Wofford 87, Webber International 54
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - On Monday night, the Wofford men's basketball team defeated Webber International 87-54 at Benjamin Johnson Arena. The Terriers used a 13-0 run in the first half and a 12-2 run early in the second half to build a lead.
Wofford begins the season 1-1, while Webber International is 2-2. The Terriers had four players in double figures, led by Karl Cochran with a career-high 25 points. Spencer Collins added 16 points, Lee Skinner had 13 points and Jarell Byrd scored eleven points. Skinner had nine of the team's 49 rebounds on the night. The Warriors were led by Brian Pace with 17 points.
"I think we found ourselves so open in the first half on a couple of the shots that we did not know how to act," said head coach Mike Young. "The rhythm was bad and could not get anything in the hole and at the ten minute mark we started to tighten up a little bit. We will have other nights like that where we are not shooting the ball great and we have to hang our hat on something and that better be the defensive end and on the glass. We did that and held them to 36% from the field and doubled them in rebounds. We still have a lot of work to do on the practice floor to get to where we need to be. It will be a process."
The Warriors opened the scoring with a three and the game was tied at five and seven before the Terriers took a 9-7 lead after a shot by Jarell Byrd. Wofford took a 14-10 lead after a put-back by C.J. Neumann with 10:40 left in the first half. The Terriers pushed the lead to 22-10 with a bucket by Karl Cochran.
After four points by the Warriors, C.J. Neumann dunked to give Wofford a 24-14 lead at the four minute mark of the first half. The Terriers missed their first eleven attempts from behind the arc before Spencer Collins hit a three for a 27-16 lead. Karl Cochran gave Wofford a 31-21 advantage after a jumper with 1:35 left in the first half. At the break, the Terriers led 31-22 despite shooting only 34.3% for the half.
Karl Cochran hit back-to-back threes to open the scoring in the second half and take a 37-22 lead. After a bucket by Aerris Smith, the Terriers had a 43-24 lead with 16:23 on the clock. The lead was pushed to 47-27 after a dunk by C.J. Neumann with 15:15 remaining in the game.
A three pointer by Spencer Collins gave Wofford a 55-33 advantage. Another three and a lay-up by Collins made it a 60-35 game with 10:43 left in the second half. The Terriers slowly pulled farther away and had a 71-40 lead after a dunk by Karl Cochran with 8:20 on the clock. At the under four minute media timeout, Wofford had an 85-51 advantage. Justin Gordon added two late free throws for the 87-54 final score.
Wofford shot 48.5 percent from the floor while Webber International shot 36.5 percent overall. The Terriers were 8-of-26 from three, while the Warriors were 7-of-19 from behind the arc. Wofford was 13-of-22 from the free throw line, while Webber International was 9-of-13 from the line. The Terriers had a 49 to 24 lead on the glass.
Wofford will hit the road for the next five games, beginning with a contest on Friday night at 7:00 p.m. at Ball State.
UNCG 81, Winston-Salem State 65
GREENSBORO, N.C. - The UNCG men's basketball team posted a game-changing 30-6 second half run to lead the Spartans to a 81-65 victory over Winston-Salem State in the 2012-13 home opener Monday night at the Greensboro Coliseum in front of 4,123 fans.
"Obviously, our first game against High Point was uncharacteristic of our team as we weren't the team that we work on being in practice every day," Miller said. "I give my guys a lot of credit for working hard the past two days in practice and tonight I saw us take steps in doing the things we talk about every day. We ran the floor better and made efforts to rebound the ball on the defensive glass. We are, by no means, where we want to be as a team, but we are making positive steps each day."
Junior Trevis Simpson and senior Derrell Armstrong combined to score 47 points in 48 minutes of action to pace the offensive attack. Simpson scored a season-high 26 points as he was 10-of-16 from the field, including four three-pointers. Armstrong added 21 points off the bench on 9-of-11 shooting as he hit 3-of-4 from long range.
