Furman 77, The Citadel 45
GREENVILLE, S.C. - Bobby Austin and Dominic Early poured in career-highs with 17 and 14 points, respectively, to lead Furman to a 77-45 win of The Citadel in Southern Conference men's basketball action before a crowd of 1,239 on Thursday evening on YP.com Court at Timmons Arena.
The win, Furman's fourth straight over the Bulldogs and 10th in its last 11 contests against The Citadel in Greenville, improved the Paladins to 7-7 overall and 1-2 in league play while halting a three-game skid. The Citadel dropped to 3-11 overall and 0-3 in SoCon play.
Furman, which led the game wire-to-wire, raced out to a 10-0 lead in the opening three minutes before The Citadel trimmed the margin to one with a 13-4 spurt of its own. Leading 16-15 with under 10 minutes to play in the half, seven different Paladins scored during a 19-4 run to end the period as Furman carried a 35-19 lead into the locker room.
The Citadel started the second half with the hot hand, reeling off 10 straight points to cut the Paladin advantage to 35-29 at the 15:58 mark. The Bulldogs held Furman scoreless for the opening 6:06 of the period while forcing six turnovers.
Furman answered the run with back-to-back triples from Bryant Irwin and Austin to increase the margin to 41-29. Mike Groselle, who entered the game averaging a double-double, responded with a pair of baskets before Early drained a pair of three-pointers in a decisive 12-0 run that gave Furman a 52-33 lead on Colin Reddick's jumper in the paint with 8:33 to play.
The Paladins, who outscored the Bulldogs 42-26 in the second half, shot 62.5 percent from the field after the break to finish at a season-best 55.1 percent from the floor. Furman connected on 13-of-29 triples and 10-of-12 free throws while recording a 31-28 edge on the boards.
Austin connected on 6-of-7 field goal attempts, including 5-of-6 from long range, to best his previous career-high of 16 points set against Jacksonville in the Paladins' last home game on December 11. Early buried 4-of-8 three-point attempts in 17 minutes of action for his career-high while Irwin chipped in with 10 points. Point guard Richard Brown scored nine points, dished out five assists and did not commit a turnover in 28 minutes of work.
Cosmo Morabbi led the Bulldogs with 14 points and four assists. Groselle added 10 points and a game-high eight rebounds. The Citadel shot just 38 percent from the field, including 2-of-11 from three-point range, and made only 1-of-5 free throw attempts.
Davidson 92, UNCG 63
GREENSBORO, N.C. - Nik Cochran scored 22 points, and Davidson shot 56 percent from the field en route to building a 48-26 halftime lead as the Wildcats cruised to a 92-63 Southern Conference men's basketball victory over UNCG Thursday night in the Greensboro Coliseum.
Cochran hit three triples and went 7-for-7 from the free-throw line while adding a game-high six assists for the Wildcats (9-4, 3-0 SoCon). Chris Czerapowicz collected 15 points and eight rebounds, while De¹Mon Brooks and Tyler Kalinoski each scored 11. Clint Mann added 10 points and four rebounds off the bench.
Trevis Simpson led UNCG (2-14, 0-4 SoCon) with 15 points, but the Wildcat defense, led by Tom Droney, held the Spartans' leading scorer to 2-of-13 shooting from the floor. Kory Van Dussen scored nine points, and Nick Paulos added eight points off the bench.
The Wildcats used an 18-4 run over four minutes in the first half to turn a one-point deficit into a 28-14 advantage. Cochran scored seven points during the stretch, and JP Kuhlman capped it with consecutive layups.
Davidson finished the frame with a 19-6 spurt to open a 48-26 cushion at halftime. Czerapowicz led the charge this time with eight points, including a pair of triples. Davidson shot a season-high 56 percent in the first half and nailed 6-of-13 3-point tries. The 'Cats held UNCG to 33 percent from the field and forced nine turnovers.
A Czerapowicz jumper made the margin 30 points six minutes into the second half before UNCG made a mini run to trim the deficit down to 19 on a Van Dussen layup with 8:48 to go. Cochran and Kuhlman answered with two free throws each to keep the Spartans at bay.
Davidson shot 51 percent from the floor for the game, made 10 3-pointers and hit 22-of-27 free throws.
Georgia Southern 69, Elon 63
ELON, N.C. - Behind a superb effort from Eric Ferguson, Georgia Southern Men's Basketball went 3-0 in the Southern Conference with a 69-63 victory over Elon. The victory snapped a 26-game road losing streak and handed the Phoenix their first home loss of the season.
Ferguson finished the night with a season-high 21 points and a career-best 14 rebounds for his fourth career double-double and second this season. The junior forward also grabbed a team-high three steals as GSU owned the Elon paint, 30-24.
