Furman 64, Georgia Southern 54
GREENVILLE, S.C. - Sophomore Charlie Reddick notched his first career double-double with 16 points and a career-high 14 rebounds to help Furman down Georgia Southern, 64-54, in Southern Conference men's basketball action on Thursday evening on YP.com Court at Timmons Arena.
The victory, Furman's third straight over the Eagles and fifth in its last six meetings against GSU, improved the Paladins to 9-9 overall and 3-4 in SoCon play. Georgia Southern dipped to 6-11 overall and 4-3 in the conference.
The teams traded the lead six times in the opening eight minutes before Furman used an 11-2 spurt, including five points from senior Bryson Barnes, to fashion a 23-15 advantage. Georgia Southern reeled off eight straight points to tie the game, but Furman capped the period on a 12-2 run to carry a 35-25 lead into intermission.
Chris Toler opened the second half with a layup, Reddick drained a triple and Brandon Sebirumbi finished in the paint off an assist from David Brown to extend the Paladins' lead to 42-25 with 16:55 to play. Georgia Southern, however, held the Paladins scoreless for the next 7:04 while putting together a 12-0 run that trimmed the Furman lead to just 42-37 on Willie Powers' free throws with 11:02 to play.
Barnes pushed the margin back to 11 points on two occasions only to have the Eagles work the deficit back inside eight points both times. Furman led 55-48 with under three minutes remaining and the shot clock about to expire when Sebirumbi grabbed a loose ball and was fouled beyond the arc as he attempted a desperation trey. The Fort Worth, Texas, native buried all three free throw attempts to up the lead to 10 and Reddick finished at the basket on the Paladins' nest possession to put the game out of reach.
Reddick converted on 4-of-11 field goal attempts, 6-of-7 trips to the line and dished out five assists while becoming the first Paladin since Gerad Punch in 2007 to grab 14 rebounds in a game. Sebirumbi connected on 5-of-9 shots from the floor and 6-of-8 at the charity stripe to finish with 16 points and nine boards. Barnes also reached double figures with 12 points. Brown, who earned his first start in place of injured point guards Richard Brown and Jordan Loyd, totaled six points, three boards, three assists and three steals while committing just one turnover on 30 minutes of action.
The Paladins shot only 41.2 percent from the field, but drained 8-of-21 three-point attempts and made good on 14-of-18 trips to the foul line. Furman managed a 42-28 advantage on the glass and grabbed 13 offensive rebounds.
Forward Eric Ferguson led three Eagles in double figures with 15 points and eight rebounds. Ben Drayton III and Tre Bussey added 11 and 10 points, respectively, for Georgia Southern which shot just 34 percent from the field. The Eagles forced 20 Furman turnovers and scored 29 points off of turnovers to hang around to the final minutes.
Samford 86, Elon 80
ELON, N.C. --- The Samford University basketball team earned its second straight Southern Conference victory Thursday as the Bulldogs knocked down a season-high 16 three-point baskets en route to an 86-80 triumph against the Elon Phoenix held at Alumni Gym.
With the win, Samford (5-12, 2-4 SoCon) improved its all-time record versus Elon (8-9, 3-3 SoCon) to 6-1. The Bulldogs are undefeated when playing the Phoenix at home and moved to 3-1 when playing in Alumni Gym.
Samford's 86-point performance proved to be its second best of the 2011-12 campaign. Earlier this year, the Bulldogs scored 90 points in a lopsided home victory against Spring Hill.
Samford shot 49.2 percent from the field Thursday and knocked down 16 baskets from beyond the arc in a 53.3-percent outing from long range. Despite the Bulldogs' stellar shooting, the game still came down to a couple of key possessions.
With 2:57 left to play in Thursday's SoCon shootout, Samford held a 74-69 advantage after Elon's Sebastian Koch knocked down a pair of free throws. The Phoenix was in the midst of a five-point run and the momentum in the gym was quickly shifting to the home squad.
On the Bulldogs' ensuing possession, senior Jeffrey Merritt out-battled four Phoenix players for a rebound in the paint and called timeout. Following the break in action, Samford's Raijon Kelly found Drew Windler on the right flank and he knocked down a key 3-point basket to build the Bulldogs' lead back to 77-69 with 2:12 to play.
Kelly, Samford's true freshman point guard from St. Paul, Minn., tied his career-high in scoring with 19 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field. He also finished 4-of-5 from 3-point range and handed out a personal-best seven assists.
Windler, the Bulldogs' 6-foot-9 center from South Milwaukee, Wis., used his clutch 3-point basket late in the game to finish with 21 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the floor. Samford's sophomore also knocked down a career-high six 3-point field goals and grabbed seven rebounds.
