College of Charleston 71, Boston College 67
CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) - Andrew Lawrence scored 17 of his 22 points in the second half to rally College of Charleston to a 71-67 victory over Boston College for seventh place in the ESPN Charleston Classic presented by Foster Grant on Sunday at TD Arena.
The Cougars (2-2) avoided going 0-3 on their home floor, using a 19-8 run to start the second half and take control. Lawrence began the surge with two three-point plays. Anthony Thomas had two straight driving layups as Charleston took the lead for good.
Boston College (1-3) got within a bucket several times down the stretch, the last on Olivier Hanlan's foul shots with 28 seconds to go. But Lawrence made four of six free throws to keep the Cougars out front.
Anthony Stitt had 12 points and Thomas 10 for Charleston.
Patrick Heckmann led the Eagles with 18 points. Boston College made seven 3-pointers the first half but was just 3-of-15 after that.
Boston College and College of Charleston were looking for a feel-good finish to the tournament. The Eagles had lost by double-digits to No. 16 Baylor and Dayton in its first two games while the home-standing Cougars were beaten by St. John's and Auburn.
First year Charleston coach Doug Wojcik also ended his personal four-game losing streak at the Charleston Classic. The then Tulsa coach dropped his final two tourney games on this court a season ago.
Boston College took control early with Lonnie Jackson hitting a pair of 3-pointers on the way to 19-12 lead midway through the first half. The Cougars rallied to cut things to 23-22 before the Eagles took off again.
Heckmann had two 3-pointers and Jackson added his third of the half to move in front 34-27 before the Cougars began their decisive stretch.
Both teams came into the game shorthanded. Boston College was without sophomore Ryan Anderson, who was out with an ankle injury. Anderson scored 39 points in the first two tournament games.
Charleston was without junior starter Trent Wiedeman, also out with a bad ankle. He had scored 18 points in the Cougars' two losses.
CofC will travel to Baylor, its fourth consecutive major-conference opponent, for a non-bracketed road game on Saturday, Nov. 24 at 9 p.m. (ET) at the Ferrell Center in Waco, Texas.
Ohio 73, Wofford 50
ATHENS, OHIO - The Wofford men's basketball team fell 73-50 to Ohio University on Sunday afternoon at the Convocation Center in the Nations of Coaches Classic. The Terriers were held to only 16 points in the first half while the Bobcats hit 60 percent from the floor in the opening twenty minutes.
Wofford begins the season 1-3, while Ohio improves to 3-0 after reaching the NCAA Regional Semifinals in 2012. The Terriers were led by Karl Cochran with 14 points and Indiana Faithfull with a career-high twelve points. The Bobcats leading scorer was Reggie Kelly with 16 points, followed by D.J. Cooper with 15 points.
"They are as good as advertised," said head coach Mike Young. "They almost made the Sweet Sixteen last year and have everyone back this season. I am really impressed with how they do it and the pieces that they have. They guarded us really well, but we had some cracks at it. With this bunch our shot selection and our understanding of how things are supposed to play out is not where it is going to be come January. They have a good club but I think we got better today and learned a lot about some things."
The Terriers scored first on a pair of free throws by John Swinton, and the game was tied at 8-8 at the 13:06 mark in the first half. Ohio was then able to go on an 18-3 run, with the lone Wofford points a three-pointer by Indiana Faithfull. The Bobcats led 26-11 with 5:49 on the clock before Indiana Faithfull made a lay-up. Two free throws by Johns Swinton cut the advantage to 30-15, but the Bobcats were able to take a 34-16 lead at the break.
To open the second half, the Bobcats scored the first five points for a 39-16 score. Jarell Byrd hit a three pointer, but it was matched by Ohio's D.J. Cooper. Lee Skinner hit a bucket with 15:05 on the clock to cut the lead to 44-24, but that was as close as the Terriers would get in the second half. With 10:17 left the Bobcats extended the advantage to 55-30. Wofford pulled it back to a twenty point game twice, but Ohio was able to take the win 73-50.
Wofford shot 30 percent from the floor while Ohio shot 57 percent overall. The Terriers were 7-of-22 from three, while the Bobcats were 7-of-17 from behind the arc. Wofford was 13-of-18 from the free throw line, while Ohio was 12-of-18 from the line. The Terriers had a 31 to 28 lead on the glass.
Wofford will continue the five-game road trip on Tuesday night at Richmond in the first game of the Nation of Coaches Classic.
Southeast Missouri State 77, Chattanooga 55
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. --- The Chattanooga Mocs (1-2) dropped a 77-65 decision to a hot-shooting Southeast Missouri (3-1) squad in McKenzie Arena Sunday. The Red Hawks made 69.6 percent (16-23) of its shots in the second half to secure the win.
Drazen Zlovaric and Z. Mason led UTC with 14 points apiece while grabbing seven and six rebounds, respectively. The duo was joined in double digits by Gee McGhee with 10 points.