Senior Ben Drayton III scored 17 points while Willie Powers III dropped 16 points to go with six assists. The rest of the Georgia Southern scoring came from a balanced effort from the Eagle bench.
Jack Isenbarger paced Elon with 17 points, while Lucas Troutman added 16 for the Phoenix.
The Eagles opened the night with a uncharacteristically low 23.5 percent mark from the field in the first half as Georgia Southern trailed 30-22 at the break. Elon needed a three-pointer at the horn to extend the lead to eight points. In the opening period, Elon led by as many as 13.
Out of the break, Elon extended the lead back to 14 before Georgia Southern mounted a charge the spanned the middle portions of the second half. The Eagles cut the lead down to three points with 5:24 remaining on a 13 footer from Drayton as he scored his 12th point of the night. A layup on the next trip up the floor brought the lead to just one with five minutes remaining.
A jumper for Ferguson in the post at 4:32 gave GSU its first lead since the early minutes, 56-55. The lead was traded once more, but the Eagles would go up five points with 2:21 left before Elon made a charge.
An old-fashioned three-point play and a conventional trey from the Phoenix cut the lead to two points with 33 seconds remaining. That, however, would be as close as Elon would get with the Eagles making all their free throws in the final three minutes.
Georgia Southern trailed by 14 points as late as the 16:07 mark in the second half to rebound for the victory. The Eagles shot 59.3 percent from the field in the second half while holding Elon to a 35.9 percent mark for the game.
Chattanooga 78, Western Carolina 62
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. --- Junior forward Drazen Zlovaric's career highs of 19 points and 12 rebounds led the Chattanooga Mocs (7-9, 1-2 SoCon) to a Southern Conference North Division win over Western Carolina (7-8, 2-1 SoCon) 78-62 in McKenzie Arena. Zlovaric's game-high 12 boards keyed a 50-26 advantage for UTC on the glass.
Zlovaric led four double-digit scorers for the Mocs. Ricky Taylor chipped in 15 points and eight rebounds, Omar Wattad had 12 points and six boards, while Dontay Hampton added 11 points in 11 minutes off the bench.
Keaton Cole led the Catamounts with 18 points on 6-16 shooting from three-point range. Trey Sumler posted 13 points and 12 assists without a turnover.
Western Carolina went up 60-58 with 6:59 to go in the game on a Tawaski King layup. But that was when the Mocs turned up the heat on both ends of the floor.
Chattanooga went on an 18-0 run to take control of the game. The Mocs scored six layups on consecutive possessions as Taylor's lay-in at 2:01 made it 70-60. The lead swelled to 76-60 on two Hampton free throws with 39 ticks remaining before the Catamounts found the bottom of the net again.
Sumler made a layup with 31 seconds left to end the scoring drought during UTC's 18-0 burst. WCU went 6:28 between scores. Two more Hampton free tosses provided the final margin of 16, 78-62.
Keegan Bell had a big night at what he does best, distributing the basketball. He had 12 assists on the night, which is his second-best total on the year.
Z. Mason had a strong game off the bench with nine points and nine rebounds in a season-high 23 minutes of playing time. He combined with Jahmal Burroughs for 13 points and 14 rebounds at the four.
The Mocs dominated the game in the paint. Along with the 50-26 advantage on the glass, UTC out-scored Western 42-16 on points in the paint.
Chattanooga got off to a good start in the first half. It led 16-8 on two Mason free throws at 12:33 when the Catamounts took over. WCU went on a 22-7 run over the next 6:53 to take a 30-23 lead at 5:26 on an Ishmael Hollis jumper.
The Mocs regained the lead on a Zlovaric free throw with 1:11 left before the break, 36-35. Sumler nailed a three-pointer, the Cats ninth of the half, with 57 seconds left to take a 38-36 lead into intermission.
Wofford 75, College of Charleston 58
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - On Thursday night, the Wofford men's basketball team hit eleven three pointers on the way to a 75-58 win over the College of Charleston at Benjamin Johnson Arena. The Terriers were led by Karl Cochran with a career-high 21 points, which included six three pointers and a dunk.
Wofford is now 9-6 on the season and 2-1 in the Southern Conference, while the College of Charleston is 10-4 overall and 2-1 in conference play. In addition to Cochran's 21 points, Kevin Giltner scored 15 points. Brad Loesing added 13 points and Drew Crowell scored 11 points. Lee Skinner led the team with eight rebounds. The Cougars were led by Andrew Lawrence with 14 points and Trent Wiedeman with ten points and seven rebounds.
The Terriers opened the game with a three by Brad Loesing. A three pointer by Karl Cochran gave Wofford an 8-5 advantage. With 16:40 on the clock, Karl Cochran hit another three for an 11-7 lead and the lead extended with a third three pointer by Cochran for a 14-7 score with 15:40 remaining in the first half. Jarell Byrd added a three as Wofford pushed the lead to 17-9 seven minutes into the half.
