Air Force 77, The Citadel 70
CHARLESTON, S.C. - Citadel sophomore guard Lawrence Miller notched a career-high 20 points, but it was the 33-point effort of Air Force sharpshooter Michael Lyons that made the difference as the Falcons captured the 2012 ARMY ROTC All-Military Classic by a final margin of 77-70.
Miller was one of three Citadel players to reach double figures, followed by Mike Groselle (17 points) and C.J. Bray, who also established a new career-high with 14 points. All of Miller's field goals came from beyond the arc, as he finished 6-of-9 to go along with a pair of free throws. Bray drained a pair of treys in the contest and hit 6-of-7 from the floor. Groselle came away with the team-high in rebounds, eight, as the Bulldogs finished with a 30-17 edge on the glass.
Both Miller and Groselle earned All-Tournament honors for their performances over the course of the two-day tournament.
The Citadel (1-1) shot 25-of-44 (.568) from the floor, including eight 3-pointers as a team. As a unit, the Cadets were again effective from the free throw line, hitting 12-of-16 attempts, converting 10 in the first half.
Air Force's offense came largely from 3-point range, as they finished 15-of-34 (.441) from long distance. Lyons lead the way with a 7-of-12 performance, while teammate Kyle Green hit 4-of-9 from beyond the arc. The Falcons managed nine shots in the perimeter, finishing 24-of-49 (.490) on the contest.
The Citadel extended its two-point halftime lead to 35-30, early in the second half with a 5-2 run highlighted by a Miller 3-pointer.
Air Force answered with series of 3-pointers by Green and Lyons, making for a 37-37 tie. Just under a minute later, with the teams deadlocked at 40, a pair of 3-pointers by Lyons and Green provided the Falcons with their second lead of the half, 49-40.
Groselle ended The Citadel's 3:46 scoring drought with a layup and following a Quinton Marshall jumper from the elbow, the Bulldogs trimmed the lead to five, 49-44.
Two long distance shots by Max Yon stretched the Air Force lead back to seven, 60-53, but The Citadel answered with points in the paint by Groselle and a 3-pointer from Bray to pull within 60-58 of the Falcons.
The Falcons regrouped following a timeout and came through with buckets by Mike Fitzgerald and Lyons to again move in front by seven, 65-58.
The Bulldogs responded with the inside-outside tandem of Groselle and Miller, who combined for five points in a 42 second stretch, to move back within one shot of a tie.
Lyons answered with two 3-pointers in a stretch of just over a minute to push the AFA lead back to five, 71-66. The Citadel pulled within three points on just one occasion in the final minute, but it was six Falcon free throws that sealed the 77-70 victory.
Behind eight points by Miller and seven off the bench by Moore, The Citadel held a slim 30-28 lead at the half. Miller was a perfect 2-of-2 in the opening frame, connecting on a pair of 3-pointers, while Moore was 3-of-4 from the field and knocked down a free throw.
Air Force countered with 16 points from Lyons, the only player to reach double figures in the first half, as the Falcons converted 9-of-17 field goal attempts, including five from long distance.
The visiting Falcons streaked out to an 11-5 advantage in the first half, using three 3-pointers from the combination of Green and Lyons to establish themselves early.
The Citadel offense eventually settled its flow after a series of miscues, using scores by Moore and Bray to knot the game at 15-15 with less than nine minutes remaining.
Two 3-pointers by Lyons again provided the Falcons with a lead, 21-17, but it was The Citadel's free throw shooting that allowed them to get back into the contest. The combination of Groselle, Harris and Dylen Setzekorn converted six free throws over a 1:34 stretch to tie the game at 25 all.
A Miller 3-pointer at the 1:39 mark gave the Dogs their first lead of the half, 28-25, as The Citadel closed with a jumper by Moore in the waning seconds to hold the two-point advantage as the teams headed to halftime.
The Citadel returns to action on Wednesday evening when they host Montreat College at 7:05 p.m.
Western Carolina 95, Mars Hill 68
CULLOWHEE, N.C. - Trey Sumler led five Catamounts in double figures with a season-high 21 points as Western Carolina pulled away from mountain-foe Mars Hill in the second half for a 95-68 nonconference victory Sunday night in the Ramsey Center.
All 13 of WCU's players on roster played in the home-opener with all but one recording points against the Lions as the Catamounts won their home opening game for the seventh-straight season.
Sumler scored 17 of his 21 points in the first half while also dishing out six assists to pace WCU to its first victory of the season. Junior post Tawaski King poured in 14 points while back court classmate Brandon Boggs finished with 13 on 5-of-9 shooting. Tom Tankelewicz continued his hot start from beyond the arc, knocking down three, 3-pointers as a part of an 11-point outing with freshman Mike Brown rounding out the double-digit scorers, nearly pulling out a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds off the bench.
Junior Preston Ross just missed double figures with eight points while sophomore guard James Sinclair tallied seven in the winning effort.
Despite surrendering a quick 9-0 run to WCU to open the game, Mars Hill managed to stay close most of the first half. The Lions clawed back to within two points on two separate occasions after the Catamounts' initial surge, the second of which coming on a Jalen Witherspoon 3-pointer at the 11:36 mark to make it 14-12 in favor of the home squad.
Leading by just four, 23-19, at the 8:24 mark of the first half, Western Carolina took control of the game by closing the first half on a 27-to-6 run to pull away for a 48-23 halftime lead. Mars Hill missed its first seven shots during the Catamount run, while WCU shot 11-of-17 (64.7-percent) during the decisive spurt.
Over the final 20 minutes, the Catamount advantage did not dip below 24 points and reached a game-high 30 on a 3-pointer by Brown at the 8:49 mark.
Carter Wright led Mars Hill in scoring with 15 points while post Khouraichi Thiam pitched in a double-double of 12 points and 14 boards. Daron Guyton finished with 11 points off the bench for the Lions.
Western Carolina shot 60.7-percent from the floor for the game including 42.9-percent (9-of-21) from beyond the 3-point arc. Defensively, the Catamounts limited the undersized Lions to 31.3-percent from the field including just 26.7 (8-of-30) in the first half. Mars Hill was also just 7-of-25 from long-range, 28-percent.
Western Carolina now hits the road for seven-straight games away from Cullowhee including four in the 2012 Cancun Challenge. The Catamounts visit Wichita State on Thursday, Nov. 15 and Western Kentucky on Saturday, Nov. 17 in the on-campus portion of the Challenge before traveling to Cancun, Mexico, for two games at the Moon Palace Golf & Spa Resort. WCU faces Austin Peay on Tuesday, Nov. 22, and either Gardner-Webb or Howard the following day on Nov. 23.