The Spartans (1-1) connected on 49.2 percent (31-of-63) from the field and 34.6 percent (9-of-26) from long range in the victory. UNCG limited the Rams to just 37.9 percent (25-of-66) shooting in the game, including just 33.3 percent (11-of-33) in the second half when it out-scored WSSU by a 42-33 margin.
The Spartans came out of the gate quickly as they scored the first five points of the game as Simpson notched the first basket of the 2012-13 season in the Greensboro Coliseum with an alley-oop dunk just 17 seconds into the game. Junior Drew Parker made it a 5-0 lead just seconds later hitting a three-pointer in transition.
The teams battled back-and-forth at a fast pace for much of the first half until WSSU narrowed the gap to 32-30 on a Jon Thompson jumper with 2:22 left in the half. The Spartans responded by closing the half on a 7-2 run to take a 39-32 lead into the locker room. Sophomore Nicholas Paulos sparked the run with a tip-in off of a missed free throw to give the Spartans an extra possession.
The Spartans connected on 50 percent (15-of-30) from the field, but hit just 28.6 percent (4-of-14) from long range in the first half. Simpson led all scorers with 14 points in 13 minutes of action as he was 5-of-9 from the field, including a pair of three-pointers. Armstrong added nine points in 11 minutes off the bench as he was 4-of-4 from the field in the half.
Winston-Salem State connected on 42.4 (14-of-33) from the field and hit just two three-pointers but only committed six turnovers in the half. Justin Glover led the Rams with 10 points on 4-of-13 shooting while Stephon Platt chipped in seven points.
The Rams opened the second half and took a 48-45 lead with a 16-6 run that made the partisan-UNCG crowd unsettled. Winston-Salem State was led in the early run by Platt who scored six points in the spurt, while WyKevin Bazemore added four points while giving the Rams their first lead.
UNCG responded in emphatic fashion as it posted a 30-6 run, including 18 straight points to finish the spurt taking a three-point deficit and turning it into a 20-point lead. Armstrong was the catalyst in the beginning of the run as he scored 10 straight points for the Spartans on his way to 12 points total in the 9:36 stretch of the second half.
After Armstrong sparked the run, Simpson took over and scored 10 points of his own, including a pair of three-pointers in transition that sent the Greensboro Coliseum crowd into a frenzy. Junior Taylor Hoffer put the cap on the run converting an old-fashioned three-point play to end any doubt in the victory with the Spartans' 18th straight unanswered point.
Freshman forward Kayel Locke added seven points off the bench in a career-high 28 minutes of action as 11 different Spartans found their way into the box score. Parker ran the offense effectively as he dished out seven assists while only committing one turnover. Senior Korey Van Dussen added five assists as the Spartans dished out 17 helpers in the victory.
Winston-Salem State was led by Glover who scored 15 points on just 6-of-20 shooting, including 2-of-8 from three-point land. Platt added 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting for the Rams in their 2012-13 season opener.
The Spartans return to the road Friday night as they travel to Greenville, N.C., to take on the East Carolina Pirates at 7 p.m.
Chattanooga 88, Tennessee-Temple 53
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. --- Z. Mason and Drazen Zlovaric led the Chattanooga Mocs (1-0) to an 88-53 win over Tennessee Temple (2-2) Monday night in McKenzie Arena. Mason had a game-high 16 points, while Zlovaric added 11 points and eight rebounds.
Freshman Farad Cobb stole the show, literally. His six steals on the night set a new UTC freshman record breaking the four previously held by seven other Mocs student-athletes. That list includes teammate Ronrico White and assistant coach Casey Long (2004-07).
The Crusaders were led by Mack Hampton's 12 points and five rebounds. Weedlens Beauvil added 11 points, while Joe Quinn and John Reik each chipped in five boards as well.
Chattanooga scored the first nine points of the game before a Mack Hampton free throw got the Crusaders on the board. With the score at 14-5, the Mocs went on a 9-2 run with Mason and Zlovaric capping it with back-to-back scores to push the lead to 23-7.