Corey Wilford came off the bench to lead all scorers with 21 for the Red Hawks. He and Marland Smith combined for 32 of their 37 reserve points after intermission. The second half outburst for SEMO built on its six-point halftime cushion. Wilford scored all of his 21 after the mid-point.
Casey Jones' nailed a three-pointer at 18:26 to get Chattanooga within two, 31-29. Smith then capped a 12-0 run for the Red Hawks with a three-pointer at 14:17 to put SEMO up 14, 44-30. UTC closed to within nine seven times after Smith's trey, but could draw any nearer on the afternoon.
Southeast Missouri got an outstanding effort from its starting post players. Tyler Stone and Nino Johnson combined for 23 points and 19 rebounds largely behind Stone's double-double of 16 points and 11 boards. The duo also made five of the Red Hawks eight blocks today.
UTC edged SEMO 38-35 on the glass. Its 18 offensive boards resulted in 24 second chance points to a mere two for the Red Hawks who grabbed just three offensive rebounds over the 40 minutes.
The Mocs return to the Roundhouse tomorrow for day two of the CBE Classic Chattanooga Sub-Regional. Troy is on deck at 7 p.m., before Tuesday night's matchup with Louisiana Tech at 7 p.m., as well. SEMO and La Tech meet at 4:30 p.m., Monday.
Elon 62, Florida Atlantic 59 (OT)
ELON, N.C. - Jack Isenbarger found his rhythm at the right time on Sunday night, Nov. 18, in Alumni Gym, as the junior scored nine points in overtime to lift the Elon men's basketball team to a 62-59 win over Florida Atlantic in the EA SPORTS Maui Invitational Regional Winners' Game.
Isenbarger went just 8-of-22 from the field in the game, but the Zionsville, Ind., native put the maroon and gold on his back in OT after going 3-of-3 from the field, which included a key three-pointer with 2:40 remaining, and sinking a pair of free throws in the waning moments to help the Phoenix secure the Tournament title.
"It was very difficult for both teams to play yesterday afternoon and turn around and play today, but I'm proud of the way we fought back, defended and grinded out a victory tonight," said Elon head coach Matt Matheny. "Our veteran leadership was tremendous as we went down the stretch in regulation and overtime and I'm very pleased to come out with a win."
Isenbarger finished the night with a team-high 16 points, while Lucas Troutman scored 14 points to go along with eight boards and four blocks. Troutman was named the EA SPORTS Maui Invitational Regional Games Most Outstanding Player for his efforts this weekend. In three games this weekend, Troutman recorded a total of 13 blocked shots.
Troutman saved the game for the Phoenix with 29 seconds left on the clock in regulation with the score tied at 48-all, as the junior swatted Stefan Moody's potential go-ahead layup to keep tied. Troutman's attempt at the game-winner just seconds later on a baseline jumper sailed just over the basket as the buzzer sounded, sending the game to overtime.
Elon trailed by as many as 13 points in the second half, but Kevin Blake helped pull Elon within four points with 11:08 remaining after an old-fashioned three-point play made it a 39-35 game.
Troutman helped tie the game with just under eight minutes left after a monster dunk on a fast-break put the Elon faithful on their feet and tied the game at 39-all, forcing an FAU timeout.
Ryley Beaumont scored 11 points for Elon in the victory and was clutch in key moments down the stretch. Beaumont gave Elon its largest lead in the extra session after connecting from downtown with 1:28 to play to give the Phoenix a four-point edge.
The Phoenix proved to be efficient with the ball for the second straight game, committing just seven turnovers and forcing FAU into 18. The seven turnovers by Elon are the lowest since the team committed the same amount against The Citadel in the Southern Conference Tournament two seasons ago. The last time the team committed less than seven was on Feb. 11, 2010 against College of Charleston when it committed just five.
The Owls took a seven-point lead with 5:37 remaining in the first half and forced a Phoenix timeout when Jordan McCoy slashed through the Elon defense for a layup to make it a 25-18 game.
FAU went ahead by as many as 11 points in the opening frame, but Elon limited the damage to nine points, 31-22, at intermission.
The maroon and gold knocked down 26 percent (8-of-31) of its shots from the field in the first 20 minutes, including just 1-of-8 from beyond the arc. The FAU reserves accounted for 13 points in the first half, with the majority coming off the hot hand of Stefan Moody with 11. Moody finished the night with a game-high 22 points.
Elon shot 34 percent from the field in the win on 24-of-71 field goals, including a 5-of-22 clip from beyond the arc. The Phoenix limited FAU to 24 percent shooting in the second period on 5-of-21 shooting, which included zero makes from three-point land. Elon limited FAU to just 17 points in the second period.
Elon returns to the hardwood on Wednesday, Nov. 21, for its rubber-match with the South Carolina Gamecocks in Columbia, S.C. Elon topped USC in its home opener last season in Alumni Gym, marking the program's first win over an SEC opponent. Two seasons ago, the Gamecocks got the better of the Phoenix in Columbia with a 94-79 win.