartans also swept a SoCon road trip for the first time since the 2007-08 season.
The Citadel led by as many as eight points (34-26) in the first half before settling for a 36-32 halftime advantage. The Bulldogs never stretched their lead past six points in the second half.
Simpson finished with a team-high 19 points for UNCG, shooting 6-of-12 from the field and making 6-of-7 free throws. Korey Van Dussen tied a season-high with 13 points, adding four assists and three steals.
Groselle lead Citadel with a game-high 22 points and nine rebounds. Wright chipped in with 10 points.
UNCG shot 46 percent from the field, their second-best effort of the season. The Spartans were 18-of-22 from the line, also a season-best.
The Citadel shot 50 percent from the field, including an 8-of-13 effort from 3-point range. The Bulldogs out-rebounded UNCG, 31-27.
UNCG next opens a five-game home stand by hosting Chattanooga, 7 p.m., Thursday, January 19 at Greensboro Coliseum.