Karl Cochran hit his fourth three pointer of the first half to give the Terriers a 20-10 advantage. The Cougars then hit back-to-back threes to cut the lead to 20-16 before a lay-up by Drew Crowell ended the quick run. The College of Charleston cut the lead to one at 22-21 as part of an 11-2 run. Karl Cochran hit another three for a 25-21 score.
A three by Brad Loesing with 6:30 on the clock gave Wofford a 28-23 lead. The Terriers then used a three by Jarell Byrd and a floater by Brad Loesing for a 35-35 lead with four minutes left in the half. Wofford pushed it to 39-27, but the Cougars scored the last five points of the half for a 39-32 score at the break.
The Cougars hit two free throws to open the second half. Back-to-back threes by Anthony Stitt cut the lead to 43-40 after four minutes of play. A three by Kevin Giltner gave the Terriers a 48-40 advantage with 15:13 on the clock. After taking a 50-40 lead, the Cougars answered with a three. A three by Karl Cochran gave Wofford a 58-47 lead with nine minutes left, but the Cougars again answered with a three.
After the College of Charleston cut the lead to seven, Wofford answered with a break-away dunk by Karl Cochran and an easy three-on-one lay-up by Kevin Giltner for a 64-53 advantage with 6:32 left in the half. Drew Crowell hit a lay-up and free throw with 3:24 on the clock to give Wofford a 67-56 lead with 3:24 remaining in the game. Brad Loesing and Kevin Giltner combined to hit six straight free throws for a 73-58 lead with only 1:25 on the clock. Drew Crowell added a lay-up for a 75-58 final score.
The Terriers shot 45.6 percent from the floor for the evening, while the College of Charleston shot 38.9 percent overall. Wofford finished 11-28 from behind the arc. The Cougars went 10-of-25 from three. Wofford was 12-of-15 from the free throw line, while the College of Charleston went 6-of-9 from the charity stripe. The Terriers had a 37 to 26 advantage on the boards, which included 25 defensive rebounds.
Appalachian State 68, Samford 63
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Appalachian State University men's basketball fended off a late Samford run to secure a 68-63 road win on Thursday night at the Hanna Center. The Mountaineers fought off a slow start and played well down the stretch to improve to 2-1 in Southern Conference play.
The Apps (6-7, 2-1 SoCon) shook off an early 16-4 deficit with a 20-4 run over the next seven minutes to steal away the lead from the homestanding Bulldogs. Appalachian then extended the advantage to as many as 11 points late in the half before a tip-in at the buzzer pulled Samford (3-10, 0-2) back within 37-28 at the intermission.
ASU maintained a healthy cushion throughout a majority of the second period before the Bulldogs chipped away and eventually pulled within a single point on two different occasions as the clock approached three minutes.
With just over a minute remaining, Jeffrey Merritt sank a free throw to pull SU within 64-62. Reigning SoCon Player of the Week Andre Williamson then responded with a jumper with 56 ticks on the clock to bump the lead back to four points.
Raijon Kelly sank another Samford free throw for the home team's final point with 16 seconds remaining. Omar Carter added a free throw on the next possession and then after another defensive stop, Williamson tacked on one more with eight seconds to play.
Nathan Healy matched a career high with 14 points in the game, including 10 in the first half. The junior sank 4-of-7 shots with a three-pointer and 5-of-5 mark from the foul line. He added eight rebounds and three of ASU's six blocks.
Carter led all scorers with 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting with a pair of treys. He matched Healy for the team lead at eight rebounds to accompany three assists and two clutch steals late in the contest.
Despite playing the final five minutes of the game with four fouls, Williamson remained aggressive to notch 10 points, five rebound, two assists and a block. The senior forward was 4-of-5 from the field.
The Apps shot a stout 54.2 percent from the field and knocked down 6-of-16 three-pointers. Samford improved from the first half to the second but managed just 39.7 percent in the game. Both teams struggled from the charity stripe, as ASU sank 10-of-20 free throws and Samford drained just 7-of-18 freebies.
ASU was dominant at times on the boards, securing a 40-31 advantage, including nine rebounds on the offensive glass for seven second-chance points.
Tab Hamilton added 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting, including a pair of three-pointers. Making his second-straight start, the freshman played 26 minutes and added a rebound and a steal. Mike Neal made his third consecutive start at point guard and chipped in 11 points on 5-of-9 shooting. He dished out three of the team's 14 assists and hauled in three rebounds in 28 minutes.
Drew Windler led Samford with 15 points, while Merritt recorded a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.