The Bulldogs' Tyler Hood played the best game of his collegiate career Thursday. Hood, Samford's redshirt freshman from Kingston, Tenn., exploded for a personal-best 25 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the field. He also drained a career-high four 3-point baskets and pulled down seven rebounds. Hood also logged a game-high 38 minutes of playing time.
Samford's Will Cook scored 13 points Thursday and delivered the game's knockout punch with 1:20 left to play.
Following a dunk from Elon's Ryley Beaumont, the Bulldogs' Cook drained a clutch 3-point basket with one second remaining on the shot clock from the left corner. On the play, Samford used a number of quick, crisp passes to beat the Phoenix zone as Kelly artfully found Cook open in the corner.
Cook, the Bulldogs' sophomore from Dallas, Texas, drilled the deep shot, his second 3-pointer of the game.
Samford's starting lineup consisted of two freshmen, two sophomores and a senior in Merritt. On Thursday, the Bulldogs' underclassmen combined to score 80 of the team's 86 points.
Merritt, Samford's senior guard from Oklahoma City, Okla., didn't have his best shooting performance of the season, but still finished with seven rebounds, four assists and a steal.
Elon finished with four players scoring in double figures and was paced by 19 points from Drew Spradlin. The Phoenix turned in a 50-percent shooting performance from the field and was aided by 15 points from Jack Isenbarger, 12 points from Lucas Troutman and a 10-point outing by Beaumont.
Samford turned in a 53.1 shooting percentage from the field in the first half and took a 45-37 advantage into the locker room. The Bulldogs' 45-point performance in the opening period marked their second straight top scoring outing. Against Chattanooga on Saturday, Samford scored a then season-high 44 points in the first half.
Three Bulldogs scored in double figures in the opening half against Elon on Thursday. Windler paced all scorers with 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field, while Hood followed with 12 points and Kelly added 10. Samford registered a 50-percent shooting mark from 3-point range in the first half and was led by four 3-pointers from Windler.
Elon shot 35.5 percent in the opening 20 minutes of play and was led in scoring by both Isenbarger and Spradlin with nine points. Brett Ervin came off the bench to register seven points and six rebounds in the first half.
Samford held the lead for a majority of the first period and boasted a 10-point advantage, 15-5, at the 14:33 mark in the game. The Bulldogs' early advantage was bolstered by five points each from Windler, Hood and Kelly.
Wofford 73, Appalachian State 61
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - The Wofford men's basketball team picked up a 73-61 win over Appalachian State on Thursday night at Benjamin Johnson Arena. Drew Crowell set a new career-high with 19 points in the contest, while the Terriers shot over 50 percent from the floor for the second straight game.
Wofford is now 11-8 on the season and 4-3 in the Southern Conference, while Appalachian State is 7-10 overall and 3-4 in conference play. The Terriers were led by Drew Crowell with 19 points, while Kevin Giltner scored 18 points and was the leading rebounder with eight. Brad Loesing added ten points and seven assists. The Mountaineers were led by Andre Williamson with 20 points and nine rebounds.
The Mountaineers scored first, but the game was tied at four at four minutes into play. Wofford was able to take an 8-4 lead after a three pointer by Kevin Giltner. Appalachian State hit a couple three pointers to pull within 14-13 before a lay-up by Lee Skinner made it a 16-13 game at the 11:16 mark in the first half.
A three by Appalachian State tied the game, but Kevin Giltner made back-to-back threes for a 22-16 lead at the half way point of the first half. Wofford had a 26-19 advantage before the Mountaineers scored six straight points for a 26-23 score with 3:17 left in the first half to cut the lead to 26-25. The Terriers ended the run with a shot by Brad Loesing and a put-back by Jarell Byrd to make it a 30-35 game with just over a minute remaining. Neither team scored in the final minute to give Wofford a five point lead at the break.
Wofford opened the scoring in the second half, but the Mountaineers answered with back-to-back threes for a 32-31 score after two minutes. Appalachian State took a 33-22 lead, but Karl Cochran ended the 8-0 run with a three. At the 16 minute mark, Brad Loesing hit a couple free throws for a 39-36 lead. Kevin Giltner hit a three to push the lead to 44-38. A dunk by Jarell Byrd at the twelve minute mark gave the Terriers a 50-42 advantage.
A lay-up by Drew Crowell gave Wofford a 56-44 lead with under ten minutes to play in the second half. The Mountaineers pulled to 58-51 with five minutes left on the clock. Drew Crowell scored an easy bucket with 3:34 remaining in the game for a 62-53 advantage. At 2:15, Crowell added a lay-up and free throw to push the lead to 65-55. Kevin Giltner added two free throws with 33 seconds left in the contest for a 71-59 score. Drew Crowell hit two free throws with 18 seconds remaining to provide the final 73-61 margin.