Consecutive Crusader three-pointers by Travaris Clarke and Weedlens Beauvil cut the lead to 10, 23-13, but that's as close as it would get. UTC methodically built its lead to 19 heading into intermission on a nice fade-away jumper in the paint by Mason as the final seconds ticked away in the half.
Zlovaric and Mason opened the second half with baskets to get the lead to 23. It went to 30, 68-38, on Lance Stokes' layup with 8:33 to play. The largest lead was 39, 84-45, with Martynas Bareika's lay-in at 2:08.
Cobb's six steals paced Chattanooga to 23 on the night, a new school record. Cobb and his teammates forced 35 TTU turnovers scoring 44 points off the miscues.
It was a balanced effort on the tally books for the Mocs. Nine players scored six or more points. There were 42 points scored in the paint as the UTC post players accounted for 48 points and 25 rebounds.
Chattanooga dominated the glass, 49-28, against an unusually tall group from an NCCAA opponent including two seven-footers. UTC's 25 offensive rebounds were just three less than TTU's total on the boards.
The Mocs travel to No. 7 Kansas Thursday for an 8 p.m., tilt with the Jayhawks. The contest is on the Jayhawk Network and can be accessed via ESPN3.com.
Samford 59, Martin Methodist 40
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - It's only fitting that Samford's Bennie Seltzer recorded his first career victory via a brilliant defensive performance Monday, as the Bulldogs earned a 59-40 triumph over the Martin Methodist Redhawks in their 2012-13 home-opening contest held at the Pete Hanna Center.
Seltzer, Samford's defensive-minded, first-year head coach, moved to 1-1 at the helm of the Bulldogs.
"We played a lot better defense tonight, especially in the first half," said Seltzer. "I thought our guys played very hard in the first half and we held them to a 20-percent shooting performance in the first half, and that was a great accomplishment, so I know that the effort was there. That's what we're looking for as a staff right now. Just give us that effort and then all of the other things will fall into place."
Samford (1-1) stifled the offensive attack from Martin Methodist (2-2) Monday and limited the Redhawks to a 27.1 shooting percentage from the field. The Bulldogs' defense also held Martin Methodist to a lackluster 7.7 percent outing from 3-point range.
True freshman Tim Williams posted his second straight double-double for Samford and became the first Bulldog in modern history to achieve that goal. On Monday, Samford's talented 6-foot-8 native of Chicago, Ill, tallied team highs in points (13), rebounds (10), blocked shots (4) and steals (2).
Williams made a huge impression in his first collegiate game Friday at Austin Peay as he exploded for 23 points and 10 rebounds in 39 minutes of playing time. Williams' Samford debut proved to be the best in over 40 years since Laymon Williamson scored 29 points in his Bulldog opener in a 74-72 season-opening victory at Oklahoma on Dec. 1, 1971.
"It was a good feeling to win tonight," said Williams. "I had a lot of jitters to start the game with the home crowd and everything, but I thought we played pretty relaxed. The older guys really helped me out and reminded me to stay focused."
Samford's Raijon Kelly also scored in double figures Monday. The Bulldogs' sophomore point guard tallied 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the field and added four assists, two blocked shots and a steal. Fellow sophomore Tyler Hood added nine points and five rebounds, while Levi Barnes came off the bench to tally seven points on a perfect 3-of-3 shooting performance.
"Levi played well for us tonight," Seltzer said. "In order for us to get to where we want to go and to do the things that we want to do, we are going to need Levi to play well. We need all of those guys to play well, because some of our guys are going to have off nights. Offensively, this has to be a collective effort with our entire team."
Connor Miller, Samford's stealthy sophomore guard from Stanley, Wis., finished Monday's contest with six points, five assists and four rebounds, while true freshman Clide Geffrard, Jr., registered five points and three rebounds for the Bulldogs.
Martin Methodist was held to its lowest scoring total of the 2012-13 season and finished with only one player in double figures. The Redhawks were paced offensively by junior guard Brandon Hunter who led all scorers with 15 points on a 6-of-17 shooting performance from the field.
True freshman guard Kadijon Townsend and senior forward Jeremy Rodgers came off the bench to score eight and seven points for Martin Methodist, respectively. The Redhawks' starters were held to 23 total points Monday, and Hunter accounted for 15.
Samford scored the first 11 points of Monday's game and led 25-5 with 8:33 remaining in the first half. The Bulldogs extended their first-half lead to 24 points, 33-9, and went into the half holding a lopsided 35-13 advantage.
Samford came out a bit sluggish in the second period and Martin Methodist used a layup from Rodgers to trim the Bulldogs' lead to 39-22 with 13:25 remaining in the game.
"I wasn't pleased with our effort in the second half," said Seltzer. "I thought we got out to the big lead and then started to play the scoreboard a little bit instead of working on the things that we need to do better. I got on them a little bit, but I told them that I was pleased of how we played the first half, but that we have to play a lot better than we did in the second half."
Williams, Miller and Geffrard, Jr., quickly responded for Samford to extend their lead to 46-22 as the Bulldogs never led by less than 20 points until the Redhawks' Hunter hit a jumper in the final seconds to make the final score, 59-40.
The Samford University basketball team will next be in action Thursday at 7 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs travel to Louisville, Ky., for a date with the second-ranked Louisville Cardinals to be held at the KFC Yum! Center (22,000).
"Playing against the likes of Louisville and Memphis are what it's all about for our players," Seltzer said. "They are going to have a chance to play against two of the top teams in the country. Obviously, Louisville is coached by Rick Pitino who is one of the legends in our game and I have tremendous respect for him and his program."
New Mexico 86, Davidson 81
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - New Mexico went 38-of-44 from the charity stripe and erased a 16-point deficit to get by Davidson, 86-81, early Tuesday morning at The Pit, as part of ESPN's 24 hours of College Hoops Marathon.
De'Mon Brooks paced five Wildcats in double figures with 22 points on 7-of-14 shooting and a 7-of-8 performance at the line. Chris Czerapowicz, Tyler Kalinoski and Clint Mann each added 12, while JP Kuhlman finished with 10 to go along with a game-high nine assists.
Tony Snell, who went just 7-of-22 from the floor, made 9-of-10 at the free-throw line to lead the Lobos with 25 points in 40 minutes of action. Kendall Williams missed just one of his 14 freebies and recorded 17 points, Alex Kirk contributed 14 and Demetrius Walker scored 10 for New Mexico (1-0).
With the Wildcats up, 58-45, following a Tom Droney layup at the 14:18 mark, the Lobos went on an 18-4 run and took their first lead of the contest, 63-62, on a pair of Hugh Greenwood free throws with just under eight minutes to play.
The two teams traded points over the next five minutes before four straight points from Kirk broke a 70-70 deadlock and put New Mexico up for good with 2:41 remaining.
The Wildcats made just 38.5 percent of their attempts after intermission to conclude the contest at 42.2 percent (27-64) and 40 percent (12-30) from long range. Davidson (1-1) also finished 15-of-20 at the line for a 75-percent clip.
New Mexico outrebounded the Wildcats 27-7 in the second half to hold a 45-28 advantage.
Davidson, which opened 9-of-15 from the floor, scored the first 10 points of the contest and extended its margin to 25-9 thanks to 11 early points from Mann, who drilled his fourth and fifth career 3-pointers during the spurt.
After a Snell 3-point play made it 37-31, with 1:34 left in the period, the Wildcats closed with eight unanswered capped off by consecutive treys from Kalinoski to take a 45-31 lead into the break.
The Lobos, who matched their second largest comeback in school history at The Pit, shot 40.7 percent (22-54) overall, but was only 4-of-17 (.235) from behind the arc.
Davidson will continue its stretch of six consecutive contests away from home with a 7 p.m. (CST) tip at UW-Milwaukee on Saturday evening.