The Terriers shot 53.8 percent from the floor for the evening, while Appalachian State shot 41.5 percent overall. Wofford finished 5-14 from behind the arc. The Mountaineers went 8-of-23 from three. Wofford was 12-of-14 from the free throw line, while Appalachian State went 9-of-13 from the charity stripe. The Terriers had a 33 to 25 lead on the glass and had only eight turnovers.
The Terriers are now 11-0 when leading at the half. With the win, combined with losses by College of Charleston and Georgia Southern, Wofford moves into second place in the South Division. Wofford has won four straight games over Appalachian State. Omar Carter fouled out for the Mountaineers.
UNCG 81, Chattanooga 72
GREENSBORO, N.C. --- The Chattanooga Mocs (9-11, 3-4 SoCon) furious comeback fell short tonight as UNCG (5-14, 3-4 SoCon) captured an 81-72 Southern Conference North Division win in the Greensboro Coliseum Thursday night. UTC was down 10 with just over three minutes to go before a strong run made it interesting.
David Williams' layup at 3:29 gave the Spartans a 72-62 lead and it appeared to be well in control of the contest. But the Mocs were not out. Two free throws by Lance Stokes just 20 seconds later began the climb back.
Ricky Taylor scored the next three points in the game with a layup on one possession and making one of two free throws on the next to cut the lead to 72-67 with 2:17 to go. After two free throw misses by Aloysius Henry, Keegan Bell drained his first three-point attempt of the game to cut the lead to two, 72-70, at 1:36.
The Spartans did not break. They answered the Mocs 8-0 run with a 9-0 of their own capped by a Williams slam with five seconds to play. Two Bell free throws provided the final margin.
Omar Wattad led UTC with 19 points. Taylor had 18, while Drazen Zlovaric posted a double-double with 14 points and a season-high 13 rebounds.
The UNCG bench was the difference. It scored 54 of the Spartans' 81 points including 36 of 37 in the opening half. Derrell Armstrong led all scorers with 29 points in reserve. Kyle Randall added 15, also coming off the pine.
The Mocs scored the game's first seven points before UNCG rattled off 13 straight. That lead got to as many as eight with UTC cutting it to just a point three different time before the Spartans took a 37-31 lead into the break.
Like in the first frame, Chattanooga got off to a quick start in the second half. It scored the first nine points to take a 40-37 advantage on a Wattad three-pointer at 17:33. The lead see-sawed back-and-forth until the Spartans took the lead for good on a Trevis Simpson three-pointer at 11:04, 52-50.
Davidson 87, College of Charleston 69
DAVIDSON, N.C. -Jake Cohen matched his career high with 29 points and added a career-high 14 rebounds to lead Davidson to an 87-69 Southern Conference men's basketball victory over College of Charleston Thursday night in Belk Arena.
Cohen collected 24 points and eight rebounds in the first half for the Wildcats (13-4, 7-0 SoCon). The junior was 9-for-17 from the floor for the game and made all nine free-throw attempts.
Nik Cochran scored 16 points for Davidson, all in the second half, and De'Mon Brooks netted 15. Tyler Kalinoski chipped in nine points and three assists, and the Wildcats got a big lift off the bench from Frank Ben-Eze who posted six points, five rebounds and five blocked shots.
Andrew Lawrence tallied 18 points, five rebounds and five assists for College of Charleston (12-6, 4-3 SoCon), while Antwaine Wiggins posted 17 points and nine rebounds. Nori Johnson scored 15.
Davidson held a 17-point advantage early in the second half, but the Cougars kept chipping away and an 11-4 run, capped by a pair of Lawrence free throws, made the score 61-55 with 9:32 remaining.
Hanging on to a seven-point lead with 7:30 to go, Cochran scored five straight points, and Cohen
added a triple as the Wildcats pushed the margin back to 15 with 4:50 left. The Cougars got the lead down to 12 points three times and 11 points once but could not get into single digits.
Cohen scored eight points in a 14-3 Davidson run that opened a 15-point lead with 7:37 remaining in the first half. But Wiggins answered with two four-point plays for the Cougars, getting fouled while making a pair of 3-pointers, to help trim the margin to 37-31 with 3:42 left.
The Wildcats ended the period with a 9-3 spurt as Cohen struck for six points, and Davidson led 46-34 at the break. Davidson outscored CofC 26-6 in the paint in the half.
The 'Cats held the Cougars to 39 percent from the field for the game, including 7-of-26 from 3-point range and controlled the glass 48-34. CofC also struggled from the charity stripe, shooting 14-of-24.